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NAMM 2015: New Taylor 600
Taylor have revealed details of their new 600 series. Read on for more info…
By Guitar.com
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Press Release
Maple acoustic guitars haven’t been known for their warm, rich tone. Until now. Taylor master builder Andy Powers has poured his expertise into revoicing Taylor’s maple 600 Series, and the results are stunning.
From specially aged spruce tops that produce a played-in sound from day 1 to custom-calibrated bracing that unleashes more volume, low-end warmth and sustain, Taylor’s new 600s give players a multi-dimensional musical voice that responds wonderfully to every playing style.
Maple boasts a celebrated history in the bowed instrument world. From the violin family to archtop guitars, maple and spruce are the ideal tonewood pairing due to their linear, transparent response. In the steel-string acoustic world, maple guitars are known for their clear, bright sound, quick note decay, percussive attack, and crisp articulation for fast lead runs. It also cuts nicely through an instrument mix, making it a stage-friendly wood for guitars with pickups.
We wanted to broaden maple’s musical appeal by revoicing it to bring out richer tonal qualities like warmth and sustain, which players love in other classic tonewoods like rosewood and mahogany. As a result, Taylor’s new maple 600s yield a fuller, more complete sound that will translate into a more versatile guitar for all types of players and musical scenarios.
The 600 Series incorporates the same tone-enhancing, ultra-thin 3.5 mil (.0035 inch) gloss finish as Taylor’s 800 Series. What’s better is that we also figured out how to apply a rich, dark stain to the wood without adding to the overall material thickness.
The stain (“Brown Sugar”) was inspired by the hand-rubbed stains of the 1920s that were used on maple violin family instruments. It beautifully highlights maple’s fiddleback figure with a warm vintage flair, and also adds a deep hue to the rock maple neck. The spruce tops feature finish alone without the stain to showcase the dark patina created from the torrefaction process.