Limited Edition Models Mark Taylor's 30th Anniversary

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Taylor Guitars celebrates its 30th Anniversary in October 2004, and the company will kick off a yearlong observance by unveiling the 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Series guitars at Winter NAMM. It seems fitting that a company known for innovation will celebrate its longevity with something new.

The 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Grand Concerts are the first to incorporate Taylor's "soft touch" approach, which utilizes a shorter scale (i.e. string length) than Taylor's standard 25-1/2-inches. The scale on the 30th Anniversary models is 24-7/8-inches, so the spacing between frets is narrower, making it much easier for people with smaller hands to span three or four frets in the lower registers. In addition, the Grand Concert body has been revoiced (new bracing pattern and slightly deeper body) to capture the unique tonal qualities of the shorter strings, giving the guitar a lively, warm tone, as well as extra volume.

Other features of the 30th Anniversary Limited Editions include Venetian cutaways and slotted pegheads, and optional Expression System electronics. At press time, several solid-wood combinations were being considered, in a range of price points.

Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug were barely out of high school when they founded the company in 1974. After several years of struggling, the tiny shop in Lemon Grove, California (in San Diego County) gained momentum and eventually grew to become one of the world's premier manufacturers of high-end acoustic guitars. Taylor (President) and Listug (CEO) still run the company. Over the course of 30 years in business, Taylor has set many industry precedents, among them the creation of the first thin-profile, bolt-on acoustic guitar neck; the implementation of CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) technology to mill acoustic guitar parts; the development of an environmentally friendlier finish that's curable by ultraviolet light; the application of laser technology to the cutting of acoustic guitar bodies and inlays; the award-winning New Technology neck design; and the revolutionary Expression System acoustic guitar pickup.

Today, Taylor Guitars has more than 360 employees and builds more than 70,000 guitars a year in its 140,000-square-foot factory complex in El Cajon, California, only a few miles from the original shop. More detailed information on the company's history is available on the Taylor "Timeline" feature at www.taylorguitars.com. With the recent addition of the second installment, the Taylor Timeline now ranges from the pre-Taylor years of 1964-73 to the middle years of 1980-89, with great archival images and anecdotes to illustrate those periods.

Taylor will also release a 30th Anniversary bomber jacket this year, which will be available through the TaylorWare section of the website.

For more information, visit their web site at www.taylorguitars.com.