About Taylor
Taylor Guitars was founded in 1974 by luthier Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug, who met working at a San Diego guitar shop and partnered to buy the business while still in their teens and early twenties. The company is headquartered in El Cajon, California, where it remains one of the largest manufacturers of acoustic guitars in the world, selling instruments in more than 65 countries. Luthier Andy Powers joined in 2011 as Master Guitar Designer, became a third ownership partner in 2019, and was named CEO, President, and Chief Guitar Designer in 2022. In January 2021, Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug transferred full ownership of the company to its workforce through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, making Taylor 100% employee owned.
Taylor built its reputation on playability and factory electronics: its V-Class bracing, an internal top-bracing architecture developed under Andy Powers, improves sustain, volume, and pitch accuracy over traditional X-bracing, and its Expression System pickups are widely regarded as among the best-sounding factory acoustic-electric electronics made. The company has also taken an unusually active role in tonewood sourcing: in 2011 it became co-owner of Crelicam, an ebony mill in Cameroon, and it partners with the Congo Basin Institute on The Ebony Project, aimed at researching and replanting West African ebony forests. That sustainability work has drawn outside recognition, including the U.S. State Department's Award for Corporate Excellence.
Brand website: taylorguitars.com
What Taylor makes
Taylor's catalog runs wider than the gear we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
GS Mini Series
Scaled-down travel and second-guitar body style in mahogany, koa, and rosewood tonewood options — featured on House of Octave
100 & 200 Series (Grand Auditorium)
Entry-to-mid solid-top acoustic-electric guitars including the 114ce, built around the do-everything Grand Auditorium body — featured on House of Octave
300-900 Series
Higher-end solid-wood dreadnought, Grand Auditorium, and Grand Concert guitars built at Taylor's El Cajon factory
Presentation & Builder's Edition
Taylor's premium, top-of-line acoustic guitars with the most figured tonewoods and appointments
Expression System Electronics
Taylor's in-house-designed factory acoustic pickup system, standard on acoustic-electric models like the 114ce
Academy Series
Beginner-focused acoustic guitars built with a more forgiving, comfortable neck profile
Why we recognized Taylor
The House of Octave Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose gear consistently stands out in our player-tested category guides. Taylor earned it on the strength of the products below, judged the same way every product on this site is: assessed on build, tone, and playability, weighed against what players actually report over years of use, and ranked on merit.
Taylor gear we rated highly
Taylor GS Mini Mahogany Acoustic Guitar
A scaled-down Grand Symphony body that produces a startlingly big, full sound for its compact size, with a mahogany top, layered sapele back and sides, and an ebony fretboard that give it a warm, focused voice. The short 23.5-inch scale and small body suit smaller hands, couch playing, and air travel, and it ships built to Taylor's premium fit-and-finish standard with a structured gig bag.
Read the 8 Best Acoustic Guitars of 2026 (Every Budget & Body) guide →
Taylor 114ce Grand Auditorium Acoustic-Electric Guitar
A solid Sitka spruce top on Taylor's versatile Grand Auditorium body with a Venetian cutaway, paired with Taylor's Expression System 2 pickup, widely regarded as the best-sounding factory acoustic pickup made. The famously smooth, slim Taylor neck marks a clear step up in playability, and it earned a perfect rating in our roundup.
Read the 8 Best Acoustic Guitars of 2026 (Every Budget & Body) guide →What earned Taylor the recognition
- Founded in 1974 in El Cajon, California, and now one of the largest acoustic guitar manufacturers in the world, selling in more than 65 countries
- 100% employee owned since January 2021, when co-founders Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug transferred ownership to the workforce through an ESOP
- Two Taylor guitars earned places among our top picks in our acoustic guitar testing: the GS Mini for small-body and travel playing, and the 114ce for stage-ready acoustic-electric work
- V-Class bracing, developed under Master Guitar Designer Andy Powers, and the Expression System 2 pickup are among the most respected engineering innovations in modern acoustic guitar building
- An active, independently recognized commitment to sustainable tonewood sourcing, including co-ownership of an ebony mill in Cameroon and the Ebony Project reforestation partnership with the Congo Basin Institute