Taylor Guitars: 612c and GS7 (Aynn and Martha)
My Taylor 612c: I first saw her hanging about 15 feet above the ground in some hideen shop in Boston in… 1996 (this is PRE expression (for the 612ce) system when it was just a “c” – when Taylor put fewer holes into the sides their guitars). This Taylor 612c has been with me ever since. I didn’t eat that year to pay it off. Quilted maple sides and back the likes of which I’ve never seen on another stock 612. I still stare at this guitar. I’m not much of a picture taker, so I grabbed some others from other sites that most closely represent the two guitars. If you’re searching: don’t settle for any of those stock flame maple models; wait and search for quilted – they’re worth it. I don’t know what sort of difference having less symmetry in the wood grain has on the guitar tone, but visually it’s stunning.)
I’ve lost track of how many recording sessions I’ve been in during which I finally had to shake my head and say, “here, play my guitar instead”. My 612 still sounds better in a recording than anything I’ve tracked (besides one mid-40’s Martin something or other I once got my hands on in Santa Barbara, but that’s the one exception – different, not as focussed, but possibly better.
So my 612 follows me from Boston to NYC to LA, and SF. The tone has continued to slightly mellow, ever so slightly, but the core sound is true Taylor. I’d sell my car before this guitar.
And then… the sister came along. When Taylor Guitars announced that a new body shape was being made for the first time in, what, a decade? I had to check it out. Very happy. Of the GS ‘s the GS7 (cedar / indian rosewood) is an amazing instrument. When I first hit the low E string I was astound by literally its “power”. While it’s no where near as balanced top to bottom in sound as the 612c, the GS7’s big ‘ole hips, like Taylor says, has an almost piano-like power to the bottom string(s).
My 612c is named Aynn, my GS7, Martha. Just those names probably give a hint to their tone and characteristics. Martha is only a couple years old, so we’re still getting to really know each other. I come from a Martin family, so that I am a dedicated Taylor player was a hard thing to become. But I am. I would never play anything else. The combination of those two give me just about every acoustic tone and style I personally will ever want. And still after all this time, I sometimes feel that I’m not even worthy of having them. Truly instruments worth bypassing eating for a few months to pay off your credit card ;)
