Taylor Guitar Factory Tour

    While visiting family in California in August I finally had a chance to visit the deceptively elusive Taylor Guitar Factory in El Cajon (north San Diego County).  On several previous trips I happened to visit during Christmas and the 4th of July, which happen to be the two times of the year when the factory is shut down.  Not this time!

     Marisa and I had toured the C.F. Martin Guitar Factory in Nazareth, PA years ago, but since I play a Taylor this place had a special meaning for me.  In this post I just want to give you an overview tour in pictures to give you an idea of the process (not necessarily in the correct production order, but in the order of appearance on the tour).



Taylor rounds up loads of exotic wood from all over the world.  They condition it in this covered area just outside of the factory until it's of the desired humidity, etc. 

When the wood is ready, they take large sheets of it and trim it down into more user friendly pieces.

Once thin panels are cut out, they are matched together, glued, and clamped.  One day they'll make a lovely top or bottom piece. 

Notice the symmetry on these pieces that've been glued.  They use cuts from the same board in order for the grain to match.

I couldn't get a great shot of the laser-cutting machines that cut out small pieces for bracing as well as the soundholes and grooves for inlay. 

By hand, these workers can carve out more intricate designs and inlay the tops with mother of pearl and abalone shell.

 

The assembled bodies are buffed evenly using a robotic arm and buffing wheel in this booth. 

In an adjacent section these workers are doing some additional buffing using hand tools.

Here's a glimpse at the diversity of the guitars that are cranked out in this place on a daily basis. 

In the electronics section, workers install pick-ups and test out the tuners.

 One of the special features of Taylor guitars is the joint where the neck meets the body.  Traditionally, many instrument makers accomplish this with a dove-tail joint.  Here they have an assembly that allows the neck to be bolted.  See the picture below for the neck fitting.

In a separate building workers shape and finish the necks.  Again, notice the diversity of different styles here. 

Apparently the neck is the most difficult part to make, requiring the most labor.

This lady hammers in the frets along the neck. 

Besides the body/soundhole, the neck is also a great place to include custom designs and inlay.

 Back in the main building the technical details of bracing are explained.  These patterns allow the tension on the guitar from the strings to be dissipated and not rip the body apart.

 

Lastly, we have the machines that bend the thin strips for the sides of the guitar into place.

 

The shaping machines are assisted by these heating elements that help to dry the wood into position. 

Post-tour pose in the showroom.

     We had a really great time visiting Taylor.  Compared with CF Martin, I'd say that the tour is similar but Martin has a more elaborate museum/showroom with a lot of their signature guitars made for different famous musicians.  The people at Taylor are very down-to-earth and friendly, and it was nice to see all of the hard work behind the guitar that I've been playing for the last twelve years or so.

--Justin





















Miscell-Asian: Photo-Taking 101

Justin and I come across a lot of things while living in Hong Kong that an American would just not see on a day to day basis. We have been collecting observations that we want to share with you about Hong Kong culture or the general term "Asian". One of my favorite things about living overseas is learning the nuances of another culture. While with any culture some traditions or customs can be frustrating, I have found that the fun or interesting ones outweigh any of the annoying ones. The things I have loved the most are little sayings or phrases they use and of course the food. Just this weekend while on a run, a man explained to us that we were running at the hottest time of day (11-2) during this time of year and they call it the "Autumn Tiger". I just love it!

To kick-off our "Miscell-Asian" series of posts we are going to look at the art of photography.  As many of us know Asians like to take pictures and that has definitely been seen in Hong Kong and even on our travels outside Hong Kong. From scenery, landscapes, sights to food and a lot of themselves. I thought this video did a great job of illustrating the various stances and subjects that arise when an Asian wields a camera.



We hope none of these posts offend anyone and that is definitely not the purpose of them. We just want to showcase a few interesting cultural aspects of living in Asia to our friends and family. We hope you enjoy these posts and maybe learn a thing or two about life in the East.

--Marisa

Jackson US Summer Tour: VA

I had the added bonus of visiting the beautiful state of Virginia and visiting with some of my dear friends. The main reason for my visit to Virginia was to take my last two master's on-campus classes called intensives at Liberty University. I did the same thing last summer and it was good to be a college students again. But school is boring to talk about so lets talk about more exciting things. One of my best friends from college, Lauren, lives in Harrisonburg, VA and I got to meet her adorable son, Luke.

The little guy, Luke

Seeing Lauren is always good for the soul and even with the miles between us we always fall back into right where we left off.

The surprise of my visit with Lauren was I got to see her sweet mom, Leslie. I had not seen her in about 2 years so it was such a nice treat.

The whole family and a redhead

In addition to Luke and Leslie, I also got to see Lauren's husband's sister, Brittany. It was a full house and filled with tons of fun.

After my second week of classes I headed to Charlottesville to visit some of mine and Justin's best friends from college, the Tisons. 

This is probably my 3rd or 4th visit to Charlottesville and every time I like it more and more. What a great place!

One awesome part of this visit was the last minute visit with my girl, Kristen. Mad props to her for working a 12-hour nursing day and driving an hour from Richmond. Man I love that girl and it had been way too long. Thanks Chris for giving us a girls' night!

This guy was my favorite. Chris and Liz's son, Noah, is so animated and talkative and I could just eat him up. I mean look at him!

We were best buddies by the end of two days!

Visiting good friends always centers me. I can be myself and just be silly. I had great conversation, good food, and lot of smiles and laughs. Thanks VA friends for letting me take over your life for a few days. Lots of love!

--Marisa

Jackson US Summer Tour 2013 - CA

     With the hopes of finding a little down time before going back to Hong Kong we spent our last week in Huntington Beach with an overnight trip down to Escondido in North San Diego County.  Our time consisted of visiting with family and friends, spending time at the pool and beach, and of course - visiting breweries.

     Highlights from our time in California:

1.  Brewery tours in North San Diego County
     Since San Diego County is unofficially the mecca of craft beer these days with over 60 breweries, a quick trip down to the northern bit was a must.  Marisa researched the area and found that a few breweries that we've tried were very near each other and would make for a good road trip.  We were spoiled with having Susan as our designated driver and made a stop at Port Brewing Co./The Lost Abbey, Mother Earth, and Stone.  We had an excellent itinerary and were able to meet up with family in the area for dinner at the Stone brewery before spending the night in Escondido and hitting up the Taylor Guitar factory the next day.

First stop on the tour was Port/Lost Abbey, which we came across from a distributor in Hong Kong, oddly enough.  The Lost Abbey tends to brew belgian styles like another brewery in the area that we weren't able to visit - Iron Fist. 

Since Susan is a recently retired school teacher, it was time to turn the tables and take her on a field trip to learn about the world of "craft" beer.  This photo was taken just seconds before her mind was literally blown. 

I was impressed by the huge variety of beers that these breweries offer in this relatively small brew space - the former Stone brewery before they moved to their current location down the road.  While we didn't love most of their beers, you can hand select the beers that you taste - each for the very reasonable price of $1 per tasting (no matter the gravity). 

Since two other recommended breweries were closed on Tuesdays (Iron Fist and Latitude 33), we took a short drive up to Vista to the Mother Earth Brew Co.  The tastings here were $2 each and I must say that these guys blew us away with fantastic versions of a variety of styles.  I was also able to sample a peanut butter stout and not die - the bartender promised that they used a peanut extract which doesn't tend to cause reactions. 

Quite possibly the best pale ale I've ever had - the Pin-Up Pale Ale.

I don't love the hippie name, but I respect the beer - and they have a nice homebrew store adjacent to the tasting room that offers a variety of classes.  One important distinction to make....if you live on the East coast then you may have had beers from "Mother Earth Brewing" out of Kinston, NC, which is in no way related to this brewery.  Apparently there's been a legal battle over the name so subtle changes to the names.

Voted America's number-one brewery by Zymurgy magazine.....Stone Brewing Co.  This was the main place we had to visit since it's so famous and thus, this was the only real tour that we went on.  It's a massive brewer compared to the other two places we visited and these guys have only been around since 1996.

The tour was informative and the guide was knowledgeable in answering all of our questions during the tasting afterwards.  The one thing I must say for Stone is that it's not for everybody.  These guys put out very strong-tasting beers that are just too much for some beer drinkers.  I really enjoyed the tasting at the end and there are a few of their beers that I will definitely buy in the future, but I usually avoid picking up their 6-packs because they aren't the most sessionable ales out there. 

After the tour we stayed to have dinner at their very popular restaurant.  Stone apparently has their own farm and so they do a lot of farm-to-table dishes that are very nice, but also on the pricey side. 

It was nice meeting up with Susan's cousin Joe, his wife Keely, and son Griffin. 



2.  Cookout at Ju-Ju and Jason's
     It's always nice to meet up with Marisa's friends from way back when we're in town and this year was no exception.  Julie and Jason had us over for some tri-tip and grilled vegetables (very California and unrecognizable as a Southern cookout).  The weather was smokin' and we had a great time catching up.

The sun goes down and the knitted sweaters come out!

3.  Taylor Guitar Factory Tour
     We love tours and having been to the Martin Guitar factory in Pennsylvania, we had to put the Taylor factory on the list since it's relatively close to Huntington Beach and since I own a Taylor guitar and not a Martin.  Unfortunately, our visits to HB usually coincide with major holidays like Christmas and the 4th of July when the factory is closed.  This year we beat the norm and made it to El Cajon, CA in August to finally see how they do.  I took tons of pictures and I will likely write a separate post for those that care about guitar factories.  Here I've just included a select few pictures.

Notice the variety of styles made on a daily basis here. 

The neck is apparently the most time-consuming piece to make and they have a unique design that bolts to the body rather than a more traditional dove-tail joint use by other manufacturers. 

The level of customization and craftmanship on the fingerboards and the inlays is impressive to say the least. 

It was difficult to walk out without a new toy, but I settled for a t-shirt and coffee mug.



4.  Angels vs. Indians
     Terry, Marisa's step-dad, is an avid Cleveland Indians fan so we were excited to have the chance to catch them against the Angels in Anaheim.  Going to baseball games in the summer just seems like the right thing to do.  Fortunately for Terry, the Tribe came away with the 5-2 victory.

Another lovely evening for a baseball game. 

We had the full experience with hot dogs and souvenir cups. 



5.  Family visits
     As with every other place we went this summer, of course the purpose was to connect with family.  We mostly spent time with Susan and Terry, but also visited with Grandpa John, Uncle John, Aunt Nancy, Nana Margaret, and Aunt Pam.



--Justin