Taylor

99
APRIL 2022 GUITARIST
TAYLOR AD27E FLAMETOP
Words David Mead
Photography Olly Curtis
The rest was left up to the vision and
ingenuity of master craftsman Andy Powers
who reasoned that while maple was an
unusual choice for a top wood, as opposed
to the more ubiquitous spruce or cedar,
for instance, there was no reason why it
couldn’t be called into action if it was given
some specialist fettling and was able to
prove its worth in the preliminary stages.
Fine-tuning the maple presented its own
set of challenges, as Andy describes in our
interview that follow this review, where he
elaborates as to why maple can be a little
“squirrelly” when employed as a top wood.
Once the wood was tamed, however,
it was found to produce a tone that was
altogether different to Taylor’s standard
fare. Described as “dusky, woodier, grittier”,
it was leagues away from the more “high
fidelity” sound for which Taylor guitars
TAYLOR AD27E FLAMETOP £2,495
CONTACT Taylor Guitars PHONE [phone] WEB www.taylorguitars.com
Y
ou have to admit that it’s quite a
bold move for Taylor to proclaim
proudly that its latest instrument
“doesn’t sound like a Taylor”. But once
you’re made aware of the rationale behind
the move, things become a little clearer.
A lot of it has to do with supply chain issues
caused by the previous two years and, in
many cases, that are still ongoing.
Luthier-grade wood supplies have been
affected by the fallout caused by the global
pandemic as much as any other commercial
commodity and so rather than allowing
backorders to get to avalanche proportions,
Taylor came out fighting. “Let’s cook
with what we have in the pantry” was
the initiative that caused the company to
re-examine the situation, and a survey of
the timbers that they had in stock revealed
that there was a plentiful supply of maple.
What You Need To Know
Flame maple for an acoustic top?
Okay, so it’s perhaps an unusual
choice, but in a time of serious supply
chain issues Taylor took the initiative
to “cook with what’s in the pantry”
and the company already had a good
supply of flame maple. Experiments
followed, a plan was formed and the
AD27e Flametop was unleashed
into the world.
How does it affect the sound?
If you’re used to the established
sound of a Taylor dread then prepare
to have your eyebrows raised.
There’s a dose of very engaging
earthy, woody tones on offer here.
Is Taylor pursuing its V-Class
bracing with this guitar?
Indeed – and the result is a
noticeable lack of boxiness and
mud in the lower midrange, great
playability and a very balanced
output across the audio range.
1
2
3
1. The new AD27e takes
its place in the ranks
of Taylor’s celebrated
American Dream series
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