Circa 74 Acoustic 2 in 1 Acoustic / Vocal Amplifier / Taylor Guitars 50th Anniversary

Circa 74 Acoustic Amplifier by Taylor Guitar w/ Table Stand Included

Tobias Music - Chicago Area’s Finest Guitars (and amplifiers)

Proud of our 38 year partnership with Taylor Guitars

Taylor Guitars - Celebrating 50 Years !!

You asked, Taylor listened. The coolest amplifier on the market has just been released. Circa 74 - 2 in 1 Acoustic / Vocal Amplifier.

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 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/ 4-inch auxiliary line-level
input (boards, effects, modelers, etc.), 1/8-inch headphone 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.

If you know Bob Taylor, you know he likes refined woodworking and pleasing sound. So when he decided to design an acoustic amplifier from a stockpile of tonewoods not quite right for guitars, he knew just who call. Soon after, pro player Terry Myers, electronics guru Tyler Robertson and woodworking wizard David Judd were in Bob’s workshop and ideas were flying around as much as the sawdust. 

Starting mid-pandemic meant Bob Taylor and team could do things their own way with no ticking clock. They could ignore the rules – foregoing today’s often “over-engineered” mentality, they went about designing an amp guided by curiosity, experimentation and their own ears.  

The first problem to tackle: What if an acoustic amp could also work like a PA? Could they design an amp that a person could sing through and also sound good? With ear-pleasing analog warmth? And was portable and easy to use?  

They found themselves working on this project with the type of creative passion you’d find at a startup – reminding Bob of his earlier days founding Taylor Guitars – circa 1974.  

Sonically, they wanted to dial down some of the high-end harshness found in many acoustic amps and channel the classic warmth of an acoustic guitar or a vinyl record. In testing and selecting the chassis and speaker, the group relied on their ears—not the reading of an oscilloscope.  

“We designed it with an appreciation for the human listening experience,” explains Terry Myers. “It was informed by the pleasure of listening to records from the ’60s and ’70s.”  

Similar to the way tonewoods selected for the back and sides of an acoustic guitar add sustain and uniquely flavor the sound, the amp’s mahogany cabinet helped contribute to its warm sonic character.  

Wanting to give the amp extra utility for gigging guitarists who sing or duos, they designed it as a 2-in-1 acoustic and vocal amp with two input channels.  

Finally, Bob and David designed a matching amp stand featuring a slightly angled surface to optimize projection and routed footholds that secure the amp. Together, the two pieces pair beautifully, with clean lines and rich wood texture reminiscent of mid-century modern furniture design.  

What began as a challenge turned out better than they’d imagined.  

The result: Circa 74 is a beautiful, musical amp with notable simplicity and playability.  

“I wanted the elegant aesthetic appeal of a piece of finely crafted furniture,” Bob says. “Something that looks great in a living room or at a wedding reception or wine bar. And wanting to use our wood resources in the most responsible way. I’m happy we were able to incorporate this mahogany into a product that I think musicians will really love.”