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Urban Ash

Available in: GT Series, 300 Series
Shown: GTe Urban Ash

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Overview: Sourced from city trees in need of removal, Urban Ash produces midrange power and balance comparable to Honduran mahogany.

Origin:  Southern California Urban Settings

Sound: Our use of Urban Ash, also known as Shamel or evergreen ash, reflects Taylor’s commitment to finding more sustainable, responsible ways to source tonewoods from within our local region. This ash is supplied by West Coast Arborists, Inc., a company that provides tree maintenance and management services to cities across California. Trees that eventually need to be removed due to age, safety concerns and other factors traditionally have had very little end-of-life market value. Our use of Urban Ash can create more value for these trees and support efforts to re-green city infrastructure.

Tonally, Urban Ash’s properties—comparable to high-quality Honduran mahogany—make it a strong contender as a high-grade guitar wood of the future. With its focused, fundamental-strong voice, it produces clean notes mostly free of ringing overtones—the note you play is the note you’ll hear. This makes it supremely adaptable to the particular style of the player. Compared to the “swamp” ash used by electric guitar makers, this species is heavier, denser and more resonant, but not nearly as heavy as the Northern ash used for baseball bats.

Goes Well With: Fingerstyle players seeking an articulate sound unclouded by overtones, or generalists looking for an all-purpose sound that can be molded to perform across genres and styles. It’s also a versatile tonewood option for singer-songwriters and players looking to cut through a mix with a group of musicians.

 

Urban Ash Featured Models

Back and Side Woods Overview

The hardwoods used for a guitar’s back and sides (the same species is used for both) contribute rigidity and stability to an acoustic guitar body. This helps generate more sustain from notes as they ring out. The back and sides woods also emphasize certain resonant frequencies in ways that add unique sonic colors and textures to the guitar’s overall sound. 

Body Woods and Acoustic Guitar Tone

Along with body shape and top woods, the woods used for the back and sides of an acoustic guitar play a key role in coloring the guitar’s voice. Hardwoods, such as rosewood, mahogany, koa and maple, are exclusively used. They provide the supportive shell of the guitar body, and their hardness and density add the rigidity that helps generate sustain from the notes.

Explore All Acoustic Features