A perennial favorite, the Taylor Spring Limiteds, have returned to usher in the season with a freshly inspired vision. Featuring premium selections of walnut, Macassar ebony, and in a unique twist, an all-mahogany series, this year’s Limiteds offer players a broad spectrum of new tones and exquisite details, each in a specially priced package.
The all-mahogany series showcases vintage Americana style and an “earthier” sound with a warm, dry tonal quality. “These guitars have a strong low midrange punch for when a player wants to dig in deep,” says Taylor luthier Andy Powers, “but they retain a sweetness in that same register that can really complement a single note line.” Available in a Grand Auditorium, Grand Concert, Grand Symphony or Dreadnought body shape, the guitars feature an all-mahogany body, tortoise shell binding and a traditional mahogany rich, red stain, with an all-gloss finish. These antique-vibed beauties include small diamond fretboard inlays, Gotoh tuners and CV bracing.
Walnut, a tonewood favored for both its beauty and balanced tone, is offered in two distinct styles this spring. The first is a premium Walnut Series that boasts beautiful AA-grade walnut topped with Sitka spruce and bound in Ivoroid. Additional appointments include Taylor’s past 900 Series inlays, a bone nut and saddle, and Gotoh tuners, along with an all-gloss finish. Three models are offered: W12ce-LTD, W14ce-LTD, and W16ce-LTD. The second batch of walnut guitars are the 400 Series Limiteds, which feature a satin-finish, three-piece walnut back with a maple mini-wedge and matching maple binding, with a gloss-finish cedar top. Other premium appointments include the “pipeline” fretboard inlays and a fishbone rosette. Featured models are the 412ce-LTD, 414ce-LTD, and 416ce-LTD.
Equally exquisite details are found in the striking Macassar ebony Limited models. On the 12-Fret-GC-LTD and 12-Fret-GA-LTD, a back and sides of Macassar meet a cedar top braced with Taylor-designed 12-Fret bracing. Powers calls the tone “darker, warmer, and well-balanced,” and says it will appeal to both the nuanced fingerstyle player and the strummer who favors a “woodsy” sound. Designed with a neck that meets the body at the twelfth fret, the distinctive geometry of the neck and bridge gives these guitars a touch of vintage sweetness. The 12-Fret Limiteds feature an edgeburst top, a bone nut and saddle, koa binding, a Macassar backstrap, a 900 Series abalone rosette, an inlay-free ebony fretboard, and a gloss-finish body.
Macassar also tops the T3/B-LTD, a guitar that screams “ready to rock.” The guitar features a sapele body, an edgeburst Macassar top, and koa binding around the body, fretboard and f-holes, with rosewood/maple purfling on the top. Bezel-set Vintage Alnico pickups give the guitar a fat, warm, sound inspired by older PAF-style pickups. An inlay-free fretboard, chrome tuners and chrome hardware, featuring a roller-style bridge with a Bigsby vibrato, add a vintage touch to an exotic wood.
Each of the acoustic Spring Limiteds features Taylor’s Expression System® and comes in a Taylor hard case. The T3/B includes a T5 case. To learn more about the 2011 Spring Limiteds and for pricing and availability, please visit www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/limiteds/spring2011
