When guitar god Eric Clapton was asked a few years ago what it was like to be the world’s greatest guitar player, Slowhand scratched his forehead and sighed.
“I don’t know,” he said. “You’ll have to ask Prince.”
Prince, when asked the same question, said Clapton.
Both superstars agreed, however, that the greatest acoustic guitars were made by Taylor, the legendary El Cajon company whose dolcet instruments are also favored by Taylor Swift, Dave Matthews, Zac Brown, Jason Mraz, Jewel, Tori Kelly, George Strait and other luminaries.
Taylor Guitars are the voice of legions of the world’s most talented recording artists and performers, but the conscientious company is now an advocate for global sustainability and indigenous people.
Taylor’s Ebony Project is an innovative social and environmental initiative that works to protect the trees that produce ebony wood.
In 2011 Taylor Guitar acquired partial ownership of Crelicam, an ebony wood sawmill in Cameroon. This rare wood is used in many of the company’s signature guitar models for its natural beauty and rich sound.
Bob Taylor, the company’s namesake founder, said he is deeply committed to environmental sustainability and safeguarding the Earth’s unique ecosystems.
“When purchasing a Taylor Guitar we want our customers to feel assured that they are supporting a highly-ethical and eco-conscience business,” he said.
Taylor said his early experience with the Crelicam sawmill led to a shocking discovery. Much of the wood from precious ebony trees was left to waste on the warm dirt of the forest floors of Cameroon. Pure-black ebony wood is considered the beauty standard and is highly desired by instrument manufacturers. Different colored variegation wood was left to decay.
Taylor Guitars began using variegation ebony and encourages other instrument manufacturers to follow suit.
Taylor’s Responsible Timber Purchasing Policy are company rules that ensure wood is managed efficiently with minimum waste. It provides moral guidelines for all purchases throughout the supply chain. Taylor said this has help him to develop a network of trusting long-term partners and suppliers.
In 2014 Taylor and Vidal de Teresa Paredes, co-owners of the Crelicam sawmill, were presented the Award for Corporate Excellent by the U.S. State Department. Secretary of State John Kerry presented the award for their work promoting sustainable development, respecting human labor rights, advocating for environmental protection and responsible forestry management.
“Taylor Guitars has become an effective advocate for improvement of legal and policy reforms,” Kerry said. “They have fundamentally changed the entire ebony trade.”
Josh Van Dermark, a 10-year employee and musician, leads tours of the Cameroon project. He said he appreciates the ethics and benevolent intentions of Taylor Guitars.
“There’s so many guitar companies, but not enough of them are focused on reforestation efforts to support the impact they created on the world,” he said.
Back in 1974 a young Bob Taylor built his first guitar in his high school woodshop class, then went to work in a guitar shop called American Dream owned by Sam Radding.
Two years later, Radding sold his business to Taylor who changed the name first to Westland Music Company, then Taylor Guitars. His focus on design, quality and playability made Taylor Guitars legendary around the world, attracting some of the planet’s greatest guitarists to their products.
Taylor sees beyond Clapton, Jade Bird, Tony Iommia and other superstars. He wants to put guitars into the hands of underserved children. In 1990 he teamed with the San Diego Music Foundation to create the Taylor Guitar for Schools program. Taylor provides sponsorships for high school music programs and woodshop classes to push back on budget cuts to arts programs in public schools.
Van Dermark’s high school woodshop class was supported by Taylor Guitar and he built his own guitar, which he later took into his interview at Taylor. He was hired on the spot.
“It was a full circle that gave me the opportunity to build the guitar and take the very same one to get a job with the company,” he said.
Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes people from around the world to make a quality guitar, he said. In Cameroon Taylor employees replant ebony trees and take care of the forests. In El Cajon talented luthiers use the dark wood to make their sublime instruments.
Only then do the rock stars, country legends and gifted up-and-comers enter the spotlight to make wondrous music.
