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Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | New Taylor Solidbody! Debuts in December and launches in Jan. 08; Tommy Shaw puts the first one through its paces:
Should the VXT have gotten the same or like visibility?
Food For Thought! |
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Location: south east Michigan | Yeah... but ours goes to eleven!!! |
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Location: NJ | I like the jacket . . . |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Nice wood on the top, probably chambered body, they all are now, firebird pickups, my favorites, tasteful inlays. Shit, I can't believe I just said all those nice things about a Taylor! Probably has a skinny neck and it does have an ugly headstock, there I feel better. |
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Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Beal: :D ;) |
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Originally posted by Mauvais Beal (cwk2):
...and it does have an ugly headstock... ... and Hamers don't??? |
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Location: NJ | ". . Should the VXT have gotten the same or like visibility? . ."
Sorry, but honestly I don't see the big deal . .
Christ! you guys give in too easily . . .
Adobe PhotoShop:
"When you need "the Truth" . . . badly." |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | It's fake... look at the shoes. |
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Location: Texas | I think most have heard the first video on the VXT - watch that one and then click on the second video - you will hear all the sounds this guiar make - very nice.
VXT Video |
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Location: GA USA | That pic reminds me. I have a Joe Dirt ball cap signed by David Spade. |
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Location: SoCal | Too skinny to be Clifford....... |
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Location: Rego Park, NY, | Cliff you forgot the Crocs. |
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Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | uhhh...NO!
But nice Jacket! |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Originally posted by Mauvais Beal :
I can't believe I just said all those nice things about a Taylor! Fat ankles.
PS: I seriously doubt Cliff can lay that far up the neck without looking. |
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Location: GA USA | Apparently Tommy can't either. |
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Location: Omaha, NE | Interesting move by Taylor. Just a couple of years ago BT was saying that they had drifted too far away from their acoustic roots (with the then current emphasis on the Expression System and then the introduction of the T5). In response, they came out with the GS series, which are really nice guitars. The GS was of course the shape used for their new 'factory hand built' premium "Robert Taylor" line.
Now a solid body electric, with the "Robert Taylor" headstock shape, and an interesting switch configuration. Knowing Taylor, you can count on insanely good fit and finish (its worth noting that Gibson has been left behind in that regard), dead nuts perfect neck and brilliant grain on the top.
But that still begs the question of "why". Does the market really need another single cutaway solid body electric? I'll be interested to hear Taylor's explanation of why they think their's is better. |
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Location: Orlando, FL | People will buy it because it says Taylor on the headstock. |
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Location: GA USA | Equals money > equals better |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Originally posted by MusicMike:
New Taylor Solidbody! Debuts in December and launches in Jan. 08; Tommy Shaw puts the first one through its paces:
Should the VXT have gotten the same or like visibility?
Food For Thought! |
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Location: GA USA | I still say it's David Spade |
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Location: closely held secret | Originally posted by Mr. Ovation:
Alpep and I can both attest that this is NOT Tommy Shaw but in fact Joe Perry. :) Somewhere I believe I have the pictures to prove it. :eek: Easy mistake to make...
Tommy Shaw
Joe Perry
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | I am so ready for a strato-caster.. :)
Vic
..played by Leonard Nimoy.. |
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Location: enid, ok | Personally, I tend to shy away from anything Tommy Shaw plays, let alone wears... |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | This is the logical step after the T5. Good question to ask though, Why?
Same with Collings making solid bodies, Why? |
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Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Because they can....
"If you build it...they will come!"
I think it looks nice...Sounds very nice with lots of sustain and growl...Proposed retail: (3 models) Between $1800 for the cheapest model with pickguard mounted electronics and $3600 for the Custom Koa model...
They also have a T-5 12 string model in KOA...
If you're a Taylor fan, you'll like them...if not you won't...
Sound framilar?
:rolleyes: |
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Location: SoCal | Heck, doubt if most prior Taylor purchases will buy them. They bought wood box acoustics.
Why build it? Probably a combination of believing your own PR, inhaling too much lacquer fumes, and the insidious chase to find something new for a newsletter and product catalog. Maybe even boredom.
What do you do new each year...you have a wood box, comes in different sizes...sure, you can add or change inlaids, find another type of wood...but what is there to excite your prior customers. A different guitar?
Unless someone is a collector, they buy one or two, then possibly a t-shirt through the company website. High mark-up, low percentage of return business...not like McDonald's. They have a reputation and product placement for acoustic guitars. New customers - sell a few to current users but go after other companies' market share (i.e., Gibson and Fender).
Bob Taylor stepped over the line many years ago...from a small number of guitars to many different product models for almost any style and price range. No longer a niche player, a mass marketer with distribution even through Costco.
Is it wrong? Do we recognize other companies doing the same thing?
Not a bad thing as long as they don't get negative press about failing. By introducing a new product, lots of free PR and guitar store placement. Mention Taylor, someone who plays acoustic will remember to check out the acoustics...not a bad thing for Taylor.
Gain...PR and visibility. Doubt if it will be a money maker for them.
Again, we know of other companies doing the same thing over the past couple of years, including Kaman. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | The possibility that crossed my mind is that someone in production/development wanted to make a solid body for himself, and someone else decided to market it.
But it might not be a good idea to try to make one of each kind of guitar...
Fender Acoustics Suck, or at least the ones that I have played.
Used to be that you made what you were good at...
If you made enough to pay your employees, buy supplies, and have alittle extra... Everyone was happy!
Nowadays, if they don't make a 50% profit on everything, they start crying!
And who the hell really NEEDS to make 6 million dollar a year!?
Swine! :mad: |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | With all due respect to the fact that I still think Taylor sucks hind tit, I must admit that this new one looks pretty damn nice to me. I don't know squat about electrics, but at least as far as looks go, I'm very impressed. I'm not going to get into the whole marketing thing, but I would expect that Taylor's budget to promote this guitar will be significant. Dave |
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Location: Cicero, NY | "With all due respect to the fact that I still think Taylor sucks hind tit..."
I've never heard anyone give respect to their own opinion before they counter it. I hope you appreciate yourself, Dave. :D :D |
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Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Heck, doubt if most prior Taylor purchases will buy them. They bought wood box acoustics.
Sure, I mean, Ovation owners certainly don't buy but ONE Ovation guitar, right?
Give me a break.... |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Personal opinion, but I think brand loyality will bring in some players of Taylor acoustics who may be looking for an electric guitar, but beyond that it'll have to stand on it's own merits. I don't think the Taylor name will hinder it at all. Although they have no real history of electric guitar building other than the T5, people know they have a good reputation and build a quality product. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Originally posted by Weaser P:
I hope you appreciate yourself, Dave. :D :D Is that what they're callin' it these days? |
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Probably a combination of believing your own PR, inhaling too much lacquer fumes Hit very Often,and you Might hit the SWEET Spot..I still want a StratoCaster...
Vic
...played by Leonard Nimoy.. :) |
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Location: Omaha, NE | Taylor makes an exceptionally good guitar. They lead the industry in fit and finish and refinement. By contrast, Ovation is a good generation behind on those scores.
But that still doesn't answer the "why" question. At some level, Taylor has to tell a story with this new guitar, offering the marketplace a rational explanation as to why it needs one more solid body electric.
Maybe the answer really is as simple as "It's a Taylor and we figure lots of our acoustic customers would want a Taylor electric too". That's not a real strong argument, but its something.
I'd be more interested to hear them explain why Gibson, Fender, Hamer, PRS, Peavey, Ibanez, Rickenbacker, etc, etc, etc somehow left a gap in the solid-body electric space that Taylor is now going to fill. |
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Location: Caribou, ME | I am soooo bored with electrics. I've gotten to the point I hardly know what to DO on one anymore, it's just.... alien. I still buy and sell but not with much enthusiasm towards solid bodies. The other day the store I repair for took in a recent Ibanez thing, G10, GX10, I don't recall. Double cutaway, two humbuckers, generic. It was almost new, just filthy, and it's an odd "midnight blue but purple under fluorescent lights" color. I got it for store cost of $50, $40 of which was covered by a bone nut I made for them that day. So for $10 and an hour or so's labor I have a generic Chinese solid body and I have no idea why except it was a cool color.
Believe it or not I do have a point. This thing is strung with 9s, the action is dead flat, no buzzes, and it screams. It retails for $229 and the typical street price is $150 or so. From a strictly utilitarian standpoint, why would I want to spend big money on a Les Paul or Strat? I'm as much a guitar snob as anyone and have owned at least a dozen LPs and God only knows how many other "A List" US guitars.... and of course I recognize the investment value and volatility of the collector market, but just to plug and play, why would anyone want to spend what (I'm sure) Taylor will want for the latest whiz-bang solid body?
I get a little sick thinking a $50 Chinese Ibanez is that good though. I grew up when imported guitars were junk and buying a new Telecaster for $400 "meant" something. |
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Location: SoCal | quote:
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Heck, doubt if most prior Taylor purchases will buy them. They bought wood box acoustics.
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Sure, I mean, Ovation owners certainly don't buy but ONE Ovation guitar, right?
Give me a break....
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Mike, new or used, if my A's and O's cost as much as a Taylor, I would have only a couple. Heck, it was a huge investment to get the 47RI and/or the OFC. |
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Location: Orange County, California | My buddy Marc has one since the middle of July They've been passing around prototypes of them for several months. I think since he's a world class electric player and the T-5 "poster-boy" he was instrumental in their development. These guitars pick up where the T-5 left off. They are "all electric", well made and DON'T SOUND LIKE EVERY OTHER SINGLE CUTAWAY, DOUBLE HUMBUCKER GUITAR OUT THERE. |
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Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Tony, I agree with you on that point: I am fortunatew to get some really great deals on my Taylors: retail no way...I only meant that if One is passionate about their brand of instrument; as we are with Ovations; they tend to have more than one...If I could afford a VXT right now, I'd get one...likewise I would love to have a T-512 KOA Taylor...but the price is prohibitive unless I want to sell something else...and I am really wanting to get a 1688...so, since I can't have everything, I'll settle for a little of this and a little of that...and thankfully, I do have some great guitars...actually more that some...as do you Tony! We are fortunate!
;) |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | I had a Taylor once, a small body redwood top and burled walnut b&s. Nice guitar but it moved on. Had a pair of their 20th anniversarys, they didn't stay in the stable long at all.
I suppose they are making solids for the same reason dogs lick their bollocks. |
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Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | And...then there's that....
:eek: :D :p |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | So, Bill, why do dogs do that? |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Originally posted by Scott W. Englund:
I am soooo bored with electrics. I've gotten to the point I hardly know what to DO on one anymore, it's just.... alien...
...I have a generic Chinese solid body and I have no idea why except it was a cool color...
...I get a little sick thinking a $50 Chinese Ibanez is that good though. I grew up when imported guitars were junk and buying a new Telecaster for $400 "meant" something. I have one of these...
And for around $35 you can too! :p
Sorry, I just had too...
(I'd bid on it, but with my luck I'd win it) |
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Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Allow me Beal: because they can! |
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Location: Tennessee | I saw a couple of Collings electrics at McCabes and asked myself the same question.
I thought Ovation put together a pretty damn good viral marketing campaign on myspace. |
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Location: Cherry Hill, NJ | Personally, I don't think they could break into the solid body market with success. Although PRS did and that was a brilliant on their part. So what, Taylor's gonna tell you that some exotic Honduran rose-mahogany is gonna make a big sound difference and list it for 2 thousand. It will be interesting to see their selling point. |
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Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | Let me take a shot at answering why Taylor would want to get into solid-body electrics....GROWTH OF BUSINESS.
Take a look at most guitar shops, especially Guitar Center. What is occupying most of the space for guitars? ELECTRICS. Specifically, SOLID-BODY ELECTRICS. Mostly Strats, Teles, Les Pauls, SGs, PRSs and their brethren.
Until the T-5, Taylor was restricted to the "acoustic ghetto" in guitar shops, a place away from the main drag of the electrics, amps, effects pedals, etc. Even then, many shops still put the T-5s with the acoustics, unsure whether they were really acoustics or electrics.
My take is that Taylor sees that the growth in acoustics with the boomer generation is about over, if not over, now. The only other place to grow, or even maintain, their market share, is to go towards the electric side, where the rest (possibly, MOST) of the boomer market has settled.
It will interesting to see how they price these, but from the appearance, it is obvious they are going after Gibson and PRS. They'll probably eat Gibson's lunch....PRS will have better luck, though, I bet. Fender has no reason to sweat, they'll probably be priced at least as twice as much as an American Strat or Tele....a totally different market anyway.
Roger |
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Location: Illinois, U.S.A. | Originally posted by Old Applause Owner:
(snip,snip)
My take is that Taylor sees that the growth in acoustics with the boomer generation is about over, if not over, now. The only other place to grow, or even maintain, their market share, is to go towards the electric side, where the rest (possibly, MOST) of the boomer market has settled.
(snip,snip)
Whoa .... I have to take exception to that. Most of the new music being sold today and getting all the big hits on the Internet channel$ the tune-buying, younger-generation frequents is acoustic. Visit YouTube, or a clone site, and the "covers" the wannabes are posting are NOT electrified, but steel or nylon-stringed versions, even if the originals were electric.
This is The Calling and their electric version of " Wherever You Will Go "
This is Alex Band, their lead singer, and his acoustic version of the same tune .
A hit song. Both are great videos .... but read the viewer comments. Check the "cover" recordings and the gear they are using. |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | That neck looks too thin. |
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Location: The State of Hockey | The body is too stretched out. |
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Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | Tiednbound, you may well be right about what younger people are listening to...but I said "boomer", as in over 45 or so in age. That is the population (and the money) that Taylor is chasing.
Lots of older people (like myself) have disposable income, there are still a lot of us, and many are spending it on guitars. It seems that most are spending it on electrics, as they tend to be easier to play, plus it takes many back to their garage bands from high school. The boomer population bulge drives a lot of marketing yet. Look for more marketing aimed directly at an aging population (heck, there already is).
Of course, that will change eventually, as my generation dies off.
I'm originally from Illinois as well....central part.....
Roger |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | I saw STYX last night with Foreigner and Def Leppard.
Tommy had on the EXACT SAME OUTFIT that you see in the first posts. While I never saw the particular guitar that he is playing in that photo, he did have a white one and a turquoise one. I was too far away to see the name on the headstock.
He definitely played a Taylor 12 acoustic on a couple of tunes.
Overall, Styx was musically exceptional and their harmonies were spot on. Very enjoyable. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Originally posted by stephent28:
I saw STYX last night with Foreigner and Def Leppard. Counting 'AirSupply'... Technically, you should be dead. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | During Foreigner, I wished I was! |
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Location: NJ | :D |
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Uhh, did somebody say Marketing?