TAYLOR BUILDER'S EDITION 324CE

review
TAYLOR BUILDER’S EDITION 324CE
82
GUITARIST AUGUST 2020
their lives and had to be replaced owing
to damage, weather or disease, where did
they end up? And if the answer was either
landfill or firewood, why not give them a
second life as part of an instrument? After
all, there are an estimated 173 million trees
in California’s urban canopy, so why not do
a few experiments?
Enter Taylor’s chief designer Andy
Powers, who did just that, selecting
a few examples of urban timber that
looked most likely to fit the purpose and
making guitars out of them. Urban Ash,
Taylor’s trademarked name for Shamel
or evergreen ash, proved not only to be a
contender but Andy noted that its qualities
as a guitar-making wood were similar to
Honduran mahogany. The first model
Urban Ash has been used in is the very
one we have before us today, the 324ce
Builder’s Edition. So let’s take a look…
and, more importantly, a listen.
Feel & Sounds
You’re probably as eager as we were to see
what Urban Ash actually looks like. To be
honest, it’s very difficult to give an accurate
report as the Tobacco finish Taylor has used
on the body and neck is very nearly opaque.
Held under strong sunlight, some evidence
of a grain pattern becomes apparent, but
it’s tricky to build an overall picture. From
what we can see, however, there are a few
characteristics that you might find on an
ash Stratocaster – it’s not a photofit, but it’s
certainly reminiscent. There appears to be
quite an attractive cross-patterning, too, like
you sometimes get with spruce tops – that
offset vertical figuring that contrasts the
horizontal grain structure. There might even
be a hint of mahogany about its looks, too.
The mahogany top is more visible under
the finish and everything there looks in
good shape, the simple Italian acrylic
rosette breaking the top’s otherwise
There are 173 million
trees in California’s
urban canopy,
so why not do a
few experiments?
1
1. Our review model is
fi tted with a set of Elixir
Phosphor Bronze light
gauge strings
2. The Urban Ash’s grain
pattern is just visible
through the 324ce’s
Tobacco Burst fi nish
VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra
GIT461.rev_taylor.indd 82 10/06/2020 12:19