Taylor Guitars AB-2 Fretless Acoustic

Made in 1997 in El Cajon, CA. this acoustic bass is fretless without fretlines. The entire body is made of Brazilian Imbuia. The full-scale (34") mahogany neck is finger-jointed to an Imbuia peghead. The fingerboard is ebony with Steve Klein's ivoroid signature at the 12th fret. It's equipped with a Fishman ABGP-2 piezo pickup with onboard preamp. It's powered by a 9 volt battery located under the bridge. There is an access panel at the bottom of the bass. One knob controls the volume and the other is a split knob for treble/bass. The satin finished body is BIG with a length of 22 1/4", a width of 19", and a bi-directional taper from 3.5" to 6 1/4". Overall legth is 51 3/4". As in all Taylor basses, the soundhole is offset to the treble side just under the Venetian cutaway. The bridge is imbuia with a phenolic saddle. Instead of the standard peg system found on most acoustics, Taylor's bridge is grooved for the ball end of the string to slide into providing a firm anchor. The nut is also made of ebony. The chrome tuners are by Grover. The bass fits snugly in the biggest gig bag I've ever seen.

I use this bass for soft rock, blues, jazz and some country. Unplugged, it is reasonably loud but not much louder than my Martin acoustic. I play it through Hartke amps. It is so quiet you have to stop to make sure it's plugged in. The sound is big, beautiful and warm. The bass really comes alive plugged in. I can go from the thump of an upright to the Jaco-like "mwah" of a Jazz bass. This thing really sings. Solos sound best played on this machine! I would think it is equally suited for stage or studio. The only dislike I have is, I wish it were louder unplugged. I guess it's physically impossible to make an acoustic bass that's as loud unplugged as an acoustic guitar! Plugged in, this is one of the prettiest sounding basses I've ever heard.

I bought this bass used via Ebay. The bass was setup well. The only flaws were two tiny dings in the body and dead strings. I replaced them with Ernie Ball Earthwood strings. What a difference!

I don't know the reliability yet but I'm sure it's good. Taylor used the finest materials to create this instrument and I'm sure that will translate into durability with reasonable care. I would definitely bring it to a gig with out a backup.

I visited the Taylor website to trace when this bass was made. Their webpage is very well laid out so this was easy. I then ordered a Taylor strap and registered my bass with them. I also asked them a question concerning my bass. They emailed me the next day with the answer and welcomed me to the Taylor family. Unfortunately, the warranty is only good for the original owner. No biggie. Fine company in my book.

I've been playing bass for over 18 years and this is my 30th bass. This is my second acoustic bass and I wanted different features than my Martin. I searched for a while for the "right one" and the Taylor fit the bill hands down! If it were stolen, I'd cry for weeks. I was incredibly lucky to find this on Ebay and I saved about a thousand dollars compared to Guitar Center. It lists for close to $3000! It is the most exotic bass in my collection and I'm very proud to own it.