TAYLOR BUILDER'S EDITION 324CE

81
AUGUST 2020 GUITAR IST
reviewTAYLOR BUILDER’S EDITION 324CE
But times have changed. We’ve never
been more acutely aware of dwindling
resources where wood is concerned, and
the recent Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (aka CITES)
mandate on rosewoods served as a much-
needed wake-up call for the industry.
Lesson learned.
Since then, we’ve seen companies across
the globe begin to experiment with less
threatened and more sustainable woods,
gradually easing into our consciousness
the message that the good times are far
from over, as long as we’re sensible, but,
more importantly, that there is another
way of doing things.
Bob Taylor has taken the message to
heart and his company is one that is leading
the field in finding an ecologically sound
way forward for guitar making. Taylor’s
Ebony Project has been in place for nearly
a decade, ensuring a properly managed
resource for a timber that features on just
about every acoustic it turns out. Now,
the company has turned its attention to
another supply that was under its nose all
along – urban timber, from trees that form
the green canopy in Taylor’s hometown
of El Cajon and beyond. Teaming up with
the West Coast Arborists, the question was
when trees they were seeing every day on
their way to the factory reached the end of
THE RIVALS
The biggest rival here is Martin, and its
Modern Deluxe OM-28 comes in at just
over £3,661, but we’ve seen them street at
£3,166, too. Also, the Martin Standard D-18
is a whole lotta guitar for £2,375, and well
worth investigating. At this price, you’re
also nosing into the bespoke market with a
Fylde Oberon (£3,500) or Orsino (£2,500).
Alister Atkin’s 000 models are priced
around £2,399. If off-the-peg is your thing,
then Yamaha’s LS56 ARE II and LJ56 ARE II
both come in at £3,495.
The 324ce’s back and sides
welcome in a new recruit to
the timber brigade, but its top
is the more familiar mahogany
GIT461.rev_taylor.indd 81 10/06/2020 12:19