Tag Archives: Taylor guitars

LIVE 059 • Perfect & Beautiful

Fingerstyle, LiveElixir strings, Fred Kelly, Taylor 310, Taylor 310e, Taylor Dreadnaught guitar, Taylor guitars, thumbpicks

One day in the fall of 2012, I sat down to record a set of improvised songs with a Taylor dreadnought acoustic guitar. I improvised five original songs and two versions of Amazing Grace. With only one or two false starts, they were mostly first takes. The set was nothing really mind altering, but it had some cool songs with good vibes – so I considered it a success. It’s not the kind of thing I do often – in fact I haven’t done the exercise since, haven’t played any of the original songs again, and don’t consider it the most incredible thing I’ve ever done. Yet somehow it stands out in my mind as a creative milestone, a memorable event. Sometimes it’s important to break out of the mold with such experiments to reach a new frame of mind, a new level. This was the fourth song in the set, which I dubbed “Perfect & Beautiful.”

Recorded with a Taylor 310 and a Tascam DR-40 in Louisville, Kentucky, 9/29/12.

LIVE 060 • Electric 1 (Demo)

Fingerstyle, LiveElixir strings, Fred Kelly, Taylor 310, Taylor 310e, Taylor Dreadnaught guitar, Taylor guitars, thumbpicks

Recorded with a Taylor 310 and a Tascam DR-40 in Louisville, Kentucky, 9/29/12.

GEAR 510 • Armrests on Taylor Guitars

Acoustic, Gearacademy series, acoustic guitar, beveled armrest, custom models, fingerstyle guitar, Guitar Posture, presentation series, radiused armrest, Taylor 900 series, Taylor 912ce, taylor armrest, Taylor guitars

For extended playing sessions on the guitar, especially when wearing a short sleeve shirt, you can develop a set of creases on your picking arm where it lies over the lower bout of the guitar. Taylor has alleviated this problem by offering armrests on some of its guitars at both low and high price points. Their Academy series offers armrests in a budget priced guitar, while more aesthetically refined versions can be found on some of Taylor’s higher end guitars such as their 900 series. Overall, I figured having an armrest would be an improvement, but I am really surprised at how much I’ve enjoyed it. It does make the playing experience more comfortable, especially on longer sessions.

LIVE 049 • Long Mountain Rag

Fingerstyle, Liveacoustic guitar, Alternate Tuning, apogee one, big island, double drop d, Elixir HD Light, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, guitar rag, Hawaii, john hardy preamp, Ki Ho'alu, kihoalu, long mountain, love, mauna loa, Neumann TLM 102, peace, rosewood taylor, Slack Key, Taylor 400 series, Taylor 412ce-R, taylor grand concert, Taylor guitars, thumbpicks

Long Mountain Rag was named in honor of Mauna Loa (Hawaiian for “Long Mountain”), the Big Island of Hawaii’s largest mountain and also the largest active (though not erupting as of this post) volcano on Earth. Measured from its base on the ocean floor, Mauna Loa is the second tallest mountain in the world, topped only by neighboring Mauna Kea (whose peak is 120 feet higher). Long Mountain Rag was influenced by both Bluegrass and Slack Key musical styles. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 412ce LTD (Rosewood/Spruce, Gotoh 510 tuners, strings are Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) and an Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina microphone.

LIVE 054 • Jonquils of Spring

Fingerstyle, Live, Open Tuningsacoustic guitar, altered tunings, apogee one, Elixir HD Light, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, john hardy preamp, love, Neumann TLM 102, original fingertyle, peace, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, rosewood taylor, Taylor 900 series, Taylor 912ce, taylor grand concert, Taylor guitars, thumbpicks, tranquil song

An improvised portrait, Jonquils of Spring features a melody outlined with harmonics and played with a slightly wobbly tempo. A cool sunny spring day helped bring out the mood, and relatively fresh set of strings helped bring out the chimes. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 912ce (Rosewood/Spruce, with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD Light strings) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

LIVE 047 • Keiki Slack Key on Steel String Guitar

Fingerstyle, Live, Slack Keyacoustic guitar, altered tunings, apogee one, Elixir HD Light, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, Hawaii, Ki Ho'alu, love, nahenahe, Neumann TLM 102, open G, open tunings, peace, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, rosewood taylor, Slack Key, Taro Patch, Taylor 400 series, Taylor 412ce-R, taylor grand concert, Taylor guitars, thumbpicks, tranquil song

Not long ago, I posted a nylon string version of the Ray Kane classic “Keiki Slack Key.” Here is a similar version recorded around the same time, but on steel string guitar. Keiki Slack Key (not to be confused with the Sonny Chillingworth song of the same name) is one of the first slack key songs I transcribed, and has stayed on my setlists ever since. To me, Ray Kane is probably the best example of an ‘old style’ slack key player, and his tracks are always nahenahe. I never got to take a lesson from Ray, though I did get to speak to him and his wife Elodia on the phone once, not long before he passed – a cherished memory. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 412ce LTD (Rosewood/Spruce, Gotoh 510 tuners, strings are Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

LIVE 045 • Transition One (3/16/09)

Acoustic, Blue Sky Guitar, Liveacoustic guitar, big island, Elixir HD Light, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, Hawaii, Holualoa, kailua kona, kona coffee, love, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, Taylor 310, taylor 310ce, Taylor 310e, Taylor Dreadnaught guitar, Taylor guitars, thumbpicks, tranquil song

Here is an improvisatory piece recorded for a project I had a few years back. The idea behind the project, called “Awake Again,” was to have a handful of songs that were connected by mostly shorter and improvisatory ‘transitions’ that would act as both glue and palette cleanser between the slightly more structured songs. The wallpaper shows me with my old Taylor 310ce that I used to record this song. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 310ce (Elixir Polyweb 80/20 Bronze) and a matched stereo pair of Shure KSM 141 microphones in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 3/16/09.

GEAR 509 • Taylor Grand Concert Guitars (feat. 912ce)

Acoustic, Gear412ce, 412ce-R, 812ce, acoustic guitar, apogee one, eq, fingerstyle guitar, gotoh 510, Gotoh tuners, guitar for recording, john hardy preamp, love, Neumann TLM 102, peace, rosewood taylor, short scale, Taylor 900 series, Taylor 912ce, taylor grand concert, Taylor guitars, tonewoods

Today, we explore the essentials and benefits of Taylor’s smallest full size guitar, the Grand Concert (GC for short). Grand Concert guitars have a model number that ends in “2” such as the 912ce featured here, and are offered in a variety of styles.

The advantages of Grand Concert guitars is that they are super comfortable, super playable, and super easy to EQ alone or in a mix. These are short scale guitars, which means easier reaches because the frets are slightly closer together and an easier playing feel because of slightly lower string tension. Soundwise, the Grand Concert has a wonderfully balanced EQ and controlled overtones that make it perfect for fingerstyle and recording applications. Grand Concerts sound great on their own and also sit well in a mix with other instruments. Also note, this is Taylor’s featured size for 12 fret models, where the neck joins the body at the 12th rather than the 14th fret. The 12 fret models have a punchier sound that is perfect for roots music.

Overall, Grand Concerts are perfect for fingerstyle and light strumming. They are comfortable to play, and their focused and articulate sound make them great guitars for recording and stage use. Of course they’re also very nice to play at home.

GEAR 507 • My Taylor 412ce-LTD (Rosewood / Spruce)

Acoustic, Gear412ce, 712ce, 812ce, acoustic guitar, Alternate Tuning, bone nut, bone saddle, East Indian Rosewood, ebony, EIR, Elixir, eq, fingerstyle guitar, gotoh 510, Gotoh tuners, grand concert, guitar for recording, harmonics, k12ce, notched diamond inlays, open tuning, Ovangkol, short scale, sitka spruce, Spring Limited, Taylor Fall Limited, Taylor guitars, tonewoods, top wood, torrefied spruce, Tusq

After doing several tangential videos on the acoustic guitar I’ve been using for performances, lessons, etc. on this channel (see links below), I thought it would be fun to do an overview of the guitar and its features for those who are curious. The guitar is a Taylor 412ce, a Fall Limited Edition with what was then a non-standard wood combination of Rosewood/Spruce (400 series typically used Ovangkol/Spruce) that also featured notch diamond inlays not normally used on 400 series guitars. In addition to the grand concert size body and short scale length, I also touch on how the top has aged, the addition of Gotoh 510 tuners, and replacing the nut / saddle with another Tusq set.

LIVE 043 • Earlybird Sunrise

Acoustic, Fingerstyle, Liveacoustic guitar, altered tunings, celtic guitar, Elixir strings, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, love, open tunings, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, taylor 310ce, Taylor Dreadnaught guitar, Taylor guitars, thumbpicks, tranquil song

Today’s song is a demo from years back called “Earlybird Sunrise.” Earlybird is a fingerstyle song with an expansive palette and ambitions of invoking a wide landscape. I also thought it would be fun to pull an old photo of myself – replete with long hair – from around the time I recorded this song. I have my old Taylor 310ce in the photo – a trusty guitar – but Earlybird was probably recorded with a budget model from another brand that was nonetheless fairly playable. It’s in an alternate tuning that I haven’t used since and I can’t recall how to play the song, but I still find it fun to listen to and hope you will enjoy as well.

BlueSkyGuitar.com

Slack Key and Fingerstyle Guitar