J. Rieck Dakota Model Livingston Taylor Tribute

Condition: new

Some guitars arrive with a story already written. This one arrived with something rarer — a story still unfolding, built into the wood itself.

Josh Rieck of J. Rieck Lutherie in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was commissioned to build a luthier-crafted tribute to the Taylor guitar that Livingston Taylor has played on stage for decades. For those unfamiliar with Livingston, he's been one of American music's most compelling figures for more than fifty years — a performer, songwriter, and for over thirty years, a member of the Berklee College of Music faculty, where he created and taught the legendary Stage Performance course. His students include John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, Susan Tedeschi, and Molly Tuttle, among many others. At 75, he's still touring, still teaching, and still recording — most recently with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

The idea behind this guitar grew out of mutual admiration between builder and performer. John Detrick, who had long admired Josh's work, brought the two together with a shared vision: not a replica of Livingston's Taylor guitar, but a craftsman's response to it — built in the tradition of fine lutherie, shaped by Livingston's own artistic sensibility. The two had real conversations about feel, responsiveness, and voice before Josh put tool to wood. This isn't a spec sheet guitar. It's a guitar that began as a dialogue.

Josh Rieck came to lutherie through a genuinely unusual path — formal training at Minnesota State College Southeast Technical in Red Wing, a master's degree in double bass performance, and a period studying the history of musical instruments at the National Music Museum, where he got up close to some of the finest stringed instruments ever made. That breadth of experience shows in how he approaches a build. His Dakota model is his Modified Dreadnought shape — a 16" lower bout with a 25.5" scale length, a wide 1.9" nut, and a 16" fingerboard radius that rewards fingerstyle players with room to breathe.

The tonewoods here are classic and well-chosen: Sitka spruce over Indian rosewood, a combination with a long track record for a reason. The ebony fingerboard, peghead overlay, and backstop give the instrument a clean, dark elegance, while the segmented Indian rosewood and mother-of-pearl rosette adds a touch of distinction without shouting. This is a guitar built for someone who understands that restraint is its own kind of statement.

What makes this Dakota genuinely special isn't any single specification — it's the context in which it was built. It was conceived as a tribute to a man who has spent his career arguing that great performance begins long before the spotlight comes on, that preparation enables freedom, and that the goal of every stage appearance is simply to make the audience glad they came. Josh Rieck built this guitar in that same spirit: with precision, patience, and a belief that small details reveal the soul of the work.

One more thing worth knowing: the proceeds from the sale of this guitar will be donated directly to Berklee College of Music, the institution where Livingston spent more than thirty years shaping the next generation of performers. Berklee is a 501(c)(3) organization, and the buyer will pay the college directly, making the purchase tax-deductible for those who itemize. John Detrick, founder of the Artisan Guitar Show, will work personally with the buyer to ensure the donation is properly directed. It's a fitting final chapter for an instrument built entirely in the spirit of giving something back.

This is a guitar built for a moment. And now it's looking for a player.

Here is a great article about Livingston Taylor and this guitar: LivingstonTaylor-Guitar.pdf

If you'd like to find out more about this item, just call or e-mail me. It would be my pleasure to talk to you about it.