| Taylor 415 |
| The Specs |
Year: 2001Builder: Taylor
Model: 415
Serial Number: 20011030080
Top: Spruce
Body: Ovangkol
Body Binding: White
Cutaway: none
Top Finish: High Gloss
Back/Sides Finish: Satin
Rosette: B&W Multi-Ring
Bridge: Ebony
Saddle: Tusq
Fretboard: Ebony
Fretboard Binding: White
Fretboard Inlay: Pearloid Dots
Neck: Mahogany
Nut: Tusq
Headstock: Rosewood with Taylor Logo
Tuners: Grover Rotomatic, 18:1 Ratio
Tuner Buttons: Chrome
Pickup: none (LR Baggs M1)
Case: Taylor Hardshell Case
Body Size/Shape: Jumbo
Frets: 20
Frets to Body: 14
Nut Width: 1-3/4" (1.75")
Scale Length: 25.5"
Strings: D'Addario EJ16 Phosphor Bronze (.012-.056)
The Story: I bought my first premium-quality acoustic guitar—a spruce/mahogany Taylor 510—back in 1994, and although I've owned many other great acoustic guitars (including a few custom handbuilt guitars) over the years since then, Taylor guitars will always hold a special place in my heart. I'd always wanted a nice jumbo acoustic, ever since I was in high school and playing in my first band. I had a chance to play a maple Guild jumbo from the late 60's or early 70's that belonged to a family member of one of my bandmates. It was the nicest guitar I'd ever seen—let alone played—back then, and I fell in love. I knew I'd have to own a jumbo like that one day. In 1994, when I finally treated myself to a really nice acoustic guitar, I couldn't afford any of the jumbos in the local guitar shops (this was before the age of online guitar shopping). The Guilds and Gibsons were well out of my price range, so I bought the best guitar they had in stock that I could afford—the Taylor 510—and forgot all about jumbos for a while. Fast forward to 2000, and I'm back in my favorite local guitar shop and spot a Taylor 415 jumbo. It wasn't anywhere near as fancy as the Gibson or Guild jumbos, but when I picked it up and strummed the Taylor, in my head it sounded exactly like the Guild I'd fallen in love with almost 15 years earlier. So the 415 followed me home. The following year I started seriously getting into fingerstyle guitar playing, and discovered that smaller-bodied guitars were much more comfortable. I also found that I loved the sound of cedar tops for my melodic style of playing, so I ended up selling both the 510 and the 415 (along with a few other guitars) and started buying some of the guitars that would end up being used on my first album. First was a 2001 cedar/cocobolo 714ce-LTD, which was soon followed by a cedar/mahogany 514ce, a cedar/rosewood 714ce, and a cedar/walnut W14ce. I'm embarrassed to admit how many Taylor guitars I've owned over the last 30 years. But when I was recently looking for another acoustic guitar that I could play in situations where I wouldn't want to risk using my Hamblin, I spotted this 2001 Taylor 415 listed locally for sale/trade, and of course it brought back fond memories of the 2000 model I used to own. So I ended up trading one of my electric guitars to bring it home. This one's got some battle scars from being played for more than 20 years, but it's as comfortable and familar as an old pair of blue jeans—and still has that jumbo sound I fell in love with all those years ago.