Experience the Grand Theater
All the world's a stage and anyone can be a player when they wield the brand-new Taylor Grand Theater! This brand-new body shape is the latest in a long line of Taylor's game-changing acoustic guitar designs. Landing somewhere between the Grand Concert and GS Mini in size, the Grand Theater body size is incredibly comfortable. But, don't let its small size fool you--it speaks with a powerful voice thanks to Andy Powers's latest revolutionary idea: C-Class bracing. It also plays like Crisco-coated butter thanks to its short-scale length; in fact, it's almost like the acoustic equivalent of a little red sports car! Add in some fresh and exciting solid tonewoods, and one thing becomes imminently clear: the Grand Theater is a sweet sonic cocktail with intoxicating playability.
Whether you're a seasoned pro or a brand-new beginner, you'll find lots to love in the GT, so let's dive deeper and see what makes these powerful parlor guitars so exciting!
Andy's Dilemna
Though his title at Taylor is technically Master Product Designer, Andy Powers is really more of a master problem solver. For instance, V-Class bracing solved the problem of finding an equilibrium between flexibility and rigidity in acoustic guitar design. This time, Andy went to work on another problem that has plagued luthiers for centuries: how do you build a small-bodied guitar that caters to the player's comfort without sacrificing fullness of tone and depth of bass response? The Grand Theater is the answer.
More specifically, the Grand Theater's innovative C-Class bracing is the answer. Though it shares DNA with its V-Class counterpart, C-Class bracing is its own animal entirely. Like V-Class bracing, it accentuates the GT's volume and sustain, but it shapes the frequency response in an interesting way thanks to its asymmetrical architecture. Whereas V-Class bracing seeks to achieve ultimate tonal balance, C-Class bracing tries to do the opposite. Its cantilevered design emphasizes bass frequencies to make up for the GT's smaller size. As a result, the GT has a shockingly robust bass response that matches its strong treble and midrange response. Because of Andy's brilliant design, we have no doubt that the GT will shock you with its robust frequency response across the board.
Built For Comfort and Speed
But, the GT's surprisingly powerful voice isn't the only thing it has going for it. It also provides one of the most delightful playing experiences out of any guitar to grace Wildwood's shelves. For starters, the body shape is, well, to put it in technical scientific terms,
juuuuuuuuuuuuuuust right. It's the perfect size for lazy couch picking sessions, and it plays quite easily regardless of your posture. And, it works great for young or fun-sized people who might struggle to get their arm over a bigger guitar.
But, the GT isn't just built for comfort--it's built for speed, too. It has a 24 1/8-inch scale, which gives it gloriously slinky handfeel. To get an idea of how wonderful these guitars feel, imagine a typical 25.5" scale length acoustic with a capo on the first fret. There's less tension on the strings, so you don't have to work as hard, but you don't lose any punching power. Ultimately, it makes you feel like the strings are a gauge lighter than they actually are, but without any of the accompanying plinkiness you might associate with such light strings. Finally, the 24 1/8" scale length also makes the distances between frets shorter, allowing you to make big stretches and fret complex chords with ease.
The Universal Sound
Of course, there are plenty of small guitars that play easily out there, but very few of them can match the Taylor Grand Theater's sound quality. Thanks to the inspired chemistry between its tonewoods and Taylor's impeccable build quality, the GT has a professional sound quality that will wow recording engineers in the studio and delight audiences from the stage.
The magic starts with the old standby: a solid piece of Sitka spruce. Sitka spruce has been the gold standard of acoustic tonewoods for seemingly forever, and for good reason. It has excellent volume, superb balance, and a spot-on blend of fundamental notes and overtones.
The other half of the equation is one of the newest tonewoods to enter the acoustic arena, shamel ash. Shamel ash is also called urban ash because, well, it doesn't come from a forest! Basically, there are lots of ash trees growing in cities around California, and they have to come down because of their location or safety reasons. For many years, no one really utilized this source of wood until Andy Powers and Bob Taylor started exploring different ways of sourcing local woods in sustainable ways. As luck would have it, they discovered that urban ash was actually a spectacular tonewood!
You Get What You Ash For
The best comparison for urban ash is Honduran mahogany, a highly sought-after wood renowned for its incredible sound that often carries a price tag that reflects its prestige. Now, thanks to Bob and Andy's discovery, that kind of spectacular sound is more accessible than ever! Like Honduran mahogany, urban ash produces a strong, sonorous fundamental, and it sounds both warm and pure. The lows sound clear and woody, the midrange packs a serious punch, and the highs sound crisp and sunny. Although urban ash sounds quite different from maple, it is similar in that it tends to reflect the personality and technique of the player. It is the sonic equivalent of a blank canvas upon which you can paint your masterpiece.
All in all, these two tonewoods give the Taylor Grand Theater a fresh, exciting voice. Somehow, it manages to sound big and focused at the same time! It's the sort of sound that will delight recording engineers in the studio and live beautifully within a mix in a live or jam setting. As a result, we have no doubt that the Taylor GT will provide you with endless inspiration.
The Thrill of the Theater
Wildwoodians, we are proud to present the Taylor GT. It's comfortable, it plays like lightning, and it sounds fresh and exciting. We have no doubt that the Grand Theater will bring you all kinds of musical joy. We hope that you have as much fun making noise with it as we do!
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