Stuff to Do in San Diego: Tour the Taylor Guitar Factory

What's better than having fun? Having fun for FREE!!!! The Taylor Guitar Factory, located in El Cajon, California, offers free tours of their guitar factory five days a week. Whether you're a guitar player, aspiring luthier, or just love music, this is an entertaining and enlightening way to spend an afternoon.

The tour leaves the lobby at 1:00 p.m. and starts in the lumber yard. Taylor uses a variety of different woods to produce their guitars - everything from Maple and Walnut to Ebony and Indian Rosewood. One of the more interesting woods they use is Stika Spruce. It is estimated that the planet only has about 9-years worth of Sitka Spruce left for consumption (the trees take 500 years to mature to make a guitar soundboard, and it's also used for pianos and sailboats). In the lumber yard, you'll get to check out raw hunks of wood as they begin their transformations into Taylor Guitars.

Most of the parts Taylor creates for their guitars are machine-made. While some may scoff at this fact, there are two very prominent reasons why Taylor chooses to go the machine-made route: first, it drastically cuts down on waste and second, it gives the guitars a higher level of consistency and quality. On the tour, you get to observe every stage of guitar manufacturing, and it's not as though there are just machines and robots everywhere. There are people who are passionate about the product they are creating!

Once the individual pieces are created, they have to be put together. Skilled woodworkers complete the finer points of crafting while a team of amazingly detail-oriented women carefully glue bracing on the tops of the guitars. Another team of workers assembles the guitars.

Probably one of the coolest jobs at the factory is the quality control. After all the hardware is installed, each and every Talor Guitar gets tested and played by a person who is directly responsible for the quality of the guitar - they're not going to sign off on an instrument if it's not playing perfectly, and to me, that says a lot about the high standard of quality that Taylor upholds.

Of course, there's a neat gift shop too!

Taylor Guitar Factory Tour Info from TaylorGuitars.com:

A free, guided tour of the Taylor factory complex is given every Monday through Friday, at 1 p.m. (excluding holidays). No appointment is necessary; simply check-in at our receptionist desk in the lobby of our main building by 1 p.m. sharp, tell the receptionist that you’d like to take the tour. The tour lasts approximately one hour and 15 minutes. Our main building is located at 1980 Gillespie Way in El Cajon, California. Map / Directions

There is a good amount of walking involved, and due to the technical content of the tour, it may be unsuitable for small children.

Large groups (more than 10) and school-supervised groups must schedule special tours in advance by calling (619) 258-1207 and asking for the Factory Tour Manager. Please give us at least two weeks notice.

The TaylorWare store is located in our visitor center. Here you'll find everything for the Taylor fan, from apparel to gift items to replacement guitar parts. New items are added all the time, so be sure to stop by often.

A free, guided tour of the Taylor factory complex is given every Monday through Friday, at 1 p.m. (excluding holidays). No appointment is necessary; simply check-in at our receptionist desk in the lobby of our main building by 1 p.m. sharp, tell the receptionist that you’d like to take the tour. The tour lasts approximately one hour and 15 minutes. Our main building is located at 1980 Gillespie Way in El Cajon, California. Map / Directions

There is a good amount of walking involved, and due to the technical content of the tour, it may be unsuitable for small children.

Large groups (more than 10) and school-supervised groups must schedule special tours in advance by calling (619) 258-1207 and asking for the Factory Tour Manager. Please give us at least two weeks notice.

The TaylorWare store is located in our visitor center. Here you'll find everything for the Taylor fan, from apparel to gift items to replacement guitar parts. New items are added all the time, so be sure to stop by often.



Tours are held at the Taylor complex every Monday though Friday (excluding holidays) at 1:00 p.m. - and once again, the tour is FREE!