Hand Guitars was founded by luthier JP Thomas, a self-proclaimed “tinkerer” who learned about guitars by taking apart his first guitar—a late-’40s Sears-Roebuck resonator. Before long we was rebuilding friends’ guitars, and then he landed a gig at an L.A. music store in the ’60s. Twenty years ago, he left the States for Australia, Indonesia, Japan, and finally to Hawaii.
“While collecting old pickups, I decided in 2003 to build my own relic’d guitars to hear the pickups,” says Thomas. “As guitar production progressed, so did my enthusiasm for exotic materials from previous projects in Asia—such as coconut shells, bamboo, and cinnamon bark. In October 2009, I had one of those ‘aha!’ moments: I glanced over at a gecko figurine on my desk that polymer-clay artist Jon Anderson had given me 10 years prior, and I envisioned those patterns on a guitar. That flash literally catalyzed the entire Hand Guitars project.”
The polymer-clay aspects of Hand Guitars’ subsequent projects were designed, created, and controlled by artist Anderson, who has been working with polymer clay for 20 years. Anderson applied his three-dimensional artwork and processes to create two-dimensional graphics that would work on Thomas’ guitars. “I took knowledge from my glass-making techniques to help transform the clay designs into something thin, audio-transparent, and applicable to the shapes and contours of a guitar’s body,” says Anderson. The polymer clay is bought, designed, and molded in a soft, Play- Doh-like compound that is then heated to create a 3mm-thick cap for a guitar body. The resulting polymer clay is more like the acrylic on pickguards than its original, gooey, molding state. (Visit hand-guitars.com/node/71 to see video of Anderson’s polymer-clay work.)
Naturally, gearhounds will want to know how the polymer clay affects the guitars’ tone. “The tone of our electric guitars comes from the thickness of the neck, the quartersawn Canadian maple, the rosewood or ebony fretboards, the TonePros, Gotoh, and Hipshot hardware, bushings that are deeply mounted into the one- and two-piece bodies, the Duncan pickups, and the vintage, paper-in-oil capacitors,” says Thomas. “For us, I think it’s important that we started with guitars that players already understand. The current line of Hand Guitars are certainly reminiscent of all the guitars I have ever owned and appreciated, but my sole design objective was to create shapes that were suitable canvases for the unique materials that Jon and I create.”
Telepath
The Telepath model shown above is nicknamed “KoKo” and it has a two-piece tropical ash body that features a 3mm coconut-shell mosaic cap. It’s assembled with a slender, C-profile Sulawesi ebony neck with 21 jumbo frets. Other appointments include a coconut-shell composite nut, Gotoh tuners, and high-quality, medium-torque 250k Bourn pots. This one is fitted with Seymour Duncan Vintage Stack Tele single-coils.
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This Strat-style model features a two-piece tropical ash body that’s covered with Anderson’s voodoo-influenced polymer-clay art and loaded with three custom, handwound pickups. It has a slender, C-profile maple neck topped with a 21-fret maple fretboard. The nut is made from a coconut-shell composite.
Tonero
The 25 1/2"-scale Tonero features a one-piece East Java mahogany body with a Polynesian tribal-style polymer-clay center panel and a, three-piece mahogany neck with a Sulawesi ebony fretboard that has 22 jumbo frets. The hardware includes a TonePros ATVII wrap-around bridge, a choice of Hipshot or Gotoh tuners, and a coconut-shell truss rod cover. This particular model is equipped with Seymour Duncan P-Rails, but several pickup options are available.
Tonero
Pricing and Availability
Hand Guitar’s handbuilt, one-of-a-kind custom guitars range anywhere from $1800 to $3600, depending on the complexity of the design and how much polymer clay is applied to the guitar. More intricate polymer-clay designs can go for as much as $6000. “We’re open to just about anything you dare to dream,” says Thomas. Currently, Hand Guitars’ wait time is about three months.
hand-guitars.com
Last year, Taylor Guitars capped its 50th Anniversary by introducing a new guitar collection celebrating the contributions of co-founders Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug to the guitar world. The Legacy Collection revives five of Bob Taylor’s classic acoustic models, curated by the legendary luthier and innovator himself. “To imagine that we’re doing guitars that harken to our past, our present and our future all at the same time,” Bob says, “I really like that.”
In developing the collection, Bob preserved the essence of his originals while integrating performance and playability upgrades introduced during his tenure as designer-in-chief. “It’s an up-to-date version of what those guitars would be,” Bob explains, “but with the same sound.”
Visually, these guitars feel classic—clean, understated and unmistakably Taylor. While Bob’s original aesthetic preferences are showcased in his Legacy models, the nod to the past runs deeper than trade dress.
From his earliest builds, Bob favored slim-profile necks because he found them easier to play. That preference set a design precedent that established Taylor’s reputation for smooth-playing, comfortable necks. Legacy models feature slim mahogany necks built with Taylor's patented New Technology (NT) design. “My first neck was a bolted-on neck but not an NT neck,” Bob says. “These are NT necks because it’s a better neck.” Introduced in 1999, the NT neck allowed for unprecedented micro-adjustability while offering a consistent, hand-friendly Taylor playing experience.
What makes this collection unique within the Taylor line is Bob’s use of his X-bracing architecture, favoring his time-tested internal voicing framework over more recent Taylor bracing innovations to evoke a distinctive tone profile. Since Andy Powers—Taylor’s current Chief Guitar Designer, President and CEO—debuted his patented V-Class bracing in 2018, V-Class has become a staple in Taylor’s premium-performance guitars. Still, Bob’s X-bracing pattern produces a richly textured sound with pleasing volume, balance and clarity that long defined the Taylor voice. All Legacy models feature LR Baggs VTC Element electronics, which Bob says “harkens back to those days.”
The team at Taylor thought the best way to demonstrate the sound of the Legacy guitars was to ask Andy Powers, Bob’s successor, to play them. A world-class luthier and musician, Andy has spent the past 14 years leading Taylor’s guitar innovation. In addition to V-Class bracing, his contributions include the Grand Pacific body style, the ultra-refined Builder’s Edition Collection, and most recently, the stunning Gold Label Collection.
Below you’ll find a series of videos that feature Powers playing each Legacy model along with information about the guitars.
Legacy 800 Series Models
First launched in 1975, the 800 Series was Taylor’s first official guitar series. Today, it remains home to some of the brand’s most acclaimed instruments, including the flagship 814ce, Builder’s Edition 814ce and new Gold Label 814e.
The Legacy 800 Series features the 810e Dreadnought and two Jumbos: the 6-string 815e and 12-string 855e. Each model serves up a refined version of the Dreadnought and Jumbo body shapes Bob inherited from Sam Radding—the original owner of the American Dream music shop where Bob and Kurt first met. “I was making my guitars in the molds that Sam had made at American Dream,” Bob recalls. “There was a Jumbo and a Dreadnought. That’s all we had.”
All three Legacy 800 Series guitars feature one of Bob’s favorite tonewood combos. Solid Indian rosewood back and sides are paired with a Sitka spruce top, yielding warm lows, clear trebles and a scooped midrange.
Aesthetic appointments include a three-ring abalone rosette, mother-of-pearl Large Diamond inlays, white binding around the body and fretboard, and Bob’s “straight-ear” peghead design. Both Jumbo models also showcase a mustache-style ebony bridge—a nod to Bob’s early Jumbo builds.
Legacy 810e
The 810 Dreadnought holds a special place in Bob Taylor’s heart. “My first 810, the one I made for myself, was a thrilling guitar for me to make,” he says. “It’s the one and only guitar I played. It didn’t matter how many guitars we made at Taylor, that’s the one I took out and played.” The Legacy 810e brings back that bold, room-filling Dreadnought voice along with the easy playability expected from a Taylor.
Taylor Guitars | Legacy 810e | Playthrough Demo
Legacy 855e
Taylor’s first 12-strings found an audience in 1970s Los Angeles. “I was making guitars that would find their way to McCabe’s in Santa Monica and Westwood Music,” Bob says, “and these guitars were easy to play. Twelve-strings were a popular sound in that music. It was a modern country/folk/rock music genre that was accepting our guitars because they were easy to play. They also liked the sound of them because our guitars were easier to record.” The Legacy 855e, with its resonant Jumbo body, slim neck and gorgeous octave sparkle, carries that tradition forward.
Taylor Guitars | Legacy 855e | Playthrough Demo
Legacy 815e
The Legacy 815e revives Taylor’s original Jumbo 6-string, delivering a big, lush sound with beautifully blooming overtones.
Legacy Grand Auditoriums
In the early 1990s, Bob Taylor heard a consistent refrain from dealers: “Not everybody wants a dreadnought guitar anymore.” Players were asking for something with comparable volume but different proportions—something more comfortable, yet still powerful. This feedback inspired Bob to design a new body style with more elegant curves, more accommodating proportions and a balanced tonal response. The result was the Grand Auditorium, which Taylor introduced in 1994 to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
Thanks to its musical versatility and easy playability, Bob’s Grand Auditorium attracted a wide variety of players. “We came into our own with our Grand Auditorium,” he says. “People were describing it as ‘all around.’ It’s a good strummer and good for fingerstyle, but it’s not totally geared toward strumming or totally geared toward fingerstyle.” Also referred to as the “Swiss-Army Knife” of guitars or the “Goldilocks” guitar, the GA quickly became a favorite among guitarists across playing styles, musical genres and different playing applications including recording and live performance. “That guitar made studio work successful,” Bob says. It gained a wider fanbase with the debut of the “ce” version, which introduced a Venetian cutaway and onboard electronics. “That became one of our hallmarks,” says Bob. “If you want to plug in your guitar, buy a Taylor.”
Today, the Grand Auditorium is Taylor’s best-selling body shape.
The Legacy Collection features two cedar-top Grand Auditoriums inspired by past favorites: the mahogany/cedar 514ce and rosewood/cedar 714ce. Both models incorporate Bob’s original X-bracing pattern for a tonal character reminiscent of their 1990s and 2000s counterparts. Shared aesthetic details include a green abalone three-ring rosette, ebony bridge pins with green abalone dots, a faux-tortoiseshell pickguard and Taylor gold tuning machines.
Taylor Guitars | Legacy 815e | Playthrough Demo
Legacy 514ce
The Legacy 514ce features solid mahogany back and sides paired with a Western Red cedar top, yielding a punchy midrange and dry, woody sonic personality that pairs beautifully with cedar’s soft-touch sensitivity and warmth. It’s a standout choice for fingerstyle players and light strummers who crave nuance and depth. Distinct visual details include faux-tortoise body and fretboard binding, black-and-white top trim, and mother-of-pearl small diamond fretboard inlays.
Taylor Guitars | Legacy 514ce | Playthrough Demo
Legacy 714ce
The Legacy 714ce also features a cedar top, this time matched with solid Indian rosewood back and sides. The result is a richly textured sound with deep lows, clear trebles and a warm, mellow response. Inspiring as it is, this specific wood pairing isn’t currently offered in any other standard Taylor model. Additional aesthetic details include green abalone dot fretboard inlays, black body and fretboard binding, and black-and-white “pinstripe” body purfling.
While the Legacy Collection spotlights Taylor’s past, newer models from the Gold Label, Builder’s Edition and Somos Collections show the company’s legacy is always evolving. Explore the Legacy Collection at taylorguitars.com or visit your local authorized Taylor dealer.
