Taylor Model 855 12-String 1980 Natural

#1311, purchased 1980 in Austin Texas. One owner. Hear the actual guitar on SoundCloud, a demo I recorded in 1983. The guitar sounds better now. Original case.
"I’ve played the 855 and the thing booms like a cannon (in a good way!)." Zachary R. Fjestad ... (true!)
Instead of branding their guitars with a “D” or “J” for dreadnought and jumbo, respectively, or using a cheesy model name, Taylor decided to use a numbering system that actually made sense. Guitar model numbers consisted of three digits. The first number indicated the type of wood and appointments, the second number indicated if it was a six-string (number under five) or a 12-string (number over five), and the third number stood for the body shape. The 800 Series was Taylor’s standard line in the 1970s, and the 700 and 900 Series followed shortly thereafter. Today, Taylor has an entire line of guitars ranging from 100 Series models all the way up to 900 Series models. The 855 featured a solid Sitka spruce top, solid Indian rosewood back and sides, an abalone soundhole rosette, tropical American mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard, gold-plated tuners, and an ebony bridge. The jumbo body shape is unique to Taylor, and although this guitar had been in production for several years, the body shape did change slightly in 2000. Taylor also made subtle changes over the years, but the general specifications have remained the same.

The 855 was discontinued in 2006