M1
Art Davis on the inspiration behind the M1
"The M1 is the first guitar I designed and built after leaving Taylor. At the time, I thought this would be the only design I would ever build and it was meant to be a one design cure all for every possible music type or logistical need that a guitar could be used for. It has stood the test of time and has been used successfully for everything from recording and writing to traveling and has shared the stage with at least one serious head-knocker.
The design is based principally on the Spanish style guitars built by Manuel de Torres. He is generally regarded as the father of the modern classical guitar. To the guitar, he is like Stradivari to the violin.
A great inspiration is a guitar that Tim Luranc (a co-worker at Taylor Guitars) had found in some attic and restored. It was a really old Martin. Practically destroyed. We knew this because it looked like one and it had Fred's signature in it. Tim had to replace the neck, repair plenty cracks, replace little bits of abalone and ivory and painstakingly finished it with some sort of prehistoric varnish. It was as beautiful as any guitar has ever looked. From the first moment a string was pulled to tension, I knew it was winner.
Bob Taylor had only this to say about it, "Wow!" Dan Crary said, "This thing's a cannon!". This little guitar could flat out womp on almost anything we were building at Taylor at the time. Needless to say, I had to take a look inside.
It had extra side fans on it but mostly it was straight forward x-bracing that was invented by Martin right around the time this guitar was built. Uniquely, the braces had a straight taper instead of being straight with a scalloped end to fit under the lining or the more intensive scalloping of later instruments. The brace profile mirrored Dan's "Crary"[a Taylor DCSM] and a recent custom for Lawrence Juber that were both in the shop for work at the time. It is also the shape that holds your roof up, and the Parthenon, the Supreme Court and to Architecture and Engineering, it's like the Dictionary to your English class.
Now, I had replaced more than a few tops while working for Taylor and seen the insides of hundreds of guitars before I went to work for them. It was clear to me what didn't work. So I set out, using the "roof of the Parthenon' and placing the braces where I thought they were necessary for strength and longevity and paring them away, or eliminating them where strength and weight were deemed unnecessary.
The brace layout is classic x-bracing with an 'X', two fans, four side fans (two on each side) and one fingerboard brace. 'Alternate Resonance Tuning', a technique used in designing airplanes, bridges and buildings to keep them from vibrating overtly at one single frequency, and the process used in purpose built recording studios where no two walls are parallel in order to cut down on standing waves or echoes, were both also considered. I hope this isn't sounding too scientific. Basically, I am really only following the lead of those that came before me and making subtle changes where I think they (or their workers) have strayed from the path or might not have followed it to the very end.
So there is the M1. Classical dimensions. A 14-fret neck joint. Bracing designed for strength and lightness. Outline pushed out on the corners to use the most from a piece of wood while retaining gentle curves all the way around for strength and beauty. Take something good and try not to wreck it...Viola! I named it the M1 for "model one" with regards for the great company from Nazareth, the WWII carbine, the tank and the main north/south road in Britain where The Beatles came from."