Taylor Circa 74 acoustic amp

Introducing the Circa 74®
2-in-1 Acoustic Guitar/Vocal
Amplifier + Amp Stand

Designed by Bob Taylor and a handpicked team, this new
two-channel acoustic/vocal amp combines warm sound, simple controls and elegant woodworking craftsmanship.
Beautiful. Musical. Simple.

What started as a fun side project for Taylor Guitars
cofounder Bob Taylor and two other tone-and gear-
obsessed Taylor guitar nerds grew into Circa 74, an all-new,
2-in-1 acoustic/vocal amplifier designed to help musicians
sound their best in any environment.

The idea: Build a great-sounding acoustic guitar amp you
can also sing through. The guiding design thoughts: Make
it compatible with a wide range of acoustic guitar pickups
and playing environments. Make it practical and easy to
use, without over-engineering it with too many controls
or effects. Make the cabinet from an acoustic guitar
tonewood to bring an extra warm, smooth sonic character
to the amplified tone. Give it the elegant aesthetic appeal
of a finely crafted piece of furniture. And add Bluetooth
connectivity to stream music and play or sing along.
Working on the project reminded Bob of the creative,
freewheeling spirit of a startup, like the earliest days of
Taylor Guitars, circa ’74 — which gave birth to the name.
Ultimately, the group’s labor of love produced an amp that
serves up an ear-pleasing range of acoustic sounds and
brings out the very best in musicians looking to be heard.

Sound
The Circa 74 amp was designed to dial down the high-end
harshness found in many acoustic amps and produce a warm, analog musical character. The sound is smooth, yet without sacrificing articulation. One important material choice was to build a mahogany cabinet for the amp, leveraging Taylor’s tonewood voicing expertise to contribute to the amp’s smooth sound palette and room-filling sound.

Looks
The warm sonic characteristics are matched visually by
the mahogany cabinet, with clean lines and rich wood
texture reminiscent of mid-century modern furniture design. The aesthetic is enhanced by the modern-retro fabric grill cloth and an equally gorgeous wood stand designed to complement the amp.

Design Highlights
Two input channels for acoustic guitar and vocals:
The amp features convenient 1/ 4-inch and XLR (mic) inputs, each with independent channel level, volume and EQ controls that let you play and sing at the same time and mix acoustic guitar and vocals on the fly.

Compatible with all major pickups and vocal mics:
The amp was designed and tested with an array of acoustic
pickups to offer broad appeal. Our user guide includes
helpful pre-sets for pickups from Fishman, Baggs, K&K and
Taylor’s Expression System, plus microphones from Shure,
Electro-Voice and Telefunken.

Power + projection: The Class-D solid-state amp delivers
150 watts of rich sound through a 10-inch full-range speaker — perfect for cafés, outdoor weddings or house concerts. And the tone never gets harsh as you turn up the volume.

Three-band EQ and reverb: Easily shape your sound to
fit your playing environment. It’s a perfect performance tool
for singer-songwriters, solo players and guitar/vocal duos,
whether playing at home, in small indoor venues or even
larger outdoor spaces. The only built-in effect is reverb, which adds to the ease of use.

Additional inputs/outputs: 1/ 8-inch auxiliary line-level
input (boards, effects, modelers, etc.), 1/8-inch headphone out, 1/4-inch line out, XLR direct out.
Bluetooth connectivity: Play along, sing along, or just
listen to your favorite tunes.

Mahogany amp stand included: The stylish furniture-
quality mahogany amp comes with a matching mahogany
stand that gets your amp off the floor and your audience
engaged. The surface is slightly angled for optimal projection with routed footholds that secure the amp.