Taylor’s new mid-scale Grand Theater is a whole new class of acoustic guitar

Taylor Grand Theater uses Urban Ash and C-Class bracing  ·  Source: Taylor

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The new Taylor Grand Theater falls somewhere between a travel and full-size acoustic guitar. And even though it has a 24-1/8″ scale length and Taylor’s innovative new C-Class bracing, it retains the low end response and feel of its bigger brothers. And both the new GT and GTe models use sustainable tone-woods, which is good news for the environment too.

Taylor Grand Theater

Made in the USA, the new Taylor Grand Theater acoustic models are a whole new take on the traditional acoustic guitar construction. For starters, it has Taylor’s new C-Class bracing, which is a variation on the company’s V-Class bracing used on its larger models. The new bracing should accentuate low frequencies via its cantilevered, asymmetrical design. This is exciting news, as smaller acoustics tend to sound tight and somewhat boxy. If the new C-Class bracing can remedy this, then its smaller size, combined with the 24-1/8″ scale length, could make this guitar a real winner. Taylor states that the new design improves the guitar’s volume and intonation, as well.

Taylor Grand Theater uses Urban Ash

Sustainable Tone Woods

What I personally love about Taylor is the brand’s ever forward-thinking stance on sustainability regarding tone-woods. They are one of those companies that strives to find quality alternatives for traditional timbres used in guitar construction. This manifests in the Grand Theater with the use of solid Urban Ash for back and sides, reclaimed from Shamel ash in urban areas of California. The fretboard, bridge, and peg-head overlay is made out of eucalyptus that has been farmed and harvested specifically for guitar-building. The neck is made out of a more traditional mahogany, and koa is used for the rosette.

According to Taylor, Urban Ash has characteristics similar to high-end Honduran mahogany, which sounds very promising. The eucalyptus used comes from a mill co-owned by the company in Cameroon, and should have a similar density to ebony. This philosophy of working with sustainable tone-woods is what seems to be pushing the company forward. And I, for one, am super impressed by this stance on sustainability.

Taylor Grand Theater – a forward thinking new class of acoustic guitar

Playability and Feel

Thanks to their shorter 24-1/8″ scale length, these new Taylor GT and GTe models, when strung with gauge 12 strings, should feel like a guitar strung with a lighter gauge. Perfect for beginners, or players who’re used to playing electric guitar all day and don’t quite have the finger strength for a steel-string acoustic yet.

Overall, both these new models sound pretty amazing and I can’t wait to try one out to see if it plays as well as I’m hoping. The initial demos that have appeared online are certainly impressive. It look like an all-round great guitar, especially if you want something both forward-thinking and with great tone.

RRP – Taylor GT comes with their AeroCase in brown for USD 1399 /GBP 1619 or fitted with the company’s Expression System 2 as the GTe for USD 1599 / GBP 1835

More Information

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