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On Location NYC - Rudy's Music Stop
Next to Sam Ash Guitars and Manny's, Rudy's Music Stop rounds out the current offering of West 48th St's famous destination location for guitarists.
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Rudy's Music Stop
Andy Powers’ influence on the substance and style of Taylor guitars has been truly significant. Over his 14-year tenure leading Taylor’s design efforts, he’s introduced entirely new bracing patterns and body profiles—never easy when working for a legacy brand in a tradition-oriented industry. In crafting the new Gold Label 814e Koa Super Auditorium, Powers might have created Taylor’s prettiest body shape yet—a blend of sweeping curves, airy lines, and graceful proportions that, like a river stone, appear as if shaped by water.
Stylish, for sure. But there’s substance in abundance, too. The ever-tinkering Powers reconfigured the V-Class bracing Taylor introduced in 2018 for the new Gold Label 814e guitars. There’s also a new glue-free long-tenon neck—significant news considering how large Taylor’s NT neck looms in the company’s identity. What’s interesting about those moves is that Powers was keen to bake a visceral sense of vintage-ness into this guitar. The Gold Label 814e doesn’t sound much like the old American flattops I run into, but it’s distinguished by sweetness, clarity, balance, and expressive range.
Presence and Proportions
The Super Auditorium body shape that debuts with the Gold Label 814e is a close relative of Taylor’s lovely Grand Auditorium shape, which, at 30 years old, is now a foundational part of Taylor’s line. In fact, the 814e Koa is just 3/16" longer and 1/4" wider than a Grand Auditorium. More obvious is the absence of a cutaway, and the symmetry of the curves highlight lovely, just-about-perfect proportions. It’s a beautiful guitar, but it’s probable the increase in dimensions has more to do with Powers chasing a specific sound. Certainly, more size could align with aspirations to the antique tone glow of a vintage American flattop.
The collective effect of the body dimensions (which live in a sweet spot between grand Concert and dreadnought size) and the modified V-Class bracing means the Gold Label 814e’s voice is distinctive rather than overtly “vintage” (a broad, unspecific term at best). At the risk of disappointing Powers and Taylor, I think the Gold Label 814e exhibits many classically Taylor tone attributes to excellent effect, and the snappy midrange and relatively even string-to-string balance at times evoke an acoustic that’s been EQ’d and compressed by a recording engineer. But what will resonate for many players is the way the Gold Label 814e complements the modern facets of its voice with toasty bass from the 6th string and a little less top-end brilliance from the 1st and 2nd strings—qualities you’re more likely to hear in a guitar with 70 years of toil baked in. In the Gold Label 814e, those tonalities are bookends for a broad midrange that is very present and very Taylor, and whether that whole suits your playing style has a lot to do with how much you can leverage its impressive dynamics. Heavy-handed strumming confirms that the Gold Label 814e is capable of being very loud. It also highlights a pronounced midrange that, for all the guitar’s string-to-string balance, can be a bully if you have a heavy touch. If your approach is more varied and sensitive, though, the extra volume becomes headroom and the midrange becomes a chrome shine set against a dusty desert patina. It’s a killer recipe for fingerstyle. A light touch can still generate detailed, complex overtone pictures, while the high headroom accommodates and inspires high-contrast high-intensity counter phrasings. There’s a lot of room to explore.
Grease the Runway
Playability is, as expected, a strong suit. The action feels extra-easy and encourages hyperactive playing styles as well as languid chording that utilizes the instrument’s sustain, range, and rich pianistic qualities. The 1:21 ratio Gotoh 510 tuners feel ultra-precise, making moves between alternate tunings easy and enhancing an already strong sense of performance stability. Flawless fretwork, meanwhile, feels fantastic and underscores Taylor’s super-high quality. A fatter neck profile certainly would have suited me, and even though you can feel the tiniest hint of a V-profile bump at the neck contour’s apex, it still feels a touch thin. Even so, a lack of hand fatigue and a sense of fleetness in the fingers make the trade-off worthwhile.
Appropriately, for a guitar that costs $4.8k, the Gold Label 814e is a feast for the eyes, but in a sneaky, not-too-extroverted kind of way. The Hawaiian koa back and sides, which are a $300 upcharge from the rosewood-backed 814e, are, along with the Continental inlays, the flashiest element of the instrument. And though the high-quality lumber elsewhere in the guitar (torrefied spruce top, ebony fretboard, mahogany neck, ebony tuning keys) all feel luxurious, the deeply figured koa adds an extra splash of bespoke flash. Seasoned Taylor spotters will also note that the lines of the koa sides are not cluttered with the controls of the Expression System 2 electronics, which have been replaced here by an excellent L.R. Baggs Element VTC system that utilizes controls tucked inside the soundhole.
The Verdict
Though the 814e Koa aspires to 1940s and ’50s American flattop vintageness, it doesn’t always deliver on that count. For the right player, though, the instrument offers a unique and complex voice with a super-wide dynamic range and soft-focus bass and treble tones that temper the midrange. The new glue-free, long tenon neck can be reset fast and inexpensively should that time ever come, which might make the sting of the hefty $4,799 investment feel less risky—at least in maintenance terms. Yep, it’s really expensive. But consider, too, the joys of beholding the 814e Koa’s graceful curves all day—you might be able to justify the cost as a musical instrument as well as art.
It’s easy to characterize Chase Bliss' Joel Korte and “Analog” Mike Piera as pedal-designer opposites. Piera’s work is rooted in understanding what makes great vintage circuits special and building improved, refined, better-quality versions. Korte is often a maximalist (many sounds, many knobs, many possibilities) and an envelope-stretching modernist (unorthodox tones, digital control). But the two builders share much in common. Both are gifted designers, and each is tireless—perhaps obsessive—about chasing specific sounds. The intersections in their methodologies are embodied in the Brothers AM, a Chase Bliss/Analog Man collaboration based on the scarce and much-coveted Analog Man King of Tone dual-gain device.
The Brothers AM nails the creamy, clear, and agreeable essence of the KOT—at least what I know of it. Like many of you, I do not own a KOT and rely on the effusive raves from fellow musicians and what I’ve heard live and in the video sphere. But you don’t need a KOT to hear how good the Brothers AM is. It’s an excellent drive pedal by any comparison. The seamlessly integrated dual-circuit design means it moves readily from very subtle to very vicious tones. It’s even more versatile than its inspiration, thanks to the inclusion of an addictive, dynamite 2-position treble booster and DIP switches that expand the pedal’s tone palette and control options.
Rock-Solid Foundation
The original King of Tone pedal was inspired by a moddedMarshall BluesBreaker which an Analog Man client bought as a less-compressed, less-midrangey Ibanez TS9 alternative. By the time Piera completed the King of Tone, it didn’t sound much like a BluesBreaker. But it achieved other aims: It sounded natural and open and felt touch responsive. As the KOT evolved it effectively became two drive pedals in one—each of which could be configured as a boost, drive, or distortion. This KOT iteration is the foundation for the Brothers AM.
The many controls on most Chase Bliss pedals induce panic among some players. If you’re among them, Brothers AM won’t do much to calm your nerves—at least at first. In reality, though, the Brothers AM is easy to know. The six knobs are two identical sets of gain, volume, and tone controls for the two circuits. You switch each circuit between boost, OD, and distortion using two dedicated toggles on either side of the 3-position treble booster switch. The DIP switches on the pedal’s crown make it possible to add extra gain, reconfigure the footswitches for momentary bypass, repurpose volume and tone knobs as master volume and presence controls, save and switch between two additional presets, assign expression pedal control, and more.
Manifold Monster
One of the Brothers AM’s great strengths is its agreeable nature. It doesn’t seem to give a hoot what guitar or amp you throw in the pool with it. This easygoing personality makes it a great backline-surprise coping tool. Got a Telecaster and an AC15 conspiring to run you through with treble daggers? A dose of the Brothers AM’s soft-clipping OD and a dark tone setting will turn those sharp ends to honey without sapping too much energy. Need to slice through humbucker fog? A dollop of top end and a bump from the treble boost will cut through pea soup. Finding these agreeable baseline tones for a given guitar/amp combination is easy. But what’s most satisfying is shaping, refining, and recombining the Brother AM’s two basic voices into so many completely different identities.
Another great thing about the Brothers AM: You know how a lot of overdrives turn to mud at low amp volume? The Brothers AM sounds and feels great in this role. The range and interactivity between the tone and gain controls enables hot, lively tones and touch-responsive playing dynamics. The Rangemaster-voiced booster shines in this context, too. I got full-bodied, sparkling sounds from a 35-watt Fender Vibrolux whilst leaving room for an unamplified acoustic and voice in the same room. And it's easy to hear how Brothers AM will excel in small or home studios just as readily as it does in big rooms with big, loud amps.
If the Brothers AM has a drawback, it’s the heavily colored compression at the highest gain levels. But if the Brothers AM doesn’t shine brightest at these settings, the relative headroom and kinetic bump at most others underscore how you don’t need maximum gain to make your tone as hot as the hinges of Hades.
The Verdict
The Brothers AM makes almost any guitar or amp feel more alive and muscular, in shades ranging from a hint of heat and mass to fuzzy, fierce, and very loud. Though many stompbox clockers categorize the Brothers as a transparent overdrive, it does possess a compressed coloration throughout its range. It’s less cramped in the midrange than a vintage TS9, just as its creators intended. But if super-oxygenated boost-to-light-overdrive tones are the goal, you still might be better served by a good Klon clone or a preamp pedal that mixes in a clean signal. For anyone else, the Brothers AM is full of delights. It lends extra body and fullness to any tone recipe without stripping away instrument or amp personality. It’s effective in small rooms where you still want big-amp sound, but the visceral way it elevates a louder amp—especially with the thrilling treble booster in the mix—can make a player giddy. The Brothers AM, as suits its name, is like the kid at school that gets along with everyone. It doesn’t matter if you have a Rickenbacker and a Vox, an SG and a Deluxe Reverb, a baritone and a Marshall, or a decrepit old lipstick-pickup Silvertone and a Champ—all of them can sound and feel extra exciting along a spectrum that spans a gentle push and raging roar.
Previously, John Bohlinger was curious about what active pickups could do for his anemic 1994 Stratocaster and EMG offered their drop-and-go Steve Lukather SL20 Pickguard set. JB was floored with the guitar's fresh voice and responsive dynamics he wanted to expand the active experiment to his beloved 2003 GibsonLes Paul. So we got a set of EMG Fat 55 Retro Active Humbuckers that required a full install and our luthier friend Dave Johnson walks us through the whole process before John got to test out his old friend's tonal makeover.
Learn more about EMG Fat 55 Retro Active Humbuckers here.
The Irish post-punk band’s three guitarists go for Fairlane, Fenders, and a fake on their spring American tour.
We caught up with guitarists Carlos O’Connell and Conor Curley from red-hot Dublin indie rock outfit Fontaines D.C. for a Rig Rundown in 2023, but we felt bad missing bassist Conor “Deego” Deegan III, so we’ve been waiting for the lads to make their way back.
This time, riding the success of their fourth LP, 2024’s Romance, we caught up with all three of them at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works ahead of their April 30 gig to see what they brought across the pond.
Curley’s go-to is this Fairlane Zephyr, loaded with Monty’s P-90s and a Mastery bridge. It mostly stays in standard tuning and, like his other axes, has Ernie Ball Burly Slinky strings.
Blue Boy
Fender sent Curley this Jazzmaster a couple of years ago, and since then, he’s turned to it for heavier, more driven sounds. It’s tuned to E flat, but Curley also tunes it to a unique shoegaze-y tuning for their tune “Sundowner.”
You can also catch Curley playing a Fender Johnny Marr Jaguar.
Twin Win
Fender Twin Reverbs are where Conor Curley feels most comfortable, so they’re his go-to backline. The amps are EQ’d fairly flat to operate as pedal platforms.
Conor Curley’s Pedalboard
Curley’s pedalboard for this tour includes a TC Electronic PolyTune3 Noir, Strymon Timeline, Boss RV-6, Boss PN-2, Boss BF-3, Keeley Loomer, Death by Audio Echo Dream, Fairfield Circuitry Hors d'Ouevre?, Strymon Sunset, Strymon Deco, DigiTech Hardwire RV-7, Electro-Harmonix Nano POG, and Lehle Little Dual.
Fake Out
Connor Deegan didn’t own a bass when Fontaines D.C. began, and his first purchase was the black Fender Jazz bass (right)—or so he thought. He later discovered it was a total knock-off, with a China-made body, Mexico-made neck, and a serial number that belongs to a Jaguar. But he fell in love with it, and its sound—nasal on the high strings, with cheap high-output pickups—is all over the band’s first record, Dogrel. Deego plays with orange Dunlop .60 mm picks, and uses Rotosound Swing Bass 66 strings.
Deegan picked up the Squier Bass VI (left) for its “surfy vibes,” and upgraded the pickups and bridge.
Also in his arsenal is this 1972 Fender P-bass (middle). (He’s a bit nervous to check the serial number.)
V-4 You Go
Deego plays through an Ampeg V-4B head into a Fender 6x10 cabinet.
Conor Deegan’s Pedalboard
Deegan’s board includes a Boss TU-3, Electro-Harmonix Hum Debugger, Boss TR-2, modded Ibanez Analog Delay, Death by Audio Reverberation Machine, Boss CE-2w, Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI, Darkglass Electronics Alpha Omega Ultra, and Dunlop Volume (X) Mini pedal. A GigRig QuarterMaster helps him switch sounds.
Mustang Muscle
Carlos O’Connell favors this 1964 Fender Mustang, which has been upgraded with a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails pickup since Romance. It’s set up so that the single-coil pickup is always on, and he’ll add in the Hot Rails signal for particular moments.
Ghost of Gallagher
Mustang Muscle
After getting to play a number of Rory Gallagher’s guitars thanks to a private invitation from the guitarist’s estate, O’Connell picked up this Fender Custom Shop Rory Gallagher Signature Stratocaster. The jangly, direct tone of this one is all over tunes like “Boys in the Better Land.”
More Fender Friends
O’Connell runs his guitars, including a vintage Martin acoustic which he picked up in Nashville, through a Fender Twin Reverb and Deluxe Reverb.
Carlos O’Connell’s Pedalboard
The gem of O’Connell’s board is this Soundgas 636p, an imitation of the infamous Grampian 636 mic preamp’s breakup. Alongside it are a TC Electronic PolyTune, Ceriatone Centura, Strymon Volante, Eventide H9, Orchid Electronics Audio 1:1 Isolator, Vein-Tap Murder One, MXR Micro Amp, Moog MF Flange, MXR Smart Gate, and Freqscene Koldwave Analog Chorus. A Radial BigShot ABY navigates between the Twin and Deluxe Reverb.
See and hear Taylor’s Legacy Collection guitars played by his successor, Andy Powers.
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.