Bill Taylor (Taylormade) 1954-2021
Bill Taylor, from Pigeon Forge, Tennessee was a multi-instrumentalist who made his living as a full-time musician in Dollywood and elsewhere before training as a teacher around 2000. When younger, he helped out dulcimer builder Mark Edelman, who gave him a kit to build one year. This sparked his interest in dulcimers and he began to play them and make them. By 2005 he had developed a thriving custom building business with his own large-bodied design, using mainly native American woods. Construction was to an exceptionally high standard and top end models had the distinction of carved designs in the strum hollow, made by his friend and fellow musician Carmon Dayton. Bill often taught building and playing workshops at major dulcimer festivals during the 2000s, including Dulcimerville. He died in October 2021.
2.283 2006 Bill Taylor 4 String Hourglass #1556 £525 + original shell case in good condition £25
Handwritten inside n/s soundhole: “Taylormade/ Dulcimer/ Bill Taylor [signed]/ #1556/ 6/06”.
This is a custom-made, high quality instrument with a large cherry body, bookmatched on sides and back, and a maple purfling strip down the centre back. Very fine-grained, straight spruce top with some ‘bear-claw’ figure. Soundholes are large dogwood flowers, made from redwood or possibly walnut, incised to provide the floral details. Scroll and pegbox are a sandwich of two woods, cherry to the outside with a butternut or oak core. Good quality Grover chrome enclosed tuners are fitted. The fingerboard is cherry, with an ebony overlay, and has 6+ and 13+ frets. The fingerboard in the bridge area is scooped, once in front of the bridge for the strum hollow, the other behind it, rising to the tail block. The bridge is mounted in an ebony housing, but seems to be made of buffalo horn rather than ebony, as is the nut. The strings run through a highish tail and are anchored either by mushroom-headed pins (for loop strings) or small cavities (for ball-end). There’s a pin on the side of the fingerboard to drop the nearest melody string if required. Chrome strap buttons on tail and (far-side) neck. Overall length 37½”, upper bout 6⅜”, lower bout 8″, depth 2⅛”, FBW 1⅝”, VSL 27½” (medium scale), weight 2lb 7oz (1113g), strings now 12, 14, 24w. Has 6+ & 13+ frets.
Bill Taylor was a much admired dulcimer builder and player. This is a professional, custom instrument with high quality materials and construction. The big cherry body gives a big, punchy sound which would be excellent for fingerstyle playing or light cross-picking. Excellent intonation and easy action. Would work equally well with a lighter set of strings (say 10 or 11, 14, 22w) if desired.
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