Here is a future to ponder. The world is brought to its knees, society collapses, the apocalypse visited upon us in the form of a fungal infection. Sounds terrible, right. And yet, you survived, and in this post-apocalyptic wasteland, the chances are you’ll be playing a high-end acoustic guitar made by the good people at Taylor.
Sounds far-fetched, but this is where we are at with prestige TV drama, and if you’ve been watching HBO’s The Last of Us you’ll recognize that this is the life that Pedro Pascal’s Joel Miller and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie Williams are living. And you can make your doomsday prepping every bit as musical, because Taylor has just unveiled an exacting replica of the 314e Grand Auditorium cutaway you see the pair play on the show.
We love a Taylor guitar as much as the next post-apocalyptic survivor but in a world ravaged by a fungal infection we would rather have a tube of ointment. Maybe that is in the guitar case. Tim O’Brien, Taylor’s VP of marketing, draws the link between Taylor’s guitars and the hit show that many of us have missed.
“The Last of Us is a story of resilience, connection, and finding beauty amid harsh realities – themes that resonate with the emotional expression a Taylor guitar offers players,” says Tim O’Brien, Taylor’s VP of marketing. “We’re honored to collaborate with HBO and Sony Pictures Consumer Products to bring this iconic instrument to fans and players alike.”
The Last of Us certainly ticks the boxes for resilient. There are all solid tonewoods here. There’s solid Sikta spruce on the top, solid sapele on the back and sides, a satin-smooth finish. Under the hood, you’ve got V-Class bracing. This will sing all right.
There are no electronics but where on a ruined planet are you going to find a workable acoustic guitar amp? Exactly.
Other Taylor details are present and correct. That means a West African Crelicam ebony fingerboard and a tropical mahogany neck. Other details are more decorative – this is Taylor showing off, and making this one for the collectors, whether you watch the show or not.
The third fret is graced by a moth inlay, which Taylor says is “reflecting the story’s themes of rebirth and beauty amid catastrophe”, and which we say makes this also a neat choice for a Silence of the Lambs super fan. The guitar is finished in Tobacco Sunburst and has a custom double-ring rosette and binding in grained ivoroid.
Grained ivoroid? Now, that sounds like something you’d need a tube of ointment for.
The Last of Us 314e is available now, it is built to order. Expect delivery between six and 10 weeks. See your local dealer to order. Price $2,799. For more details, head over to Taylor Guitars.
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