On Wednesday, April 11, 2001, I went to the Taylor Factory to have a K-14c set up by my favorite guitar repairman, Tim. Since I was there, I decided to go on the Factory Tour to see if I could spot a Gray Whale. By the way, if you are really interested in Taylor Guitars, you may want to visit The Taylor Guitar Forum often (The webmaster there put together the Tour). Lots of good discussion there.
Anyway, first I saw the top and back of the Gray Whale in the raw wood department. Now I always enjoy looking at raw wood, and these two pieces of wood were of excellent quality ... major silking on the Engelmann top and beautifully consistent grain on the Mexican Ziricote ... but I was hoping for a bit more ... and I wondered if either of these two pieces would be on my guitar.
In the body department, I spotted a lone unfinished body in a sea of 400, 500, and 600 bodies. It looked so lonesome there by itself. And I thought to myself, "It really should have some friends ... like the time I went on the tour early last year and I saw rows and rows of Living Jewels. Now that was a sight. I wish I had brought my camera back then. All those blue waves glistening in the light ... now that was breathtaking." And then I wondered ... was this the body of my guitar?
Later in the body department, I spotted another lone body, right next to a rosewood body ... this one had been to the finish department ... but still not assembled. "Nice back ... nice side" ... Then I thought about how lonely he looked ... and wondered if I'd soon be his friend ... and then the tour was over.
I felt so disappointed. I had gone on the Tour hoping to see a Gray Whale and all I saw were some parts ... and no sign of a completed instrument. I went a couple months ago with the same intent, and production on the Gray Whales hadn't begun yet. I had since heard from others that they had seen them at the factory ... someone even played one! But no such luck for me. I mentioned this to Jim, the tour guide, who said, "I think I saw a few in the back. Let's go see."
I followed him back to final assembly where someone was inspecting finished instruments, where he showed me a fretboard. I had not seen one while on the tour, and it was nice to see one up close. I marveled at the workmanship at the whales swimming up the fretboard, though it was difficult to see that there were three whales in the dim light. One aspect of the Gallery Series that I really like is the fretboard work ... especially of the Living Jewel.
Then ... he took out a gorgeously breathtaking Gray Whale. In the poorly lit room, the Engelmann top glistened and shimmered, soaking up every bit of light available. As I "oohed" and "ahhed," I remembered I had a camera. With my body shaking in excitement, I snapped several pictures, hoping they would turn out alright.
I left satisfied that I had seen a Gray Whale ... but the story does not end there.
I could not get the guitar out of my mind. It was all I talked about all afternoon and evening. Seeing how impressed I was about the guitar I saw, my husband suggested I attempt to get this particular Gray Whale. I thought about it ... it sure would be nice to have the instrument that had such a profound effect on me at the factory. It was too late to call Buffalo Brothers, so I called the next day. When Bob called back and said that my guitar was being boxed and shipped as we spoke, I just could not believe my ears!
I became even more obsessed with the guitar (if that was possible). I recited its serial number over and over ... I looked at the pictures I had taken and even printed them out. I had sleepless nights as I relived this day. I finally got to hold and play this elusive instrument on Tuesday, April 17, less than a week after I first sighted it, and bring it home.
This guitar is featured in the Winter 2001 (volume 27) issue of Wood & Steel on page 18.
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