Pickers don’t come much quicker than
Doyle Dykes. His lyrical and popping
fingerstyle wizardry, while rooted in bluegrass
and Chet Atkins’s Nashville-meets-jazz
approach, draws upon melodic pop sensibilities
of the Beatles and U2 among others.
But no matter how Doyle approaches
a song, it’s sure to be resplendent with fast
and flying pick work. And while Doyle
could probably rip “Wabash Cannonball”
on a Sears Silvertone left for dead in a
chicken shack since Eisenhower was prez,
it’s no accident he has a long-standing relationship
with Taylor—who above all other
considerations, try to build the most playable
guitar every time out.
A few years back, the partnership
between Taylor and Dykes yielded the
Doyle Dykes DDSM, a pricey spruce-and-maple
Grand Auditorium model with a
Florentine cutaway that was about as buttery
a guitar as you could build. Neither
Taylor nor Dykes wanted to bar more
frugal buyers from the party, however. So
this year, they unveiled the Doyle Deluxe,
an acoustic/electric with a solid spruce top
and laminated maple back and sides, and
a slick, fast feel that will make any aspiring
Doyle feel ready to roll.
Slick and Black as Night
The glossy black Doyle Deluxe manages
to look flashy and low-key. Based to some
extent on the Taylor 200 Series guitars, it
trades the DDSM’s Florentine cutaway for
a Venetian cutaway that enables access all
the way up to the 20th fret on the 1st string
(though the pointed neck heel can make
that reach feel less than totally effortless).
Elsewhere, the bling is kept to a minimum.
Chet Atkins-style thumb inlays, like those
you might see on an old Gretsch, adorn the
ebony fretboard on the 25 1/2" scale neck,
and a Doyle Deluxe logo that mixes the
stylistic elements of Doyle’s signature and a
’50s-style car emblem adorns the signature
Taylor headstock.
On the section of the upper bout closest
to the neck joint, you’ll find the three low-profile
controls (Volume, Bass, and Treble)
for the Taylor ES-T preamp and undersaddle
transducer system. An integrated endpin
jack and 9V battery compartment assembly
makes plugging in and changing the battery
a breeze. And a phase switch is easily
reachable just inside the soundhole on the
preamp board.
Fast and Easy
The Doyle Deluxe does seem genuinely
geared for the style of its namesake. Low,
fast, and slinky, the action really invites
a fingerpicking approach, if you’re so
inclined. Our review DDX, as it’s also
known, came strung with light (.012-.053)
Elixirs, and while you could put much
heavier wire on this guitar, it’s hard to
imagine sacrificing the reactive, balanced
feel you get under your picking hand.
The combination of light strings, low
action, and long scale beckon you to play
fast and throw around bends, hammer-ons,
and legato runs. And while those elements
can conspire to make the DDX sound cool
for rapid-fire flatpicking, it’s really best for
a nuanced fingerpicking approach with
thumbpick or bare fingers. If you’re bent
on using the DDX as a flatpicking weapon,
you may want to consider adding a little
relief in the neck. Really digging in and
bending a full step past the 7th fret on the
1st and 2nd strings resulted in everything
from slight buzzing to a minor, but discernable
thinning of the tone. (The tradeoff?
Some very cool false harmonics when you
stab the pick right at the 20th fret.)
The DDX’s voice, like that of many
Taylors, is exceptionally present in the
midrange, but that doesn’t mean the guitar
doesn’t have plenty of bass and high-end
on tap. The Grand Auditorium body helps
strike a really lovely balance between muscular
and delicate. And the guitar’s even,
open sound makes alternate and open tunings
sound rich, ringing, and harmonically
complex, and invites melodic work on the
3rd and 4th strings and a thumping thumb
on detuned 5th and 6th strings. That quality
is doubly surprising given the laminate
used on the sides and arched back. If you’re
among those who are dubious about the
potential of laminated back and side wood
to generate gorgeous tones, a spin with the
DDX will likely find you thinking twice.
Plugged into a Fishman Loudbox Mini,
the DDX’s ES-T system sounded remarkably
transparent and well suited for the Deluxe’s
bright voice. Kicking up the treble and volume
simultaneously had the system quacking
a little—particularly from heavy finger
plucks and bass-string thumps. But the
ES-T’s tone controls are also quite responsive.
And given the midrange heavy nature of
the Deluxe’s acoustic voice, there was a lot of
room to dial out excessively ringing high-end
frequencies and more synthetic-sounding
mids. The system also responded well to the
Taylor’s even and glistening qualities when
I used my picking hand more gently. And
it rewards a lighter flesh-on-steel fingerstyle
technique, if that’s your approach.
The Verdict
The Taylor Doyle Deluxe is one of the
quickest-feeling flattops I’ve played in a
while. What’s more, it’s voiced to take
advantage of lighter strings and fingerpicking—
reactive in the high and midrange
with plenty of sustain for droning and
thumb-thumped bass patterns.
Some players may be hesitant to drop
$1200 for a guitar with laminated back
and sides. But the construction is flawless,
and many players would be hard
pressed to identify the tone as typical of a
laminated guitar if you blindfolded them.
The Doyle Deluxe is a Taylor through
and through. And if you’re a fan of the
full, but midrange-centric tones so closely
associated with the brand, you’ll have a
lot to work with in the DDX. This is a
guitar that really begs to be played, and
that kind of relationship with a guitar is
not always one you can buy at any price.
In that sense, the beautifully built Doyle
Deluxe is worth every penny.
Buy if...
you’re looking for a vehicle for fast-flying,
fingerstyle playing that breaks
the fingerstyle axe mold.
Skip if...
huskier, antique, and woodier tones
are essential to your fingerstyle method
or you’re a heavy-handed flatpicker.
Rating...
