Taylor Next-Gen Builder's Edition 814ce Blacktop Grand Auditorium Acoustic-Electric Guitar - Indian Rosewood/Adirondack Spruce

Grand Auditorium Body: Taylor's most popular and versatile body shape, the mid-size Grand Auditorium arrived in 1994 bearing refined proportions that fell between a Dreadnought and Grand Concert. While the bigger Dreadnought was traditionally considered a flatpicker’s guitar and the smaller Grand Concert catered to fingerstylists, the GA was designed to deliver on both fronts. The shape produced an original acoustic voice that was big enough to handle medium-strength picking and strumming, yet with impressive balance across the tonal spectrum, especially in the midrange, producing clear, well-defined notes that suited both strumming and fingerstyle playing. The GA’s overall presence tracks well with other instruments both in a studio mix and on stage, and singer-songwriters have embraced its utility both for composing and traveling with one guitar. Many people want a single guitar that can cover a variety of styles, which is why the GA continues to be Taylor's bestselling shape. If you want a great all-purpose guitar, the multi-dimensional GA won’t let you down.

Grand Auditorium Body Specifications: Body Length: 20" / Body Width: 16" / Body Depth: 4 5/8"

Indian Rosewood Body Wood: Indian rosewood’s sweeping frequency range at both ends of the tonal spectrum has made it one of the most popular and musically rich tonewoods. Its deep lows can assert a throaty growl, while bright, sparkling treble notes ring out with bell-like, high-fidelity clarity.

Origin: India

Sound: One of the most popular and traditional guitar woods of all time, rosewood takes the basic sonic thumbprint of mahogany (which has a strong midrange) and expands it in both directions. Rosewood sounds deeper in the low end and brighter on the top end (one might describe the treble notes as zesty, sparkly or sizzly, with more articulation). If you look at its frequency range visually, rosewood would appear to be more scooped in the middle, yielding less midrange bloom than mahogany. Like mahogany, rosewood’s vintage heritage has helped firmly establish its acoustic legacy. It’s a great sound in part because Taylor knows that sound. In some music circles in which preserving the traditional sound helps bring a sense of authenticity to the music — certain strains of Americana, for example — rosewood has an iconic status. Also like mahogany, rosewood is a versatile tonewood, which has contributed to its popularity. One can fingerpick it, strum it and flatpick it. It’s very consistent, so players can usually rely on it to deliver.

Goes Well With: Most applications. If you like a guitar with fuller low end and brighter treble (bluegrassers, for instance), rosewood will do the trick. Its high-end sizzle and clear articulation will benefit players with “dark hands”. If you’re looking for a traditional acoustic sound, a rosewood Dreadnought or Grand Auditorium is right up your alley.

Long-Tenon Neck Joint: Taylor's proprietary long-tenon design features a tenon that protrudes beyond the neck heel and extends deeper into a precision-routed pocket in the body’s neck block. This changes the wood coupling in a way that’s comparable to traditional guitar necks. The long tenon increases the stiffness of the heel, which translates into more low-end resonance and a deeper, warmer, more open sound.

Instant Action Control: The Action Control Neck refines the micro-adjustability of Taylor's standard neck design with a new shimless design that allows a player to make easy, quick micro-adjustments to dial in the string height for any situation. You don’t have to remove the neck or even the strings.

Adirondack Spruce Top Wood: Also known as Eastern red or Appalachian spruce, Adirondack defined guitars of the pre-WWII era. Its availability is beginning to increase slightly, as another generation of trees matures, although they’re still considerably smaller than their old growth forebears. Current supplies of Adirondack tend to lack a certain aesthetic purity of look (they tend to be wider-grained and more irregular in color and grain patterns), but tonally, Adirondack is even more dynamic than Sitka, with a higher ceiling for volume. The payoff is the ability to drive an Addie top hard and hear it get louder and louder without losing clarity; it’s hard to outplay it.

Another sonic nuance that Bob Taylor loves about Adirondack is "an undeniable sweetness in every note, especially in the mids."

Origin: Canada

Goes Well With: Aggressive flatpickers or strummers. It would be a great fit for a GS or Dreadnought.

Claria™ Pickup System: Taylor's Claria™ System combines a reimagined under-saddle piezo pickup with a proprietary preamp. Designed to deliver easy plug-and-play acoustic sound in any setting, it was refined alongside live sound engineers, guitar players, and recording professionals in real-world settings over several years. Crafted for reliability and versatility, Claria™ delivers clear, natural sound and features a wide range of tone-shaping control, making it easy to dial in old-school lo-fi warmth, pristine modern detail, and everything in between. Taylor's designers talk about Claria’s™ development and why it will appeal to players.

Claria™ Controls: Volume, Mid Contour & Tone:Central to the Claria™ System design are the simple tone-shaping controls featuring three knobs located discretely in the soundhole: Volume, Mid Contour and Tone. Watch and discover how you can unlock a sweeping range of acoustic sounds with simple tweaks, allowing you to plug in and play with the amplified tone you want in any scenario.

Beveled Cutaway: Released as part of the Builder’s Edition line in 2018, Taylor's beveled cutaway design provides a more player-friendly feel for guitarists who utilize every inch of the fretboard. It features a compound design with a smoothened edge along the corner of the body between the end of the cutaway and the neck heel, providing a more comfortable feel for the fretting hand. The new cutaway design also incorporates a finger bevel on the guitar’s top, a resting surface for the pinky finger near the highest frets of the guitar. Together, these elements allow the player to reach the entire fretboard without changing hand positions.