Taylor Legacy Collection 810e

A wonderful tribute to one of Taylor’s most iconic models.

November 20, 2024

Taylor has spent much of 2024 focusing on and releasing a variety of 50th-anniversary special editions, most of which we’ve had a chance to check out and demo here at Peghead Nation. Coinciding with the anniversary of the company’s founding in October of 1974, Taylor recently announced its new Legacy Collection (check out this video of Bob Taylor introducing the instruments!). While the 50th Anniversary Collection focused on variations of popular current models, the Legacy Collection celebrates some of Taylor’s earliest models and guitars that have shaped the company. In this video, I demonstrate the Legacy Collection 810e with the help of Bay Area flatpicker Jim Nunally, and we’ll feature the collection’s 815e, 855e, 514ce, and 714ce in coming weeks.

Taylor’s first guitars were essentially continuations of the guitars that had been developed in San Diego’s American Dream shop, which Taylor evolved from. Rather than offering specific models, early Taylors were one-of-a-kind variations on the American Dream dreadnought and jumbo. By 1976, founders Bob Taylor, Kurt Listug, and Steve Schemmer decided it was time to create specific models, and the 800 series was born with three guitars, the 810 dreadnought, the 815 six-string jumbo, and the 855 12-string jumbo, all of which had similar appointments and were built with spruce tops and rosewood backs and sides. The 800 series continues among Taylor’s current line, but the original trio of 800s have been replaced by updated designs over the years, so it’s great to see Taylor taking another look at their original designs.

Like the other Legacy Collection instruments, the 810e is not an exact reissue of the original model. Instead, it features the slightly more rounded dreadnought body shape Taylor introduced in 1997, rather than the earlier shape that Taylor inherited from American Dream. It also has the highly adjustable NT neck Taylor began using around 2000, rather than the earlier bolt-on design that glued the fingerboard extension to the top. The guitar sports the slightly smaller, “straight-ear” peghead of early Taylors, and perhaps most significantly, it is built with X-bracing, rather than the V-Class bracing the company switched to for all other lines of guitars built in its main El Cajon, California factory. The guitar also includes Taylor’s “relief rout” inside the top, which was introduced in the early 2000s. In a nod to the various pickup systems Taylor used prior to introducing its own ES system in 2003, the Legacy Collection instruments include L.R. Baggs Element VTC electronics.

The Legacy Collection 810e could be thought of as the ultimate 810, combining several of the best features from various eras of the model, while continuing the use of Indian rosewood back and sides, a Sitka spruce top, and 800-series appointments, which include white binding, diamond fingerboard inlays, and other classic elements.

The Legacy Collection 810e instrument we checked out looks, feels, and sounds fabulous. The woods used are of the very high quality that top-end Taylors are known for, and the specs and appointments give it the classic 800-series vibe. It may seem strange to call out a guitar that is celebrating a 50-year old design as “modern,” but even today, the 810e has a fresh sound and feel that sets it apart from the more common pack of dreadnoughts that are inspired by prewar designs. The tonal focus, clarity, and balance, and of course the now-legendary low-profile Taylor neck shape may not seem as revolutionary as they were in the mid-1970s, but they continue to result in a magnificent guitar. Compared with newer Taylor designs, the Legacy Collection 810e has a more traditional tonality and a different overtone spectrum, which became evident as Jim flatpicked his way through “Wildwood Flower.” I was happy to be reminded how incredibly capable and versatile 810s can be, and I also found the L.R. Baggs electronics to be a good match for the instrument.

Guitarists who have been missing the classic X-braced models from Taylor’s lineup will welcome the Legacy Collection instruments, but anyone looking for a truly classic American flattop should also check them out. I for one can’t wait to check out the other guitars in the collection!