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  • 2008 Taylor Builders Reserve SB-BR1 Electric Guitar Bastogne Walnut #34 of 75
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    2008 Taylor Builders Reserve SB-BR1 Electric Guitar Bastogne Walnut #34 of 75

    At the time of production Taylor described this guitar as, "one of the most sublime guitar series Taylor has made to date". It comes from a time when Bob Taylor was intimately involved in his custom shop and utilizing the finest materials available. They also describe this guitar as, "a guitar that represents the debut of the Builder's Reserve series and celebrates the launch of the Taylor SolidBody" this being a truly special distinction. This guitar comes with a booklet featuring photos of the life of this Bastogne tree, Bob Taylor overseeing the milling the wood and the builders in the custom shop crafting this fine guitar. There is so much goodness in this guitar, I will attempt to capture it all in this description, but to truly appreciate the quality of this instrument, you have to hold it in your hands and play it through a nice amp. It is next level and by far the finest Taylor electric guitar I have ever played. When I plugged this guitar in my expectations were far exceeded. This instrument has a robust feeling, similar to a Les Paul, but with less weight and more resonance. It has a solid feel in the hand and performs equally well clean with reverb as with a crunchy overdrive. This guitar does it all. It has sweet, robust tones and has an overall feeling of quality and modernity. The body and neck and top of this guitar are all milled from this eye catching master-grade Bastogne Walnut. The gorgeous figuring and curl of the wood draws you in to the beauty of this guitar. If that is not enough to make your eyes pop, the pick-guard is made entirely from inlaid pearl, a feature we have never seen before and may never see again. To top it all off they inlaid the Ebony fret-board with a striking yet tasteful mother of pearl Gothic Vine design. The hardware on this instrument sounds, looks and feels amazing. Featuring Style 1 pickups (Classic, Custom), these pickups are a 3/4-size humbucker that is "clear, punchy and dripping with tone". The bridge was designed entirely from scratch, each string sitting on its own saddle that can be adjusted front to back and side to side! The knobs are a dream as-well, designed by Taylor to "both feel good and work as a functional tool". To top it all off "The top is inlaid into the body, allowing us to define an edge with binding and then contour up to that edge." This guitar comes with a handsome brown suede guitar case, the original case that came with the guitar along with companion documentation.

What are the best guitars for beginners? 

The best guitars for beginners have to be both affordable and high-quality, so that you don't have to struggle and can enjoy excellent tone. We recommend that all beginners start with Taylor guitars, particularly the Academy, GS-Mini or Baby guitars, as they are affordable, North American made and easily adjusted by a skilled guitar tech. Many of our customers have a limited budget, or want a guitar they don't have to worry about taking to the camp fire. In this case, we recommend Yamaha guitars as excellent entry level guitars. We have found that they stand out from the competing in terms of their build quality, playability and they are remarkably durable. In summary, the best guitars for beginners are Taylor and Yamaha guitars. However we always recommend that beginners purchase the best quality guitar they can afford, that way they can enjoy the experience and have an instrument that they can grow into. And the worst guitars for beginners tend to be old ones, with rusty strings and high action (where the guitar strings are hard to press down). In that case, we often recommend getting a fresh new Yamaha or Taylor to get started. Once you move from beginner to intermediate, we have an entire world of professional, top shelf guitars to enjoy from Bourgeois, Collings, Santa Cruz, Lowden, Huss & Dalton, Preston Thompson and more!