We are great fans of Taylor guitars...

Prior to Taylors we used 1970's Yamahas - hand-crafted Brazilian Jacaranda Rosewood back and sides (FG580 6-string and FG630 12 string).

In 2003 we bought Val a Taylor Big Baby and, wow what a sound for a guitar low down in the Taylor price range. This set Jimmy thinking of semi-retiring his Yamahas as they were sounding a bit 'muddy' next to the Taylor. Using brass bridge pins brightened the sound, but led to a slight decrease in acoustic volume.

In January 2005 we bought two Yamahas - CPX-15A 6-string and CPX8-12 12-string. Sounded great in the shop and in the house, but they struggled to project acoustically in folk clubs although great through a PA.

The search was on - Jimmy convinced that a Taylor might do the trick.

In May 2005 we bought a second hand Taylor XXV-DR Limited Edition 25th Anniversary dreadnought cutaway from a chap in Derby... now we were getting somewhere!

In June 2005 we bought a second hand Taylor 855 Jumbo 12-string, having driven all the way to Wales to have a look at it. The chap was moving abroad and had a few he wanted to sell, and we came away with a Taylor 810-L1 Brazilian Rosewood 6-string for Val. (Financially poorer, but musically richer, we drove back home!)

We sold the Yamaha CPX15A to a fellow writer/performer and thought that was it - sorted!

Not so... our experience of the 810 and 855 Taylors led to Jimmy feeling an 800 series 6-string would be a better match than the XXV-DR. In August 2005 we bought a Taylor 810-CE from Frailers (part-ex'ing the Yamaha CPX8-12). Val liked it so much that she plays it and Jimmy uses the 810-L1.

So what is it about our Taylors that we like so much?

- Crystal clear sound combining bell-like trebles, un-muddied bass and great separation across the whole range

- Acoustic projection

- Great through PA

- Silky smooth neck, easy to play

- Great looks

- Excellent build quality

- Road cases that fit millimetre-perfect

If you've managed to read this far - congratulations! (And if that's not enough you could always visit the instruments page on our website for even more :-), and our strings, pick-ups, PA etc).

Jimmy & Val (jiva)
www.jiva.co.uk