Taylor Custom "B. Taylor" Grand Auditorium Urban Ironbark & Sitka Spruce

A Historic Custom Collaboration: Built with Bob Taylor

The Guitar Sanctuary is honored to present this one-of-a-kind Taylor Custom "B. Taylor" Grand Auditorium. Born from a personal visit to the Taylor Guitars factory in El Cajon, California, our own Brian Meader sat down with company founder Bob Taylor to hand-select every piece of master-grade timber for a truly historic build. Brian posed a single question to Bob for this project: "What would YOU build with this wood?" The result is part of an exclusive, historic run of instruments featuring Bob Taylor's personal signature inlaid directly into the back of the headstock/body—the coveted custom "B. Taylor" signature inlay.

This extraordinary instrument features highly figured Urban Ironbark for the back and sides, arranged in a visually striking 4-piece Simon's Wedge configuration. Densities of Urban Ironbark yield a high-fidelity, piano-like tone with deep low-end resonance, smooth mahogany-like midrange warmth, and sparkling rosewood-style treble clarity. Paired with a premium solid Sitka Spruce soundboard and V-Class internal bracing, this guitar delivers massive dynamic headroom, articulate balance, and unmatched acoustic sustain.

Masterbuilt Lutherie & Fine Art Appointments

Visually, this Custom Grand Auditorium is a masterpiece of refined appointments. It features a dramatic sharp Florentine cutaway, a handpicked bookmatched ebony fingerboard, and custom Spiked Oval inlays crafted from grained ivoroid and matching Urban Ironbark. To protect the pure, uninhibited acoustic voice of these hand-selected tonewoods, this model was intentionally built pure acoustic with no onboard electronics. Antique Gold Gotoh 510 tuners deliver ultra-precise 21:1 tuning control, completing an heirloom-grade instrument built for serious players and collectors alike.

• Best For: Collectors, Fingerstyle Virtuosos, Acoustic Purists, Studio Recording, and Solo Performers.
• Tone Profile: Muscular, high-fidelity, piano-like clarity with rich low-end punch and crystalline trebles.
• Compared To: Premium mahogany or rosewood custom acoustics, but with expanded dynamic headroom and a unique balance of warmth and high-frequency projection.
• Sanctuary Expert Note: "Having sat with Bob to pick these boards, this guitar is pure magic. Ironbark has a density that hits like a grand piano, and leaving it purely acoustic lets the wood breathe and project naturally without any extra side cuts or hardware mass."

Technical Specifications:

• Model / Quote Number: Custom Acoustic Grand Auditorium (Custom Quote #13037)
• Serial Number: 1205205102
• Body Shape: Grand Auditorium with Florentine Cutaway
• Top Wood: Premium Sitka Spruce
• Back & Sides Wood: Highly Figured Urban Ironbark (4-Piece Simon's Wedge)
• Bracing: Sitka Spruce V-Class Bracing
• Neck Wood: Neo-Tropical Mahogany (Standard Carve, Satin Finish)
• Fingerboard & Bridge: Handpicked Bookmatched Special Ebony
• Inlays: Spiked Oval (Grained Ivoroid & Ironbark) on Fretboard / Solitaires on Peghead
• Back Inlay: Exclusive Custom "B. Taylor" Bob Taylor Signature Inlay
• Rosette & Purfling: Single-Ring Bound Abalone Rosette with Black/White/Paua Top Purfling
• Scale Length: 25-1/2" | Nut Width: 1-3/4"
• Body Binding: Solid Ebony
• Hardware / Tuners: Gotoh 510 Antique Gold Tuners
• Nut & Saddle: Bone Nut / Micarta Saddle
• Electronics: None (Pure Acoustic Construction)
• Case Included: Taylor Deluxe Brown Hardshell Case

Photos are of the actual guitar for sale, SN 1205205102.