When Taylor introduced the Legacy Series, which revisits Taylor’s classic designs from early in their history, we hoped that meant that they were going bring some of our favorite signature models out of retirement. Happily, with the Doyle Dykes Signature Model (DDSM), they did just that. Way back when, Dykes and Taylor worked together to create a guitar that was optimized for fingerstyle and this new version recreates the unique features of the old model with some subtle upgrades inspired by the lessons learned in the decades since the DDSM was first built.
The DDSM has a slightly shallower Grand Auditorium body and a shorter 24 7/8” scale length, which makes this guitar easy to hold and a breeze to play. The figured maple back and sides and Sitka spruce top produce a tone that has lots of clarity and projection with nicely balanced bass to treble response. The hard rock maple neck has a slim carve that makes intricate fingerstyle passages effortless.
The DDSM has a transparent orange gloss finish and thumbprint-style fret markers that were inspired by the guitars played by Chet Atkins, who was a long-time friend to Dykes. The guitar is bound in grained ivoroid binding with green abalone top trim and rosette with black/cream purfling. A rose motif headstock inlay in mother-of-pearl and green abalone, along with ebony bridge pins with abalone dots, completes the striking aesthetic. The DDSM is fitted with Taylor’s new Claria System electronics, featuring onboard Volume, Mid-Contour and Tone controls for easy, natural amplified sound in any setting.
