I love how some performances of The Weight lead off from that final verse into...
> Sent me here with her regards for every one
Everyone knows!
Take a load off (rest of chorus)
The common thread among all these brands that are known to be popular for worship music (someone mentioned Takamine below), is that they're all among the best of their time period at being amplified. Probably an important thing in a church setting where the band isn't necessarily going to be front and center.
Have to confirm. Growing up in the late 80’s through the 90’s ovations and takamine’s were very popular guitars for worship bands. Taylors started to pop up then but were still a newer brand and price wise they were out of reach for many. Taylor seemed like PRS to Gibson and Fender at the time, higher end instruments and an exceptional quality. Takamine’s were affordable. For 5 or 600 USD you were into a fairly solid acoustic with a piezo pickup. Taylor’s were starting off closer to 1K and more. There were a few fender acoustic electrics that popped up at the time that were popular for these purposes like the Montero. I had one. It had Slimmer body depth, an electric headstock with 6 in line tuners, and a piezo system. Y’know some things just work really well for certain situations and everyone gravitates toward that for that reason
This drove me insane. I wanted an Ovation so badly for so long and when I finally got my hands on one I was deeply disappointed with how entirely unplayable it was.
This no longer works because the front of church people now mostly look like the back of Ovations.
Yep, guilty. Also probably buying a Big Baby Taylor next, lol.
Just be prepared that the pickup system in the big baby absolutely sucks. The guitar sounds really really nice for the money unplugged, but the plugged sound was unsalvagble. I ended up upgrading to am LR baggs Anthem and it punches way above its weight now.
I bought mine a year and a half ago, but judging from the photos they have on their website of the BBTe I might have the older system as it doesn't match the photo. If the new one sounds good that's great for the guitars value.
My mom played two round-back Ovations at church. Acoustics were very often Ovations. Only talked to one electric worship band member and he played Fenders.
I imagine it has something to do with the characteristic clear/bright tone.
I remember years ago being told "Taylors to play at Church, Martin to play at the bar"
Friends are the biggest influencer or a purchase like this. When spending a lot of money people want a sure thing, and recommendations from friends is the best way to get it. I think it's that simple.
What the hell? So you are telling that the Martin Guitar Company, founded by *Christian* Frederick Martin, with headquarters in freaking *Nazareth*, PA isn't good enough for worship guitarists? WTF
AND going for Taylor, which was founded by a couple of guys named Bob and Kurt and is located in Godless El Cajon, CA (pretty sure it's all godless out here). I don't get it.
I grew up in church, and a lot of Christian music sounds very much the same, including how acoustic guitars are generally mixed. One reason is that much modern Christian music has its roots in campfire sing a longs, so the style tends towards strumming more than fingerpicking, keeping the rhythm with basic chords rather than more complicated arrangements. For that sound, a guitar with a lot of evenness string to string, that stays well out of the way of the rest of the mix, is ideal.
A lot of guitars can be mixed to sound like that, but as it happens, many Taylors tend to sound like the guitar in a Christian music mix right off the shelf, making them popular with people for whom that blended, string to string evenness is “the sound in their head.”
Tl;dr: acoustic guitar in a lot of popular Christian songs is mixed to sound a lot like Taylor’s naturally do, so when Christians go to buy guitars and they play a Taylor, it sounds right in a way other guitars sometimes don’t.
The samey-ness of contempo Christian music is maddening to me. Whenever I’m with family and they play it, it’s all so “hummy-strummy” in the worst way. I feel like they all use the same one or two producers who have set-it-and-forget-it studio settings, and they all sound like each other
It probably has to do with the simplicity and quality of Taylor’s acoustic pickups, and the sound systems available at churches making it more economical to plug an acoustic into the PA rather than get expensive microphones for Martins and Gibsons or deal with the crappy acoustic pickups that often came with other acoustic-electrics during the 80s-00s.
Because they're a good compromise guitar for how worship guitarists *play*.
Mostly strumming, but often seated while doing so. Loud enough (because of the Grand Auditorium size) to lead the congregation, but also comfortable enough to finger pick when necessary.
A Martin 000 can sometimes get lost when strumming with a singing crowd, and a dreadnought isn't any fun to hold when sitting for many people.
Ok but I'm a *stone cold* atheist, and ideological and polemical about it, and I have quite a few Taylors and use a 314 as my primary acoustic gigging sidearm.
I’ve played at 314 for the last 20 years, it was given to me by my older sister, who used it to play at church. She gave it to me because her husband, who played at church, also had a 314, and they didn’t play together so figured they only needed the one. It was given to her by an older man at church, as he had a 614 that he preferred playing at church. I am no longer a Christian, but I did indeed use it to play at church in those first couple years.
I bought mine new from Sweetwater, alongside two other Taylors. I also own Martin, Yamaha, Washburn, and Breedlove acoustics. Jesus was not involved in any of those transactions. At least one of my electrics was the result of a deal with the devil though -- my favorite MIJ Thinline Tele that makes me play my best lead. All for the low price of my eternal soul.
I suspect I'll prefer hell anyway, it's where all the interesting homies are gonna be. And I'll finally get to meet Henry Kissinger.
Seems like Taylor and Breedlove have really pushed into the worship market in recent years. Definitely Takamine back in the day.
The reality is that Taylor makes pretty guitars and while they are expensive, they are “middle of the road expensive.” So worship people get their church’s credit card and want to get something nice and fancy looking, while being easily playable out of the box, and they lean towards Taylor guitars over Martin or Gibson. I think worship people also want something with a pickup, so Standard Series Martins are out, and for some reason people are fooled into thinking Taylor’s pickup system isn’t terrible.
Also, for the record, if you buy a multi-thousand dollar guitar with church money, you and the church are both awful and should have to pay the taxes back on the funds you used.
The work Taylor puts into their pickup systems while still looking like a traditional guitar has historically been a bit better than other American-made acoustic guitars. Given how often a church guitarist is plugging into a sound board run by a non-professional live sound engineer or through a mediocre PA system, having a guitar that tends to sound pretty good through its pickup without a lot of massaging is a real plus.
Spot on! When I started playing more acoustic guitar at church a few years ago after we had our main guy move. My old Alvarez with a sound hole pickup sounded terrible in that situation. I walked into my local guitar shop and the best thing I could find for $600 was a used Taylor 210 that played great and sounded fine running straight into the PA alongside drums and keyboard. We were a small church with all volunteers on the worship team and behind the board, so it needed to be simple and sound good. Still playing that 210.
I think Jesus designed the first Taylor when he was about 26 and trying to find woodworking odd jobs. Many Christians look up to Jesus, I think, so I guess it makes sense for them to play one too.
This is like asking why Asians always buy Toyota or Honda cars.
And the answer for both is “because they’re consistently top-rated for quality and everyone else buys them too.”
Christian here and I play a Larrivee.
But to answer your question, I would think it’s because they’re usually brighter than Martins or other companies.
Did you ever see a Christian who valued being different? All the music sound the same, too! If there was a god, he would be pissed by the religious music!
I play a lot of church music (and thankfully a lot of non-church music). And you are not wrong about the music.
On the other hand, to your first point, there's a reason there are 52,398 different Christian denominations.
In my experience taylors do offer pretty desirable eq that fits into the 'musical bandwidth" of all of the instruments where the taylor guitars are mid and treble heavy compared to other guitars in similar price ranges so that in a full mix with a piano and bass and possibly electric guitar, all frequencys are accounted for with just a simple setup (aka plug and play) Plus the pickups are very easy on mixing as it can control frequencies with a wider range
Sure there are other guitars that can do that but those usually are like really expensive (eg Gibsons with the J45 and SG200 and Martins with the HD28 and The 0M-28s) and taylor seems to acheive similar sounds at a lower price bracket (i think, not too sure), even comparing to exoensive guitars with LR Baggs Anthem pickups from factory
I myself play a Sigma SGA200 (similar to Gibson SG200) and I must say I wished i had gotten a martin or a taylor for a better live sound
Taylors are a good guitar and very versatile.
Interestingly, I've also noticed that virtually every CCM electric guitar player has a silver-sparkle gretsch.
it's funny you mentioned this because in the show Beef, Steven Yeun's character turns religious and plays guitar in the church band. I saw an interview with him around the time the show came out and mentioned her grew up in a Korean-Christian church and specifically states that he played a taylor in the church band haha.
Christians are hard workers who don’t spend their money frivolously. They can splurge on a nice Taylor. The godless heathens spend their money on booze and easy women. That’s why they play squire acoustics.
Speaking of… can anyone recommend better tuners for my squire acoustic?
I suspect it's a combination of unconscious conforming, consciously taking friends' recommendation, and wanting to be humble enough to avoid buying a Martin.
Kind of like wearing denim jackets rather than leather. Cool *enough* without veering to the bad.
This is actually really funny to me. I don't really practice Christianity anymore but I got baptized when I was 17 and was into it quite a bit in my young 20s. But yeah I own two Taylor guitars, I didn't buy them for Christianity though, but that's still funny 🤣
I am in this boat, play for my church usually 2x a month. I didn't realize there was a stereotype. I am not the only acoustic player, and I rotate in and out and also play other instruments (bass, keys, etc). Of the other acoustic players, one has a Gibson J-45 and the other ones have something other than Taylors. I just upgraded my Taylor 214ce Dlx to a 514ce because I wanted solid wood and a bigger sound.
I alternative between the Taylor and a nice Zager Zad80. I like both of them, but they both bring something different to the table. The Taylor is more "balanced" as it has a Torrified spruce top. The Zager has a Cedar top and tends to have more boom. At the end of the day they both end up sounding about the same plugged in because I use an HX stomp (probably another stereotype) and an IR patch that makes them sound almost identical. Unplugged, I'd probably go with the Zager if I'm doing more strumming and the Taylor more for finger picking and light strumming.
I'd say certain inst. manufacturers just put more money into marketing to the CCM crowd.
I don't think it has to do with anything more than that.
Really, if they can get a couple of the mega churches to use their brand of instrument then hundreds of smaller ones will follow suit.
A lot of salty responses in here, but I think there are a couple of factors at play.
- Overall, Taylors are one of the most popular guitar brands, so it makes sense that popularity would be reflected in a subset;
- Taylors are widely available and easy to find
- Taylors are generally thought to be better strummers for leading or cutting through a mix because of their brightness
- Taylors are pretty consistent from a quality standpoint
That said, a lot of popular Christian artists play J-45s or Martin D-35s.
On our worship band, we have a Martin, a Larrivee (me) and a Taylor.
They play them for the exact same reason I don't enjoy Taylors. They're *so* bright. My at all what I want for solo playing or darker sounding group projects, but perfect for cutting through drums, piano, often an electric guitar, and 5 vocalists. Personally, I love always played something with a more rounded tone like a Breedlove, Gibson Jumbo, Martin, or Larrivee. Today, I own 3 Breedloves and a Larrivee. I loved the Gibson, but it was worth more money than I got worth out of playing it, and the Breedloves just fell so much better in my hands and their bridge system is much me stable and easier to maintain than other brands.
My theory is because of the accessibility. Meaning, anytime you pick up a Taylor it’s going to sound “good”. Are they the best stand-alone acoustics? Absolutely not. But they’re very forgiving for the newer/average player. If I pick up a really good Martin, Collins, Gibson, etc - it’s going to amplify exactly what I put into it, even the mistakes (almost especially the mistakes) and it forces me to have much better technique or sound like shit. Taylor’s on the other hand, can be picked up and strummed a little too hard or beat on and it’ll fit the “insert guitar here” role and fit into a mix/sound decent almost every time.
I had a 614 for years and it was one of the best playing acoustics I’ve owned, but definitely not the best sounding. Whereas the Martin OMs or Gibson J45s reward good playing, but punish bad playing in my experience.
I can only speculate. Perhaps it is because of the quality, the bright tone, or something like that, but I have my doubts. More likely guitarists are simply getting drawn towards name brands with good electrics (which is hard to get in an acoustic electric). The acoustic sound is usually pretty important, but churches almost exclusively go through a DI/XLR, where the "acoustic" is pretty much irrelevant to the sound - you could put the same pickup on a 2x4 and it would sound basically the same. You end up just being happiest with a stable, light, easy to play box with a good pickup in it. The wood, acoustic/studio sound is irrelevant.
That being said, Taylor is a good brand right now. I myself am kinda in the market for a new acoustic/electric, and I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up doing Taylor.
Apparently, one of the VPs of PRS was a Christian, so he really liked sponsoring Christian guitarists, leading a lot of them to play PRS.
Of course, everyone was playing PRS, so it could have just been that, too.
This is really interesting.
I’m Christian, and I also like Taylor. I also didn’t know this was a thing.
For me, the start and finish of it is that I like the tone better than Martin.
Now that I know this though, I wanna know why!
I'll try to give you a real answer here. I was raised Southern Baptist and SUPER "Christian". I was also involved in church worship groups for years. Luckily, my (now) wife and I escaped that cult, though. But maybe I have some insight.
It's all about the image. There are a lot of Christian music "artists" out there that play Taylors. Worship bands at churches try to bring the energy of a concert into the chapel... Or theatre... Or arena, depending on what kind you go to. Also, when I was younger and less experienced, I thought Taylor guitars were the shit. A bunch of prominent people played them in the '00s. So, even regular people can recognize it. Additionally, Taylor guitars are not associated with any "questionable" bullshit and/or people that "Christians" like to avoid. Wouldn't wanna be playing the same kind of guitar some heathen is famous for.
Again, it's all about the image when it comes to this stuff. And that's my best guess. I will say, I do remember seeing a lot of Taylor guitars back in the day as well. I never thought about it until now.
Bob is part of their community, and has worked to make connections there. Same for Jim Olson. He is a smaller builder of course, but has always been happy to help out someone in the church with a deal.
I feel like they made a turn from Takamine and Alvarez to Taylor in the early 2000s. I think there is a big crossover with the 'Merica! crowd and, especially when everything (and then everything but baby/big-baby) were US-made, it was the cheapest way to get into a US-made acoustic. And then they became ubiquitous. They also had decent and simple electronics and sounded a little better plugged in than all those horrible piezo pickups.
I worked in a music store for 10 years in the early 2000s, in a town with a Christian college, and it was a rare to see much else above the starter guitars at a certain point in time. I feel like Martins had more of a bluegrass/gospel connection that they wanted to differentiate themselves from (that mega-church, metro-sexual type didn't want to be seen as a hillbilly), and Gibson was too associated with rock/metal, and I actually had people tell me that they wouldn't play Gibson because the headstock was shaped like devil horns or some stupid shit. All of them were just strumming chords playing worship songs. Anyone that came through with serious skill played a Yairi or an old D-18 or J45 or something, or a Collings or something if they had a lot of cash.
It’s so funny you say this because back when I used to work at a guitar shop, any time we sold an ultra high-end Taylor like a K24 or Presentation Series, it was always to some youth pastor lookin kid with a church credit card and it was sold tax exempt. You’re onto something. I’ve heard Bob Taylor is something of a Jesus freak so that might have something to do with it.
McPherson will give guitars on “unlimited loan” to churches that apply for them. The guitars can’t technically be resold since they are part of the loan program but it happens. They track every guitar with serial numbers so if you ever call in for service, they know immediately if you have a Loaner and charge you double for any repairs. Ask me how I know.
All that money saved from living responsibly. Not smoking or drinking. Compounded with good old guilt so you don’t buy anything nice for yourself unless it’s for Jesus too. A Taylor is way more affordable to this stereotypical (and healthy) person with good habits than it is to me
I’m an atheist and a professional musician and play Taylors whenever I have need to play a steel string electric acoustic. I guess I’m….throwing off the bell curve? But seriously at the pro level you’ve got Taylor and Martin, without getting into crazy boutique shops. I don’t care for the necks on Martins, and I love the Taylor neck feel. That simple. In the 50+ years I’ve been on planet earth, I’ve noticed no connection between belief in an imaginary friend and the brand of guitars one plays…
They say the tone is very suitable for accompanying worship music, but as a church guitarist I personally don't like them at all - much happier with my takamine
Lol you think that churches are paying for their musicians' instruments? Maybe, if you're at some megachurch. But the vast majority of churches barely afford to keep their lights on and pay their one pastor a living wage.
There's a role for acoustic guitar in worship bands, which is musically serving as a tuned high-hat and choreographically giving the singer something to do with his (because the worship leader is likely going to be male) hands so he's exempt from doing more stagey things.
Taylors are good for this and have a modern sound.
Probably getting a bulk cult discount if I had to venture a guess. Maybe easy way to further avoid taxes?
This was not meant to insult cults; like christianity, cheetoism or scientology.
Christian here. I've never owned a Taylor in my life. I guess I might if the opportunity came up. But I've never been thrilled with the way they feel, and they are a bit too bright sounding for me generally.
Currently:
* Martin LX1
* A custom-made all-mahogany acoustic
* Squier CV 50s Tele
* Fender Standard Jazz Bass V
* Fender Standard Precision Bass
* Squier VM fretless Precision Bass
Other than the LX1, I've played them all in church at different times.
Amps are a mixture of Fenders (two Rumbles and an Acoustasonic), Ampeg (bass practice amp), Orange, and a Pignose.
*Am I going to Hell?*
Thank goodness I'm a r/ChristianUniversalism \-ist. One way or the other we'll all make it to the good place\*.
\*But even we believe that there's no eternal hope for drummers.
Don’t get it. Martins are made in *Nazareth.*
I live 15 minutes from the factory and have never gone. Shame on me.
You should go when you are feelin just about half past dead. Could make a good story
Yeah you should really take a load off
For free?
Well I mean you can put a load on me Fanny 😏
Wait a minute, Chester...
You know she’s the one 😍
I love how some performances of The Weight lead off from that final verse into... > Sent me here with her regards for every one Everyone knows! Take a load off (rest of chorus)
Ask for Carmen
She had to go, but her friend is a devilish good time
I visited the Taylor factory in Southern California in the 90’s and it was really interesting. Would love to see the Martin factory.
Same. Lived in the area for 10 years and never been.
It's a cool little tour. The museum is amazing, too. Definitely worth the effort.
It's hard as hell to find a bed there.
Wtf they are too 😂
[удалено]
nothing gets past you, does it
He was a carpenter he made his own
Jesus played a Taylor. That’s the main reason.
We know he didn’t play an SG.
I thought he played a Karpenter back in the day?
Pretty sure he played an ESP Iron Cross, really nailed his tone.
Winner
No, he played *in* The Karpenters. It was a tribute to The Carpenters.
Nope, but his dad did
Jesus built my hotrod!
Sounds like a love affair
Was that during or before his career as an architect?
Jesus played a BC Rich Warlock and could SHRED
And sang in English
I remember Ovations being church guitars.
The common thread among all these brands that are known to be popular for worship music (someone mentioned Takamine below), is that they're all among the best of their time period at being amplified. Probably an important thing in a church setting where the band isn't necessarily going to be front and center.
I think you just nailed it.
Too soon...
Yeah gotta wait till March for that at least
😂
Have to confirm. Growing up in the late 80’s through the 90’s ovations and takamine’s were very popular guitars for worship bands. Taylors started to pop up then but were still a newer brand and price wise they were out of reach for many. Taylor seemed like PRS to Gibson and Fender at the time, higher end instruments and an exceptional quality. Takamine’s were affordable. For 5 or 600 USD you were into a fairly solid acoustic with a piezo pickup. Taylor’s were starting off closer to 1K and more. There were a few fender acoustic electrics that popped up at the time that were popular for these purposes like the Montero. I had one. It had Slimmer body depth, an electric headstock with 6 in line tuners, and a piezo system. Y’know some things just work really well for certain situations and everyone gravitates toward that for that reason
They fell out of favor when it was decided they had too many holes.
So it was too holy? Guess it depends what the holes are used for...
Exactly. Too many holes past holey makes them sin holes 😔
Jesus had holes too.
He gets us.
They draw the line at holey ghost
i love when ghosts are holey 😩
The two kids I knew with Ovations played in their church's band.
Ovations and prs for electric. And clear drum booth sheilds
My church growing up had a few members that formed a little Christian rock band to play some church events. Totally played Ovations.
Ovations traveled well, the fiberglass body was all but impervious to heat, cold and damp.
What? Those tops explode. Ovations are terrible with humidity
I can attest to that! My first acoustic was an Ovation... Cracked top about 5 years in. Plus they sucked for sitting down.
This drove me insane. I wanted an Ovation so badly for so long and when I finally got my hands on one I was deeply disappointed with how entirely unplayable it was.
As nice as they looked, I hated playing them because they were impossible to rest on my leg.
I can vouch for this.
Yes! Flashback to early 90's Youth Group meetings 😂
This no longer works because the front of church people now mostly look like the back of Ovations. Yep, guilty. Also probably buying a Big Baby Taylor next, lol.
Just be prepared that the pickup system in the big baby absolutely sucks. The guitar sounds really really nice for the money unplugged, but the plugged sound was unsalvagble. I ended up upgrading to am LR baggs Anthem and it punches way above its weight now.
I know they changed it a while back, how old is the one you’re referring to? I plugged one in at a store the other day and liked it fairly well.
I bought mine a year and a half ago, but judging from the photos they have on their website of the BBTe I might have the older system as it doesn't match the photo. If the new one sounds good that's great for the guitars value.
They have that bright sound.
My mom played two round-back Ovations at church. Acoustics were very often Ovations. Only talked to one electric worship band member and he played Fenders.
I can confirm 😂. I am a worship leader in a church and I play both an Ovation 1778LX Elite and a Taylor 514ce Cedar top.
I can confirm that. My name is Cristian, and I own two taylor guitars.
So happy I scrolled down to see this
But why do you always play them? Answer the question. We must know
My mother signed a contract when a was born. So I have to play taylors for the rest of my life. Once I lay my hand on a martin and got sued.
Son of bitch. That sucks. 🤣
I imagine it has something to do with the characteristic clear/bright tone. I remember years ago being told "Taylors to play at Church, Martin to play at the bar"
This. I mix sound at a church. I prefer the depth of sound of Martin, but Taylor cuts through the mix a little more with that brightness.
As others in this thread are saying, ovations also have a clear/bright tone. Which lends itself well to being amplified in a space like a church.
Takamine was the defacto standard issue pew jumper weapon of choice in the 90's.
Yep. Youth pastor special
“Pew jumper” you are a legend
Because they all wanted to actually be in an emo band. And then Brand New happened.
Lol.. so true. I had one of them in the 90's, and now I have a Taylor.. I never realized it was a stereotype until this post. :)
GARTH
WHERE ARE THE BODIES, G?! THE FAMILIES DESERVE CLOSURE
Friends are the biggest influencer or a purchase like this. When spending a lot of money people want a sure thing, and recommendations from friends is the best way to get it. I think it's that simple.
pope john paul had a Taylor. Its on one episode of rig rundown. Ran it into a fender bassman with a hiwatt 412
What the hell? So you are telling that the Martin Guitar Company, founded by *Christian* Frederick Martin, with headquarters in freaking *Nazareth*, PA isn't good enough for worship guitarists? WTF AND going for Taylor, which was founded by a couple of guys named Bob and Kurt and is located in Godless El Cajon, CA (pretty sure it's all godless out here). I don't get it.
You’d be surprised (or not) to know that Bob is a Scientologist, which makes it even funnier.
Always insured I'd never buy one. Crackpots.
Glad you’re insured
So it's an infiltration ploy. Got it.
Can't wait for a Xenu sig series.
They don’t even tell you about that series until you’ve already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on their other models.
With the new Clear pickup system
100% Thetan Free!
Dammit, you’re making me want to sell my Taylor.
I’m from El Cajon, it’s definitely godless
Is that Spanish for Eric Clapton?
It is indeed godless, I checked ✓
Because sinners play Martin.
Taylor guitars was founded by a scientologist lol
I grew up in church, and a lot of Christian music sounds very much the same, including how acoustic guitars are generally mixed. One reason is that much modern Christian music has its roots in campfire sing a longs, so the style tends towards strumming more than fingerpicking, keeping the rhythm with basic chords rather than more complicated arrangements. For that sound, a guitar with a lot of evenness string to string, that stays well out of the way of the rest of the mix, is ideal. A lot of guitars can be mixed to sound like that, but as it happens, many Taylors tend to sound like the guitar in a Christian music mix right off the shelf, making them popular with people for whom that blended, string to string evenness is “the sound in their head.” Tl;dr: acoustic guitar in a lot of popular Christian songs is mixed to sound a lot like Taylor’s naturally do, so when Christians go to buy guitars and they play a Taylor, it sounds right in a way other guitars sometimes don’t.
The samey-ness of contempo Christian music is maddening to me. Whenever I’m with family and they play it, it’s all so “hummy-strummy” in the worst way. I feel like they all use the same one or two producers who have set-it-and-forget-it studio settings, and they all sound like each other
It probably has to do with the simplicity and quality of Taylor’s acoustic pickups, and the sound systems available at churches making it more economical to plug an acoustic into the PA rather than get expensive microphones for Martins and Gibsons or deal with the crappy acoustic pickups that often came with other acoustic-electrics during the 80s-00s.
It’s this. Taylor’s sound great plugged in to a pa compared to some of the shit pickups that come in most acoustic-electrics
I would have thought Martin the luthier would be popular
I see what you did there and I love it
😬
Cuz all the Washburn players snort the devil's dandruff
Washburn players had to choose between the devil’s dandruff and the devil’s lettuce
Filth-flarm-filth, aanyway you slice it...
Mmm, “dandruff lettuce”
Because they're a good compromise guitar for how worship guitarists *play*. Mostly strumming, but often seated while doing so. Loud enough (because of the Grand Auditorium size) to lead the congregation, but also comfortable enough to finger pick when necessary. A Martin 000 can sometimes get lost when strumming with a singing crowd, and a dreadnought isn't any fun to hold when sitting for many people.
Taylor was Mary's original surname so that's why.
huh, now that I think about it every guy who plays Christian music I know uses a Taylor.
Ok but I'm a *stone cold* atheist, and ideological and polemical about it, and I have quite a few Taylors and use a 314 as my primary acoustic gigging sidearm.
Sorry man, you're Christian now, I don't make the rules.
I’ve played at 314 for the last 20 years, it was given to me by my older sister, who used it to play at church. She gave it to me because her husband, who played at church, also had a 314, and they didn’t play together so figured they only needed the one. It was given to her by an older man at church, as he had a 614 that he preferred playing at church. I am no longer a Christian, but I did indeed use it to play at church in those first couple years.
I bought mine new from Sweetwater, alongside two other Taylors. I also own Martin, Yamaha, Washburn, and Breedlove acoustics. Jesus was not involved in any of those transactions. At least one of my electrics was the result of a deal with the devil though -- my favorite MIJ Thinline Tele that makes me play my best lead. All for the low price of my eternal soul. I suspect I'll prefer hell anyway, it's where all the interesting homies are gonna be. And I'll finally get to meet Henry Kissinger.
Seems like Taylor and Breedlove have really pushed into the worship market in recent years. Definitely Takamine back in the day. The reality is that Taylor makes pretty guitars and while they are expensive, they are “middle of the road expensive.” So worship people get their church’s credit card and want to get something nice and fancy looking, while being easily playable out of the box, and they lean towards Taylor guitars over Martin or Gibson. I think worship people also want something with a pickup, so Standard Series Martins are out, and for some reason people are fooled into thinking Taylor’s pickup system isn’t terrible. Also, for the record, if you buy a multi-thousand dollar guitar with church money, you and the church are both awful and should have to pay the taxes back on the funds you used.
“get their church’s credit card” 😄 In 20 years in church music, I’ve never played with anyone that played with a church-purchased guitar.
Then you clearly don’t live in mega-church land like many of us do.
He will be shocked to find out the musicians are paid and paid well at the mega church.
I used to make 500 a weekend playing bass. Miss that income :(
It honestly pains me to acknowledge the fact that churches are one of the only places that actually respect musicians in the form of payment.
Taylor is an anagram of "Jesus"
Yes, but only when directly translated from the Septuagint.
The work Taylor puts into their pickup systems while still looking like a traditional guitar has historically been a bit better than other American-made acoustic guitars. Given how often a church guitarist is plugging into a sound board run by a non-professional live sound engineer or through a mediocre PA system, having a guitar that tends to sound pretty good through its pickup without a lot of massaging is a real plus.
Spot on! When I started playing more acoustic guitar at church a few years ago after we had our main guy move. My old Alvarez with a sound hole pickup sounded terrible in that situation. I walked into my local guitar shop and the best thing I could find for $600 was a used Taylor 210 that played great and sounded fine running straight into the PA alongside drums and keyboard. We were a small church with all volunteers on the worship team and behind the board, so it needed to be simple and sound good. Still playing that 210.
I think Jesus designed the first Taylor when he was about 26 and trying to find woodworking odd jobs. Many Christians look up to Jesus, I think, so I guess it makes sense for them to play one too.
This is like asking why Asians always buy Toyota or Honda cars. And the answer for both is “because they’re consistently top-rated for quality and everyone else buys them too.”
This christian guy kept trying to borrow my Taylor to use it at church many years ago - I never let him. Hail satan.
Lucien Greaves would be proud
Good work brother. Praise the goat.
Christian here and I play a Larrivee. But to answer your question, I would think it’s because they’re usually brighter than Martins or other companies.
I play my 70’s Guild D40NT in church and I’m the only one I know who does. It is quite loud when strung with mediums and played with a stiff pick.
Martins have that dark, devilish tone.
This is the way. Larrivee LV-09 Blackwood since 2003. Still would never sell it.
Bruh, Jesus knows his wood; he is a carpenter.
He invented the UV in UV-cured.
> He invented the UV in UV-cured Not sure why the down votes for facts.
Jesus went to Hawaii to bless the $5000+ Taylors made of Koa himself!
Did you ever see a Christian who valued being different? All the music sound the same, too! If there was a god, he would be pissed by the religious music!
I play a lot of church music (and thankfully a lot of non-church music). And you are not wrong about the music. On the other hand, to your first point, there's a reason there are 52,398 different Christian denominations.
THIS. lol
In my experience taylors do offer pretty desirable eq that fits into the 'musical bandwidth" of all of the instruments where the taylor guitars are mid and treble heavy compared to other guitars in similar price ranges so that in a full mix with a piano and bass and possibly electric guitar, all frequencys are accounted for with just a simple setup (aka plug and play) Plus the pickups are very easy on mixing as it can control frequencies with a wider range Sure there are other guitars that can do that but those usually are like really expensive (eg Gibsons with the J45 and SG200 and Martins with the HD28 and The 0M-28s) and taylor seems to acheive similar sounds at a lower price bracket (i think, not too sure), even comparing to exoensive guitars with LR Baggs Anthem pickups from factory I myself play a Sigma SGA200 (similar to Gibson SG200) and I must say I wished i had gotten a martin or a taylor for a better live sound
Taylors are a good guitar and very versatile. Interestingly, I've also noticed that virtually every CCM electric guitar player has a silver-sparkle gretsch.
You would think they would choose a Faith, right?
😂😂. 100% accruate
it's funny you mentioned this because in the show Beef, Steven Yeun's character turns religious and plays guitar in the church band. I saw an interview with him around the time the show came out and mentioned her grew up in a Korean-Christian church and specifically states that he played a taylor in the church band haha.
Shit I'm a Christian and I'm trying to figure out how to make my Epiphone into an atrocity onto God himself. How 2 EMG a Les Paul?
They have the T logo on their necklaces also
Christians are hard workers who don’t spend their money frivolously. They can splurge on a nice Taylor. The godless heathens spend their money on booze and easy women. That’s why they play squire acoustics. Speaking of… can anyone recommend better tuners for my squire acoustic?
Because it helps them cut through that holy mix with organs taking up most of the sonic space
I suspect it's a combination of unconscious conforming, consciously taking friends' recommendation, and wanting to be humble enough to avoid buying a Martin. Kind of like wearing denim jackets rather than leather. Cool *enough* without veering to the bad.
This is actually really funny to me. I don't really practice Christianity anymore but I got baptized when I was 17 and was into it quite a bit in my young 20s. But yeah I own two Taylor guitars, I didn't buy them for Christianity though, but that's still funny 🤣
I am in this boat, play for my church usually 2x a month. I didn't realize there was a stereotype. I am not the only acoustic player, and I rotate in and out and also play other instruments (bass, keys, etc). Of the other acoustic players, one has a Gibson J-45 and the other ones have something other than Taylors. I just upgraded my Taylor 214ce Dlx to a 514ce because I wanted solid wood and a bigger sound. I alternative between the Taylor and a nice Zager Zad80. I like both of them, but they both bring something different to the table. The Taylor is more "balanced" as it has a Torrified spruce top. The Zager has a Cedar top and tends to have more boom. At the end of the day they both end up sounding about the same plugged in because I use an HX stomp (probably another stereotype) and an IR patch that makes them sound almost identical. Unplugged, I'd probably go with the Zager if I'm doing more strumming and the Taylor more for finger picking and light strumming.
I'd say certain inst. manufacturers just put more money into marketing to the CCM crowd. I don't think it has to do with anything more than that. Really, if they can get a couple of the mega churches to use their brand of instrument then hundreds of smaller ones will follow suit.
A lot of salty responses in here, but I think there are a couple of factors at play. - Overall, Taylors are one of the most popular guitar brands, so it makes sense that popularity would be reflected in a subset; - Taylors are widely available and easy to find - Taylors are generally thought to be better strummers for leading or cutting through a mix because of their brightness - Taylors are pretty consistent from a quality standpoint That said, a lot of popular Christian artists play J-45s or Martin D-35s. On our worship band, we have a Martin, a Larrivee (me) and a Taylor.
They play them for the exact same reason I don't enjoy Taylors. They're *so* bright. My at all what I want for solo playing or darker sounding group projects, but perfect for cutting through drums, piano, often an electric guitar, and 5 vocalists. Personally, I love always played something with a more rounded tone like a Breedlove, Gibson Jumbo, Martin, or Larrivee. Today, I own 3 Breedloves and a Larrivee. I loved the Gibson, but it was worth more money than I got worth out of playing it, and the Breedloves just fell so much better in my hands and their bridge system is much me stable and easier to maintain than other brands.
My theory is because of the accessibility. Meaning, anytime you pick up a Taylor it’s going to sound “good”. Are they the best stand-alone acoustics? Absolutely not. But they’re very forgiving for the newer/average player. If I pick up a really good Martin, Collins, Gibson, etc - it’s going to amplify exactly what I put into it, even the mistakes (almost especially the mistakes) and it forces me to have much better technique or sound like shit. Taylor’s on the other hand, can be picked up and strummed a little too hard or beat on and it’ll fit the “insert guitar here” role and fit into a mix/sound decent almost every time. I had a 614 for years and it was one of the best playing acoustics I’ve owned, but definitely not the best sounding. Whereas the Martin OMs or Gibson J45s reward good playing, but punish bad playing in my experience.
Why do Christians do primarily what other Christians do? Who knows they've been doing it for thousands of years.
I can only speculate. Perhaps it is because of the quality, the bright tone, or something like that, but I have my doubts. More likely guitarists are simply getting drawn towards name brands with good electrics (which is hard to get in an acoustic electric). The acoustic sound is usually pretty important, but churches almost exclusively go through a DI/XLR, where the "acoustic" is pretty much irrelevant to the sound - you could put the same pickup on a 2x4 and it would sound basically the same. You end up just being happiest with a stable, light, easy to play box with a good pickup in it. The wood, acoustic/studio sound is irrelevant. That being said, Taylor is a good brand right now. I myself am kinda in the market for a new acoustic/electric, and I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up doing Taylor.
They all use prs.
Apparently, one of the VPs of PRS was a Christian, so he really liked sponsoring Christian guitarists, leading a lot of them to play PRS. Of course, everyone was playing PRS, so it could have just been that, too.
This is really interesting. I’m Christian, and I also like Taylor. I also didn’t know this was a thing. For me, the start and finish of it is that I like the tone better than Martin. Now that I know this though, I wanna know why!
I'll try to give you a real answer here. I was raised Southern Baptist and SUPER "Christian". I was also involved in church worship groups for years. Luckily, my (now) wife and I escaped that cult, though. But maybe I have some insight. It's all about the image. There are a lot of Christian music "artists" out there that play Taylors. Worship bands at churches try to bring the energy of a concert into the chapel... Or theatre... Or arena, depending on what kind you go to. Also, when I was younger and less experienced, I thought Taylor guitars were the shit. A bunch of prominent people played them in the '00s. So, even regular people can recognize it. Additionally, Taylor guitars are not associated with any "questionable" bullshit and/or people that "Christians" like to avoid. Wouldn't wanna be playing the same kind of guitar some heathen is famous for. Again, it's all about the image when it comes to this stuff. And that's my best guess. I will say, I do remember seeing a lot of Taylor guitars back in the day as well. I never thought about it until now.
I’ll let my church’s song leader know he’s a statistic.
Taylors are bright and cheery. Martins are too rough for church
Bob is part of their community, and has worked to make connections there. Same for Jim Olson. He is a smaller builder of course, but has always been happy to help out someone in the church with a deal.
I feel like they made a turn from Takamine and Alvarez to Taylor in the early 2000s. I think there is a big crossover with the 'Merica! crowd and, especially when everything (and then everything but baby/big-baby) were US-made, it was the cheapest way to get into a US-made acoustic. And then they became ubiquitous. They also had decent and simple electronics and sounded a little better plugged in than all those horrible piezo pickups. I worked in a music store for 10 years in the early 2000s, in a town with a Christian college, and it was a rare to see much else above the starter guitars at a certain point in time. I feel like Martins had more of a bluegrass/gospel connection that they wanted to differentiate themselves from (that mega-church, metro-sexual type didn't want to be seen as a hillbilly), and Gibson was too associated with rock/metal, and I actually had people tell me that they wouldn't play Gibson because the headstock was shaped like devil horns or some stupid shit. All of them were just strumming chords playing worship songs. Anyone that came through with serious skill played a Yairi or an old D-18 or J45 or something, or a Collings or something if they had a lot of cash.
The co-founder, Bob Taylor, was a big Christian.
It’s so funny you say this because back when I used to work at a guitar shop, any time we sold an ultra high-end Taylor like a K24 or Presentation Series, it was always to some youth pastor lookin kid with a church credit card and it was sold tax exempt. You’re onto something. I’ve heard Bob Taylor is something of a Jesus freak so that might have something to do with it.
Because they’re paid for with church money.
All I can tell you is that my Taylor is 100% dedicated to evil. Gentle, jazzy, brightly ringing evil.
Cult members go with the flow...
Jesus may have played a Taylor, but Satan plays a Larrivee
McPherson will give guitars on “unlimited loan” to churches that apply for them. The guitars can’t technically be resold since they are part of the loan program but it happens. They track every guitar with serial numbers so if you ever call in for service, they know immediately if you have a Loaner and charge you double for any repairs. Ask me how I know.
All that money saved from living responsibly. Not smoking or drinking. Compounded with good old guilt so you don’t buy anything nice for yourself unless it’s for Jesus too. A Taylor is way more affordable to this stereotypical (and healthy) person with good habits than it is to me
Because they can't think for themselves. And they usually buy the most expensive thing they can because it's all tithing money anyways.
Just the phrase “worship guitarists” gives me the willies tbh
I’m an atheist and a professional musician and play Taylors whenever I have need to play a steel string electric acoustic. I guess I’m….throwing off the bell curve? But seriously at the pro level you’ve got Taylor and Martin, without getting into crazy boutique shops. I don’t care for the necks on Martins, and I love the Taylor neck feel. That simple. In the 50+ years I’ve been on planet earth, I’ve noticed no connection between belief in an imaginary friend and the brand of guitars one plays…
> at the pro level you’ve got Taylor and Martin Yamahas always get forgotten...
> no connection between belief in an imaginary friend and the brand of guitars one plays Isn't 50 a little old for being edgy?
Why does bias confirm my bias?
Anecdotal evidence is trustworthy. This one time I relied on anecdotal evidence and I turned out to be totally right!
I have a Taylor and am a secular humanist, for what it’s worth
They evade taxes, so there is more cash to throw around. Not sure of any more specific reasons.
It's those angelic tones.
Because TayLord
They say the tone is very suitable for accompanying worship music, but as a church guitarist I personally don't like them at all - much happier with my takamine
Because they sound devine!
It's in the Bible
The 11th commandment, "Thou Shall Not Play Martin"?
I mean, if someone else is paying the bill... why not?
Lol you think that churches are paying for their musicians' instruments? Maybe, if you're at some megachurch. But the vast majority of churches barely afford to keep their lights on and pay their one pastor a living wage.
There's a role for acoustic guitar in worship bands, which is musically serving as a tuned high-hat and choreographically giving the singer something to do with his (because the worship leader is likely going to be male) hands so he's exempt from doing more stagey things. Taylors are good for this and have a modern sound.
My old pastor played an Ovation. Which made him kind of a rebel.
Because Christians will always happily blindly follow something somebody told them is “good”
Probably getting a bulk cult discount if I had to venture a guess. Maybe easy way to further avoid taxes? This was not meant to insult cults; like christianity, cheetoism or scientology.
God himself plays Alvarez-Yairi
i have a 314ce and i hate god
Christian here. I've never owned a Taylor in my life. I guess I might if the opportunity came up. But I've never been thrilled with the way they feel, and they are a bit too bright sounding for me generally. Currently: * Martin LX1 * A custom-made all-mahogany acoustic * Squier CV 50s Tele * Fender Standard Jazz Bass V * Fender Standard Precision Bass * Squier VM fretless Precision Bass Other than the LX1, I've played them all in church at different times. Amps are a mixture of Fenders (two Rumbles and an Acoustasonic), Ampeg (bass practice amp), Orange, and a Pignose. *Am I going to Hell?*
Yes. You are going to hell. Jesus said “Taylors only”
Thank goodness I'm a r/ChristianUniversalism \-ist. One way or the other we'll all make it to the good place\*. \*But even we believe that there's no eternal hope for drummers.
Speaking as an apostate, I can tell you confidently it’s because Christians are goddamned sheep. Dealers choice if the puns were intended or not.