I'm sorry, I should have been more clear with what I consider "Filler Wood". A lot of the Cheaper Laminate imports have a Veneer of wood for the inside and outside layers while the middle is made up of a Particle Board type material.
Ahhh: "All-wood" vs "Wood plus composite". Good point.
And let's point out again (for our new friends) that laminates are generally regarded as undesirable in an acoustic
top where they inhibit resonance and is why they're actually used in some electric archtops to help squelch feedback.
Even then there're some acoustic builds that defy the "tone-killer" rule, "red-label" Yamahas being a frequently mentioned type.
I'm sure they may have changed the procedure a little over time on the making of the Laminate Arched backs but you have to remember that they have used the same Arched back press to form the backs for a very long time and I believe it is in Oxnard Now.
Yes it is and it's been with 'em at least since Westerly if not Hoboken even (can't recall if that was ever verified.)
After all its first use would have been on laminated
archtops, and then the backs of F50's.
Just don't know if they got a "new" one in Westerly in anticipation of growing demand.
also a friend of mine has an arched back Taylor, and he claims it is solid wood. I have to say it does appear that it could be solid wood that is pressed/arched. it is a super nice guitar. But there is a chance he just meant what Tex said (laminated but no "filler").
I'd be surprised if it's a single sheet , because
A: It's a lot harder to arch-press a single sheet thick enough to be a back because unlike sides, it's being stressed in several dimensions, and
B: Solid arched backs (or tops) are a lot more prone to cracking, but with solid arched tops they're carved, not pressed. And that's whole lot of labor cost.
By definition it only takes 2 layers to be a lamination but for best strength you'd like one layer's grain to be perpendicular to one next to it, so cosmetically, a 3rd layer makes it look "nice" again.
So, 3 very thin sheets glued up and steam-pressed is actually stronger than a single sheet.
We even had a guy join here a few years back who simply wouldn't believe his F65ce had a laminated back because the inside sheet's grain matched the outside so perfectly. But that was the norm during the early '90's.
It took a couple of months for me to notice that the inside layer of my D25 was actually pointing the opposite direction than the outside, that's when I first realized it was laminated.
After I joined here one of the Westerly employees, member Hideglue, said that actually would have been considered a production goof.
So it wouldn't surprise me if Taylor's just using the same aesthetic philosophy and it
looks solid.
In fact, here's a quote from their website:
"The Baby Taylor’s upsized sibling is nearly a full-size Dreadnought (15/16 scale) that yields a more robust voice. It’s another great option as an affordable starter guitar, and its
layered wood back and sides make it a resilient, travel-friendly companion for all kinds of players."
(my emphasis)
Also found a spec sheet which says the 110 series dread has laminated back.