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The Finest

How Taylor Guitars changed the guitar industry — and helped revitalize an African forest in the process

 October 8, 2026 at 5:00 AM PDT
By Julia Dixon Evans | Arts & Culture Reporter and Host, The Finest,  Anthony Wallace | Producer, The Finest
Contributors: Ben Redlawsk | Media Production Specialist,  Mike Damron | Video Journalist
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Bob Taylor builds guitars in the early years of Taylor Guitars, which he co-founded in 1974 at age 19.
Courtesy of Taylor Guitars
Bob Taylor builds guitars in the early years of Taylor Guitars, which he co-founded in 1974 at age 19.
Bob Taylor holds an ebony tree seedling in Cameroon. The Ebony Project, a collaboration between Taylor Guitars and scientists from UCLA, works with local communities to regenerate ebony trees and improve forest habitat.
Courtesy of Taylor Guitars
Bob Taylor holds an ebony tree seedling in Cameroon. The Ebony Project, a collaboration between Taylor Guitars and scientists from UCLA, works with local communities to regenerate ebony trees and improve forest habitat.

Taylor Guitars is one of the world’s best-known acoustic guitar makers, with roots in San Diego and a history of changing how guitars are designed and made. But founder Bob Taylor’s work has taken him far beyond the factory floor. A trip to Cameroon to investigate an ebony sawmill exposed a problem with wood used in his guitars and sent Bob on a decades-long journey involving forests, sustainability and some surprising research.

We visit Taylor Guitars in El Cajon and talk with Bob about the company’s evolution, his approach to guitar making and what happened when he started asking where the wood in his guitars actually came from.

" I would say that our first step into sustainability was like, gosh, this tree grew for 100 years, 200 years, and we're going to waste a piece of it? I don't think so. We thought, let's not waste anything. Let's not waste a thing. Almost get monastic about it, you know?" Bob said.

And that’s where elephants come into the story.

Inside the Taylor Guitars factory headquarters in El Cajon on Sept. 14, 2026.
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Variegated ebony guitar necks ready for assembly at the Taylor Guitars factory headquarters in El Cajon on Sept. 14, 2026. Traditionally, only jet-black ebony was used for fretboards on guitars before Taylor introduced variegated ebony as a more sustainable option.
Julia Dixon Evans
Inside the Taylor Guitars factory headquarters in El Cajon on Sept. 14, 2026.
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Guitar necks ready for assembly at the Taylor Guitars factory headquarters in El Cajon on Sept. 14, 2026. This facility produces 102 guitars per day, while the company's factory in Tecate, Mexico, produces about 700 per day.
Julia Dixon Evans
Inside the Taylor Guitars factory headquarters in El Cajon on Sept. 14, 2026.
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An example of Taylor Guitars’ V-Class bracing, one of the company's innovations in acoustic guitar design over the past 52 years. This design is intended to produce a louder sound and more precise notes across the fretboard.
Julia Dixon Evans
Inside the Taylor Guitars factory headquarters in El Cajon on Sept. 14, 2026.
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Bags collect excess sawdust from guitar production at the Taylor Guitars factory headquarters in El Cajon on Sept. 14, 2026. Local landscapers collect the sawdust from the factory and often use it as mulch.
Julia Dixon Evans
Inside the Taylor Guitars factory headquarters in El Cajon on Sept. 14, 2026.
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An example of the advanced machinery that Taylor Guitars uses for precision manufacturing at its factory headquarters in El Cajon. The company was an early adopter of computer numerical control, or CNC, machinery for acoustic guitar production.
Julia Dixon Evans
Inside the Taylor Guitars factory headquarters in El Cajon on Sept. 14, 2026.
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Guitar bodies ready for assembly at the Taylor Guitars factory headquarters in El Cajon on Sept. 14, 2026.
Julia Dixon Evans
Inside the Taylor Guitars factory headquarters in El Cajon on Sept. 14, 2026.
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Taylor Guitars produces several signature models with prominent artists, including one for Taylor Swift. Swift hosted her album release party for "Fearless" at the company's El Cajon headquarters.
Julia Dixon Evans

Guests:

  • Bob Taylor, co-founder and president of Taylor Guitars
  • Craig Evans, director of marketing for Taylor Guitars
  • Nick Kennedy, content writer and contributor for Taylor Guitars

Sources:

Workers process ebony wood for use in guitar necks at the Crelicam ebony sawmill in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Taylor Guitars acquired the mill in 2011.
Thomas-Diego Badia
Workers process ebony wood for use in guitar necks at the Crelicam ebony sawmill in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Taylor Guitars acquired the mill in 2011.
An example of a variegated ebony fretboard on a Taylor guitar. The company introduced the style on its flagship models after purchasing an ebony sawmill in Cameroon and realizing that ebony that wasn’t pure black had previously been discarded.
Courtesy of Taylor Guitars
An example of a variegated ebony fretboard on a Taylor guitar. The company introduced the style on its flagship models after purchasing an ebony sawmill in Cameroon and realizing that ebony that wasn’t pure black had previously been discarded.

From KPBS Public Media, The Finest is a podcast about the people, art and movements redefining culture in San Diego. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Pocket Casts, Pandora, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Finest, Episode 54
How Taylor Guitars changed the guitar industry — and helped revitalize an African forest in the process

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