A Brief History of Taylor Guitars

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Written by vintage on March 15, 2009 – 2:07 am -

Taylor Guitars got its official start in 1974 with its founders, Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug. However, the story begins much earlier than that in the 60s when popular music spurred by the Beatles got a lot of people itching to play the guitar. The founders were young then, but they started their love of the guitar at around this time.
Eventually, this itch led them to the purchase of a guitar shop with another friend, Steve Schemmer. The shop was modest, and information on the Taylor Guitars site reveals that it was less than ideal. They constantly dealt with water leaks and flooding. But, everyone needs to start somewhere! Their beginnings were rocky and difficult and that first workshop seems to signify that.
Together, the three operated this shop which was then called the Westland Music Company. Their original business idea had the company selling guitars and their parts, repairing them, building them etc. They also decided to call their guitar line Taylors after Bob Taylor, the accomplished luthier of the group. Thus, the long process of trying to run a company and make top notch guitars begins in this little shop.
Long story short, they were eventually successful at both. Now, their company employs over 300 people, all of which play different roles in the company. Kurt Listug is still heavily involved with the company as CEO. They are successful, and the Taylor Acoustic is considered amongst the best acoustic guitars and has achieved world wide renown.
They manufacture 14 different acoustic guitar styles, with multiple models within each category. These include the Bob Taylor, named for the head Luthier, the 100 through the 900 Series, the Presentation Series, the Nylon Series, the KOA Series, and the Walnut Series.
There are also plenty of artists who enjoy their Taylor Acoustic guitars. These include Chris Procter, Pat Kirtley, Artie Traum, Wayne Johnson, Leo Klottke, Babyface, Faith Hill, Billy Idol, Stephen King, Better than Ezra, and scores others. Taylor are considered a special guitar by there owners.