Rediscovering my Taylor 210

A few years ago Bob Taylor introduced a "Maranatha" limited edition model 210 guitar. Kind of a cool story, really. Bob attends church where most of the guys who started Maranatha Records sometime back in the 70's I believe, also attend. They are now the praise and worship band, and to help make a contribution to the church/band, Taylor created this little 210 auditorium model with the old "dove" logo from the Maranatha brand, and donated a portion of the proceeds.

I missed the launch of this guitar and they all vanished into the dealer network quickly, but I happened on two of them in-stock and brand new at Wildwood Music in Cochocton, Ohio (maybe the best acoustic guitar shop going). It is a fabulous place in Roscoe Historical Village, and is an old house, stacked floor to ceiling with some of the best brands in the business. I had bought my Martin Backpacker from them years earlier and always stopped in the shop when doing gigs at the village music festivals.

Anyway, on the way back from business one day I stopped in, sealed the deal and brought the guitar home. I have always been so impressed with the Taylor tone and despite the fact that this guitar's body is slightly smaller than the full Dreadnought scale of my Taylor 310, the little 210 actually sounds much bigger. But there was something missing in the feel of the guitar, so it sat in case for quite a number of months before I finally got it to J. Thomas Davis Guitars on High Street in Columbus, Ohio, and they put an absolutely killer, open-tuning set up on it.

Now I cannot find enough excuses to play this guitar! It also has the Expression pick up in it which is a bit of a shift for me, but married to my Fishman amp, it is powerful.

There are few better bargains than these guitars, and I am so glad that I actually get to own one of these limited edition Taylors.