![]() ![]() In a theoretical world, you could make the top just a few percent of a millimetre thick. The smaller and smaller the string is, the less mass it has, less inertia it has, to convert the player’s input energy into a mechanical vibration that can actually set that body in motion. “Because, if you are looking at the acoustic guitar as a mechanical amplifier, there are physical limits as to what materials will allow you to do. “Yes, but there is a diminishing return that you’ll experience,” he cautions. Given the generational shifts towards lighter strings among electric players, and modern advancements in string technology, does Powers think it’s possible to make acoustic strings even lighter and still maintain the physical properties required to produce a satisfying tone? The finished armrest bevel provides Academy Series players with a smoother ride I suppose it breeds in a certain amount of determination but instead of that hazing process of saying, ‘Well I learned on a guitar with the strings that far away from the neck’, if you can make it a more comfortable experience right off the bat, I think a player would enjoy it and stay with it a lot more easily.” “Hats off to someone like Eddie Lang who could play a guitar like that! But, on the other hand, how much more music could be made if people didn’t have to work quite so hard at this thing, or if it wasn’t so uncomfortable to hold and it was easier to play? Today, there are a lot more guitar players who are fresh to the instrument than ever before. It sounded pretty good but I don’t think I sounded very good playing it because it was just so dang tough. It had been on there for decades and, I kid you not, it looked like it belonged on a baritone guitar. ![]() He had this Gibson L-5 and one of the strings that was still on the guitar, the low E string, was a string that he had last played on. “I got a chance some years ago to play a guitar that Eddie Lang had owned, the famous jazz player from back in the 20s. The bevelled armrest on a Taylor Academy Series instrument being machined inside the company’s Tecate facility in Baja California, Mexico. “Those string sets offered the player the option of a wound or a plain B string! You consider that for a minute and you go, ‘Woah!’ “I remember reading about guitar strings from the late teens or early 20s, when steel strings were first being adopted for guitars,” says Andy. But if you think the beginner instruments of the 80s or 90s were tough going, spare a thought for the juvenile guitarists of the 1920s. So I think that’s one of the reasons that you tend to see this migration towards more comfortable clothing or fashion styles, you see a migration towards ergonomics in automobiles, you see a migration towards ergonomics in guitar design.” String theoryĪsk any experienced guitarist and they’ll likely share horror stories of their first guitar’s intimidatingly high action. Whether it’s an automobile, clothing, a guitar – there’s a huge push towards making something comfortable because if it feels good, if it’s a pleasant experience, you tend to enjoy it more. “It’s interesting because, speaking broadly, there’s an awareness that this is important in almost every aspect of design. A person is trying to figure out how they interact with this instrument, so if we can make that a more comfortable experience, inevitably it’s going to work better. “Let’s face it,” says Andy, “the first 20 minutes of a guitar player’s life are the worst! The thing basically hurts! It’s hard to press strings down, it’s hard to make a sound, it’s awkward to hold. Indeed, many fledgling players never get past those early hurdles and end up abandoning the instrument altogether. It’s easier and friendlier to pick up and, for a player who is first coming to the instrument, it’s not a turn-off.” One of the central ideas behind that guitar was, if you can make the interaction between the player and the instrument a more comfortable one, the inevitable result is more playing, for longer periods. “It’s actually a theme that was at the forefront of my mind when I was first working on what became the Academy Series guitars,” says Powers. The desire to round over the hard edges of instruments in order to create more approachable guitars is something that we’ve discussed with Taylor’s Master Guitar Designer Andy Powers on numerous occasions – and long before Covid. So what impact, if any, is this having on guitar design? Social media, meanwhile, has become for many the most viable concert stage. What’s also apparent is that playing behaviours have shifted too, with more and more guitarists spending the majority of their playing time in a seated position. With recent data suggesting that there are 16 million more guitar players in North America today than there were prior to the pandemic, it’s clear that our beloved instrument is enjoying something of a moment.
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