Tauscher & Co , Taco guitars

**satchmo** · 02-13-2018, 05:57 PM

Hi,
I've recently bought a Tauscher & Co, "Taco" made arch top and was wondering if anyone has much to say about these. I'll post images later. I'm finding it to be a great guitar - I believe it to be late 50s or early 60s. This one has the pickup placed into the fretboard. Nice neck, great craftsmanship etc. I just haven't seen much in the posts about these guitars.
Thanks

**BigMikeinNJ** · 02-13-2018, 06:01 PM

Ok Satchmo,

I'm gonna cut you some serious brotherly slack being it is your first post here.
You obviously don't understand - don't EVER, EVER, post about a new guitar without using pictures.
Like we say here, if there's no photos, IT DIDN'T HAPPEN....

Now two offenses here: no pictures, and a guitar named after food - a Taco Guitar... I'm telling ya, you're on thin ice... Pony up those pictures so we can see this. Sounds cool as hell...

WELCOME TO THE MAD HOUSE....

Big

**maggles55** · 02-13-2018, 06:52 PM

Here 'tis: Tauscher & Co , Taco guitars-tacoguitar1-jpg

Guess it is a semi-hollow (on account of the meat, cheese, etc)

**neatomic** · 02-13-2018, 07:58 PM

^ that taco's givin me GAS

hahaha

cheers

**john_a** · 02-13-2018, 09:10 PM

At the local Tacqueria, their al Pastor is made with two soft corn tortilla -- Does that indicate a Laminate ?

But seriously, share some pics. I've not heard of that make before, and unless you are describing a floating pickup with the *bracket* attached to the underside end of fretboard, it's hard to imagine a pickup actually *in* the fretboard.

**satchmo** · 02-13-2018, 09:14 PM

OK here's some pics. Anyone have experience with these Tauscher & co "TACO" German arch tops? The tuners are newer Grovers and I don't think the tailpiece is original but is from the period =60s. The pickup is an in neck/under fretboard type and the pick guard 9Obviously not on the guitar) is of tortoiseshell.

**satchmo** · 02-13-2018, 09:17 PM

Yes the fretboard is carved out underneath on the end and the pickup is in there. I also have a Marma Archtop with the same except the end fretboard is carved like a LYRE and has fabric but the same sound and in the same place.

**citizenk74** · 02-13-2018, 09:21 PM

1)

2) Cool lookin' guitar! Definitely not what I expected from the title.

**satchmo** · 02-13-2018, 09:25 PM

Here's the Marma with the same Hidden pickup in/under the fretboard. The Lyre carve and the pickup is underneath. Dig that killer metal carved pick guard.

**BigMikeinNJ** · 02-13-2018, 09:27 PM

Very interesting guitar, couldn't help but give you grief about posting about a guitar with food as part of the name. It's cold and there's too much snow on the ground for my liking. Haven't been able to smoke a cigar on my porch in two weeks - so put on a massive pot of bean soup that was smelling awesome, but not ready to eat.

Really interesting guitar.

Welcome to our madhouse...

Big

Tauscher & Co , Taco guitars-27750351_10155433350417239_1067616121172850039_n-jpg

Tauscher & Co , Taco guitars-27750351_10155433350417239_1067616121172850039_n-jpg

**Hammertone** · 02-13-2018, 09:40 PM

Once you get those utterly wrong replacement tuners off the guitar and install a more suitable set of open-back, nickel-plated tuners from Waverly/Gotoh/Schaller/Grover, that will be a nice looking guitar. Perhaps a nice set from Rubner or Van Gent id you wwant to be more authentic.

The world of hand-carved German archtops, let alone East German hand-carved archtop guitars does not get a lot of pixel juice around here. It's mostly about American archtops and Japanese copies of American archtops.

Summary of information from Stefan Lob's site:

TACO was founded in 1889 by Eduard Tauscher (b.1868 - d.1948) in Erlbach. He was was a professional violin maker, from a family of instrument builders with long history in the region. They sold instruments internationally, mostly violins. After WWII, Günter Tauscher ran the company until his death in the early 70s.

Johannes Meinl (of the Musical Instruments Museum Markneukirchen) thinks that the TACO archtop guitars were built by Gottfried Uebel (deceased) , a violin and guitar maker who studied with Max Sandner in Erlbach, passed his master's examination in Markneukirchen in 1954 and was subsequently self-employed in Erlbach. He and his co-workers made all kinds of guitars, many for Tauscher & Co.

**john_a** · 02-13-2018, 09:43 PM

It's a pretty good balance between radical and traditional design -- German carve, square shouldered body, then those wild sound holes and stylized bridge, and a very unique way to integrate the pickup. You did well to get a striking example of what I imagine is a rare find, congratulations on your recent NGD. The tuners & tailpiece seem like good match for the guitar.

John

**satchmo** · 02-13-2018, 10:07 PM

I have a set of 60s nickel from a Hoyer guitar that I may put on the Taco but the Grover's came on the guitar and are really very good tuners but I agree a bit over the top for the look of this guitar. Like having big ears - they stick out a bit.

**Hammertone** · 02-13-2018, 10:08 PM

The integrated pickup was a common East German design. Most of the pickup hardware was provided by Rellog, with connections to a lead cable made with banana plugs into jacks usually located at the base of the heel.

Taco was just one of a bunch of East German shops that built a few hundred high-end archtops between them, from the late 1940s to the early 1960s.

A handful of members here are familiar with these instruments and a reasonable body of knowledge now exists about them, but there is no real interest in them beyond that, despite their build quality and design innovation.

**Hammertone** · 02-13-2018, 10:22 PM

Here are a few TACO guitars:

**satchmo** · 02-13-2018, 10:39 PM

Hammertone, Curious how you say there isn't much interest in the arch tops like Taco or others of the East German origin. I think maybe players/collectors here just haven't been exposed to them or have not been looking outside the US. ( Granted the US has some of the best in the world) I think these German arch tops are fantastic guitars in both craftsmanship and design. Like any guitar - you'll find duds. But in there are some jewels to be had - and I'm not talking about 5k Lang's or Levin guitars. Germany/czech was more of an individual luthier's (small shops) development as opposed to the US having more of Companies producing instruments. Also the US didn't have a war on it's own soil which changed the face of parts of Europe and influenced this development even further by making people relocate. A very interesting history but out came some very talented an curious innovators making instruments. And I do applaud all the more modern luthiers that seem to have made our current day one of the most interesting for arch tops and guitars of all types.

**Hammertone** · 02-13-2018, 11:04 PM

Originally Posted by satchmo

Hammertone, Curious how you say there isn't much interest in the arch tops like Taco or others of the East German origin. I think maybe players/collectors here just haven't been exposed to them or have not been looking outside the US. ( Granted the US has some of the best in the world) I think these German arch tops are fantastic guitars in both craftsmanship and design. Like any guitar - you'll find duds. But in there are some jewels to be had - and I'm not talking about 5k Lang's or Levin guitars. Germany/czech was more of an individual luthier's (small shops) development as opposed to the US having more of Companies producing instruments. Also the US didn't have a war on it's own soil which changed the face of parts of Europe and influenced this development even further by making people relocate. A very interesting history but out came some very talented an curious innovators making instruments. And I do applaud all the more modern luthiers that seem to have made our current day one of the most interesting for arch tops and guitars of all types.

Yes, of course.

Perhaps one day there will be more awareness about the instruments, the people who built them, and the times in which they lived. I've spent years studying them, collecting them, and have a retirement project in the works to resurrect the Roger archtop design as developed by Wenzel Rossmeisl.

Meanwhile, there's lots of fun to be had in finding, fixing, and playing the guitars of Bachmann, Brauer, Dolling, Glassl, Gropp, Hammig, Hanika, Herold, Herrnsdorf, Hirsh, Hoyer, Huettl, Kruel, Lang, Meinel, Meinl, Neubauer, Paulus, Penzel, Pfaff, Reinl, Roth, Sandner, Schaufuss, Schuster, Seifert, Stark, Staerke, Strohmer, Teller, Todt, Wander, Windisch, Wolfrum, Zimmer and various others.

**satchmo** · 02-13-2018, 11:18 PM

That's Fantastic. I always thought the Roger Guitars are one of the more player oriented designs and with the German Carve. They sound great and look good too. Also, Always been a fan of the Seifert guitars as the necks just have something like none of the other German made guitars I've played. Having said that I do love the Roger necks too, very comfortable. I hope you get that Project going It would be a stellar addition to the archtop universe.

**Bluedawg** · 02-13-2018, 11:26 PM

Would love to give some of the Teutonic guitars a try ...

I've just never come across one ... that I can remember

**john_a** · 02-14-2018, 07:19 PM

It's great to have this thread with informative posts on these lesser know German/East German instruments.

The nearest I've been to any was just a Yamaha with "German carve" pressed top, that was a blonde AE18 at the local Guitar Center store "used" section. It looked a bit odd with two of the controls mounted on the angle, kind of pointing in a different direction than the other two knobs.

The authentic German builds shown above are a lot more interesting, but I'd not expect to see them available near me.

The Taco guitar that was the subject of this thread really did have a distinctive "face" on it, somehow even the big-ear Grovers were upstaged by the Taco 'stache

Tauscher & Co , Taco guitars-panchov-jpg