James Olson SJ (James Taylor Series I Options) 2021
Cedar Top, East Indian Rosewood Back & Sides
Mint Condition
 
There aren’t many players and luthiers as inextricably linked as James Taylor and Jim Olson.
 
Guitar players are a notoriously fickle bunch, prone to acquisitiveness, seemingly more likely than most to covet thy neighbor’s toys, but James Taylor defies the stereotype, and he has been faithful to Olson since the latter found a way to get one of his guitars into the hands of the former way back in 1989.
 
Jim has built eight guitars for James over the years, starting with an unsolicited SJ with a cutaway. That guitar inspired an order for a non-cutaway SJ and a Dreadnought, the demands and practical needs of touring prompted a second non-cutaway SJ, then Olson insisted on giving Taylor one of each of the three James Taylor signature model SJs he built, and lastly there’s a lovely wee parlor.
 
They’ve all got cedar tops, ebony fingerboards and Olson’s standard 5-piece laminated neck, six have Indian rosewood backs and sides, one of the signature model instruments and the parlor are Brazilian rosewood. The occasional Telecaster sighting notwithstanding, you’d be hard-pressed to find Taylor playing anything but one of those Olson guitars over the past 30-plus years.
 
This James Olson SJ Body Size guitar was produced in 2021 and includes JTSM Series I Options. This model does not include James Taylor signature.
 
At this price you expect perfection and this guitar is certainly made with incredible attention to detail. The body uses some very walnut-colored pieces of rosewood for the back and sides, capped with a top of beautiful cedar, while the neck is a five-piece laminate of maple and mahogany with a centre strip of rosewood. Bridge and fingerboard are both ebony and inlays are abalone body edging and soundhole purfling, and mother-of-pearl "flying doves" along the fingerboard. The neck and headstock are bound in black plastic, while the body is bound in mock tortoiseshell. A truly beautiful overall appearance.
 
Internally, the work is exceptional, with hand-cut kerfing looking perfect.
 
The guitar is sweet, singing and sustainy. There is a real warmth and fruity tone that responds to picking or strumming dynamics better than any guitar I've heard or played.
 
If it's good enough for James Taylor, it's good enough for any guitar player. This is an acoustic guitar of your dreams.
 
Specification:
SJ non-cutaway body shape
Cedar top
East Indian rosewood back and sides
Rosewood binding
5-piece laminated neck
Abalone dove and "O" inlays
Abalone soundhole trim
Abalone trim around the top edge, back center strip and endblock wedge
Custom Gotoh 510 "rock steady post" tuners with "O" logo goldtone casings and black faux-ebony knobs
Custom Calton "Deluxe" hardshell case with "O" embossed on the lid