Taylor Ukulele in the works

etudes

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 23, 2016
Messages
544
Reaction score
16
Location
Portland OR
Reading this morning in the Q&A section of 'Wood and Steel' that the Taylor Guitars is working on a ukulele. Anyone else as intrigued as I am?
 
They've made them before, though I think it was a special, limited run with uke and matching guitar.
 
Taylor is great at producing instruments that are easy to play and sound nice. I am interested in what they come up with. I wonder what end of the market they are aiming for...
 
Reading this morning in the Q&A section of 'Wood and Steel' that the Taylor Guitars is working on a ukulele. Anyone else as intrigued as I am?

Do they give any details at all? Size? Price range? Estimated time frame for when they'll be in the market? How bad my UAS will be when we get the details? :)
 
Do they give any details at all? Size? Price range? Estimated time frame for when they'll be in the market? How bad my UAS will be when we get the details? :)

Bob Taylor was replying to a question and his comments were short but he mentioned the difficulty in competing with low priced ukes. His final comment was "We have two things in our favor now to entice us to make a ukulele: One the market has really grown, and two, we have small wood, too small for guitars. So I'm happy to say your wish will come true.."
 
Got the opportunity to briefly own and play a Taylor mahogany tenor from one of those 2012 reserve sets this past year. It had nice tone but did not in rank in my top 10 ukes. The pore fill had reacted to cause pimples all over the finish. Not a keeper. Seems Taylor would be a little late to the ukulele party if they brought them out now. Since Collings stopped making ukuleles, maybe Taylor could fill the gap (if there is a gap).
 
Well maybe they will get it right second time round. They do have a big name in guitars but as we have seen in the past that doesn't mean they are ukulele savvy. I'm sure they will get a lot of lookers and sell some but to me you have to have a sustained plan for ukulele market beyond just having a lot of small wood around. No disrespect intended. We've see Larivee come back in the market. I've never played one but was interested due to the name. Perhaps if Taylor ukes were in quantity at Taylor guitar dealer A person might be able to play one. Guitar dealers have a different mentality. They want to sell guitars. Now if Taylor made a nice series of ukuleles and had people like HMS, Uke Republic, MIMs, Elderly etc , ( fill in you Uke dealers name) who were serious about ukulele and didn't solely depend on their guitar dealers........ well who know. I would welcome the opportunity to try one and then see.
 
From what I've seen and heard, Taylor makes wonderful guitars. But I suggest they sell the small wood to an established ukulele builder. There is no gap.
 
Doesn't seem to be any mention online anywhere, would be nice to see a lineup in different price ranges.
 
This is one of the world's worst kept secret. Andy Powers is apparently Bob Taylor's is hand chosen replacement. He has a history with ukes.... http://www.andypowersinstruments.com/models.html
Like the GS Mini bass, GS Mini and Baby Taylor, Taylor has a history of creating new markets or revolutionizing markets. They also have history of making stringed instruments at a superhigh quality and an unsurpassed quality of consistency. It should be interesting. I look forward to Winter NAMM!
 
This is one of the world's worst kept secret. Andy Powers is apparently Bob Taylor's is hand chosen replacement. He has a history with ukes.... http://www.andypowersinstruments.com/models.html
Like the GS Mini bass, GS Mini and Baby Taylor, Taylor has a history of creating new markets or revolutionizing markets. They also have history of making stringed instruments at a superhigh quality and an unsurpassed quality of consistency. It should be interesting. I look forward to Winter NAMM!

That is interesting since I heard Andy Powers built those Taylor ukes for the Reserve sets. Hmm.
Well, I do hope Taylor does produce some new ukes.
 
Snippet from the Summer 2017 issue of Wood & Steel where Bob Taylor replies to the ukulele question

View attachment 102806

I guess Bob Taylor was just trying to make the point that entrry level ukes are cheap but so are guitars. Lots of $150.00 guitars available but his company doesn't make any. With Larrivee in the ukulele market (Collings was as well, not presently)Taylor must realize there is a place for higher quality ukes from a guitar builder. It will be interesting to see what they end up producing
 
I have a couple of Taylor guitars which I love. They are REALLY good at marketing, so I am curious to see where they go with this.
 
This may work out well for them. Taylor is probably the number one manufacturer in the lower/mid level of higher end acoustic guitars. You see them everywhere. There is a niche for them. Right above Pono and below the K brands. Kala Elite was trying to fill it, but I think it is tough to spend almost a grand on a uke with a Kala badge.

Collings are nice, but they did have a bit of sticker shock for a production uke. Great quality although a bit of a love hate, at least the couple I tried a few years ago. IIRC, the initial Larrivee ukes from years ago were not that well received. Tough to crack the market. But if Taylor makes a lightweight tenor, with good sound and playability, their badge may make them a player in the mid level market.

John
 
Last edited:
This may work out well for them. Taylor is probably the number one manufacturer in the lower/mid level of higher end acoustic guitars. You see them everywhere. There is a niche for them. Right above Pono and below the K brands. Kala Elite was trying to fill it, but I think it is tough to spend almost a grand on a uke with a Kala badge.

Collings are nice, but they did have a bit of sticker shock for a production uke. Great quality although a bit of a love hate, at least the couple I tried a few years ago. IIRC, the initial Larrivee ukes from years ago were not that well received. Tough to crack the market. But if Taylor makes a lightweight tenor, with good sound and playability, their badge may make them a player in the mid level market.

John

It will be quite interesting to see what they roll with initially- and whether they eventually offer ukes across a wide price range like their guitars.

My main axe is a 1994 Taylor 812-C. Just keeps getting better. So my hopes are high they can create something special and as you say John, fill a unique niche.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom