Mike Vanden Guitars and Mandolins

MARTIN TAYLOR 'ARTISTRY'

Made for Taylor

(reproduced from Guitarist Nov.'99, with kind permission of Future Publishing)

Mike Vanden Martin Taylor Artistry: A svelte, hand-made jazzer that has the best of electric and acoustic tones - all for less than a Renault Clio!

MARTIN TAYLOR'S NEW signature guitar comes from the workshop of top builder Mike Vanden. As you can imagine it was designed to a pretty exacting brief; Martin's unique style makes a lot of demands on an instrument and if you're going for custom made, you may as well be as self-accommodating as possible. As Martin puts it: "The jazz world is a bit conservative. I thought it was time for something a bit different: a modern jazz guitar which still keeps some of the classic look of its forbears."

Old and the new
The guitar's overall shape evolved over hours of Martin and Mike gradually refining a fullscale drawing, pinned to the workshop wall. It's in keeping with the classic, full-bodied jazzer lines of yore, but with enough of a modern, unconventional edge. In short, it reflects perfectly the manifesto of the player for whom it was designed. Back to Martin: "The full-bodied jazz guitar is an American thing -they invented it. I wanted to give this guitar something of a European look and so I had the cutaway designed more in the Macaferri tradition and this is mirrored in the design of the headstock." When the Artistry came into the Guitarist office, it was so new that wafts of glue and lacquer hit my nostrils as I opened the case. This particular instrument bears serial number 002, the first being, naturally, in the hands of Martin Taylor. In fact, the guitar Martin is currently playing was designed as a prototype, but he was so thrilled with it that he now uses it exclusively for his solo performances.

First impressions count for an awful lot and judging by all the 'oohs' and 'aahhhs' that abound whenever the case is opened, everything is fine in the initial aesthetics department. The first thing you notice on picking the Artistry up is its weight; this guitar is as light as a feather! This feature was important in the design because Martin usually performs standing up - unusual for a jazzer - and so this bantam box of tricks isn't going to cause any undue strain on long tours. "I wanted a smaller body because it suits my style," says Martin. "I stand up to play and a smaller body feels right somehow in this position".

It's immediately apparent, too, that we're dealing with a guitar where the design ethic was clearly to build a full-body jazz instrument from the point of view of an acoustic guitar. In that respect, the electrical side of the Artistry isn't that obvious. Mini pots and a microscopic toggle switch nestle on the pickguard, and the woody neck pickup and bridge piezo realise a level of discreetness that most major politicians could only dream of. More on these later, though.

The Artistry's top is made from bookmatched spruce. Back, sides and neck are maple, with ebony the wood of choice for peghead veneer; fingerboard, bridge and tailpiece. The nut is fashioned from bone, while the trussrod cover and side markers are made from Tahiti pearl - a very exotic, almost metallic-looking substance which makes the trussrod cover look holographic under certain lighting conditions. The rest of The Artistry's inlay is mother-of-pearl.

Glancing inside the guitar reveals nothing untoward. It might still have the aroma, but you can't actually see any of the glue that's been used in the building process. It's neat, clean and totally in keeping with a guitar that demonstrates meticulousness and care at every stage of the build process.

As we've seen, the depth of the body was a design feature dictated by Martin. He wanted a 'thin' instrument and so the Artistry measures up at only 7Omm wide. This is unusual in the history of jazz guitars, as players more commonly opt for the depth and bass response that a bigger body affords. More about that later...

Play, papa!
The neck fits snugly in the hand- which is good when you consider it was designed to fit Martin Taylor's and not mine. Martin was very specific about the neck width; after all, playing fingerstyle requires arguably more from a fretboard, specifically at the nut end. To meet these requirements, the Artistry clocks in at 44mm at the nut, broadening out to 56mm at the 14th fret. It was Martin's idea, too, that the fingerboard should be free of the usual markers, in keeping with the instrument's overall classy, almost understated look.

Another of Martin's specific requests was that the guitar responds more like an acoustic than an electric. This is the eternal conundrum for guitar makers trying to build a 'best of both worlds' instrument - and usually, sacrifices are made. How many times have you picked up an electro-acoustic only to find that it's more one way than the other? Happily, in the case of the Artistry, it responds exactly like a high-grade acoustic instrument and the electronics don't interfere. The combination of the Mimesis and the piezo bridge pickups bring out the very best -and most versatile - of electric voices.

The controls on the guitar's pickguard comprise a blend rotary - for mixing the two pickup sounds - and a volume. The mini toggle switch is rather a clever affair; too. Martin's playing style calls for both fingerstyle and plectrum and this switch accommodates the 'attack' differential. Fingers are softer than plastic and so a flick of the switch produces a 4dB cut around the 2-3kHz audio range. It's neat, clever and simple - and it's another idiosyncrasy deftly dealt with by Mike Vanden.

The guitar's active electrics are governed by two separate preamps - one for the Mimesis and one for the piezo. Sensibly enough, the power comes from two readily available 2032 size 6V lithium cells (you can buy them from Boots). The cells have a minimum lifespan of 100 hours and are activated when the jack plug is inserted into the guitar.

Boost the bass ...
Under normal circumstances, a thin body like The Artistry means rather a meagre bass response. But not in this case. Mike told us that in order to enhance the guitar's bass response as much as possible, he used a special bracing system. Usually opting for a parallel brace, on this occasion he split the bracing on the bass side in order to encourage more movement of the soundboard. This style of bracing has produced a very lively, but even acoustic tone from the guitar.

When plugged in to an amp, the Artistry serves the player well. Using the fader control to blend the guitar's electric and acoustic properties offers a very broad tonal range indeed. I found everything from traditional jazzy ‘plumminess’ to those all important shimmering, bright acoustic sounds, both readily available with minimal fuss.

Value for money
A hand-built instrument is always going to carry a weighty price tag, but £6,200 is fair-dos for an instrument of this quality- if you've ever looked into pricing for hand-carved archtops, you'll know that figures of £5-10K aren't unusual. If you chose to order one from Mike, he can accommodate most individual foibles within the overall design plan. If you wanted a different neck width or even fret markers, then these can be provided.

We're still looking
According to Mike, when Martin Taylor was handed the finished product, it was love at first sight: "I gave it to him and he sat and played it in my workshop for three hours without stopping. I just left him to it!
And from the horse's mouth? "I can't think of anything I would want to change on it." says Martin. "I look every day, but can't think of anything."

This guitar is a beauty; it feels good and sounds great. No wonder he can't find fault.

Set the controls
The electrics on the Martin Taylor Vanden are really rather clever. There is a piezo pickup under the bridge to bring out the guitar's acoustic properties. This is balanced with a neck pickup which mazimises the Artistry's electric potential.
The controls comprise a blend rotary to mix the guitar's acoustic and electric sounds, whilst the other micro pot is a simple volume control. No tone control - Mike and Martin both believe tone is strictly a front-of-house problem.
The mini switch gives a 4dB cut at 2-3kHz to compensate for the difference in attack between fingerstyle and plectrum work.

The rivals
· Gibson L-5 from £4,141
· Benedetto from $2OK
· Santa Cruz Archtop from £9,295
· D'Aquisto Ultra £8,299

Spec check
MIKE VANDEN MARTIN TAYLOR ARTISTRY
PRICE £6,200 inc case
TOP: bookmatched spruce BACK, SIDES AND NECK: maple NECK, BRIDGE AND TAILPIECE: ebony SIDE MARKERS AND TRUSS ROD COVER: Tahiti pearl NUT: bone NECK WIDTH AT NUT: 44mm MACHINE HEADS: Gotoh PICKUPS: Mimesis and Piezo under bridge CONTROLS. two rotary - one blend, one volume. Active system Toggle switch: gives 4dB boost or cut around 2-3kHz CASE: included CON'TACT- Mike Vanden on 01967402114

David Mead GUITARIST. NOVEMBER 1999

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