Description
Indian rosewood is one of the most popular and musically expressive tonewoods in the world. Among Taylor’s solid-wood guitars, rosewood is normally reserved for the 700, 800 and 900 Series, but the 400 Rosewoods bring rosewood – with lustrous gloss finishes – into a more accessible price range. Taylor’s Grand Concert shape and rosewood’s balanced, broad sonic range and complexity – and of course Taylor’s renown playability – result in a guitar that will be a joy to play in a variety of scenarios for a lifetime. All 400 Series instruments ship in a deluxe hard shell case made by Taylor for optimal fit and protection.
Body Shape
Taylor’s Grand Concert is slightly smaller that its Grand Auditorium and yields controlled overtones, so the sound won’t occupy a lot of sonic space. This is often a key consideration when other instruments are in the mix, such as in a performance or recording environment, and it allows the guitar to be heard more clearly. The Grand Concert pairs well with both 14-fret and 12-fret neck-to-body construction, and offers an articulate voice with top-end chime. It’s perfect for fingerstyle players and light strummers, though flatpickers are known to enjoy its tonal character too. Its intimate size makes it lap/couch-friendly, and a great fit for players who find smaller instruments more physically comfortable.
Tone Wood Pairing
A guitar’s top is the primary filter and distributor of vibrating string energy through the guitar, which means it has a huge impact on its sound. Sitka Spruce is the most prevalent guitar top wood of the modern era. It blends stiffness and elasticity in just the right proportions which translates into broad dynamic range with crisp articulation. Solid Indian rosewood back and sides complement the Sitka top with sound that’s made it one of the most popular tone woods ever. Rosewood produces the strongest bass response among the tone woods commonly used for guitars, with a slightly scooped midrange. Rosewood’s sweeping frequency range – deep lows that assert a throaty growl with sparkling highs – rings out with bell-like, high-fidelity clarity. It yields a full-range acoustic voice with complex overtones and extended sustain.
Electronics
Taylor’s ES2 is a revolutionary pickup design that delivers the latest in Taylor’s ongoing innovation in acoustic guitar amplification. The heart of the Expression System 2 is Taylor’s patented behind-the-saddle pickup, which features three uniquely positioned and individually calibrated pickup sensors. Because the pickup doesn’t sit under the saddle, the bottom of the saddle comes in full contact with the bridge, allowing all the nuance of the guitar’s tone to come through clearly whether playing acoustically or plugged-in. The location of the sensors enables a more dynamic range of acoustic sound to be captured than ever before while playing plugged-in.
Together with Taylor’s custom-designed “professional audio”-grade preamp, this system produces exceptional amplified tone and responsiveness. On stage through a PA, plugged into your favorite acoustic amplifier, or direct into recording software, the Expression System 2 faithfully conveys the voice of your Taylor guitar. The Taylor Expression System 2 operates through a proprietary 9-volt battery compartment and easy-to-use volume, and active bass and treble controls.
V-Class Bracing
Taylor’s V-Class bracing is a fundamental innovation in acoustic guitar design. It marks an important evolution beyond traditional X-bracing, introducing an entirely new platform for acoustic performance. It is essentially an “engine” that optimizes the response of an acoustic guitar in three key ways: by boosting volume, sustain, and by largely resolving the intonation issues that have long plagued acoustic guitars. V-Class bracing creates purer, more orderly notes that don’t cancel each other out or sound “off”. They have clearer, more consistent response, and the whole fretboard is brought into greater sonic alignment for a more musical playing/listening experience.
Guitars with V-Class bracing are easier to tune; the pitch sounds purer and more solid, and electronic tuners can more easily locate notes for quick, precise tuning. Other benefits: harmonics ring more uniformly down the neck, notes are louder with more projection and sustain, and notes are more consistent, i.e., upper register notes don’t get choked out or swallowed. Fewer “sour” sonic qualities exist with chords; a more agreeable relationship is created between notes as they ripen, bloom and decay.
Specs
- Body type: Taylor Grand Concert
- Cutaway: Yes – Venetian
- Top wood: Solid Sitka Spruce
- Back & sides: Solid Indian Rosewood
- Bracing pattern: Taylor V-Class Bracing with Relief Rout
- Body finish: Gloss
- Orientation: Right-Handed
- Neck shape: Taylor Standard Profile
- Nut width: 1-3/4″ (44.5mm)
- Fingerboard: Genuine West African Ebony
- Neck wood: Tropical Mahogany
- Scale length: 24-7/8″
- Number of frets: 20
- Neck finish: Satin
- Pickup/preamp: Taylor Expression System 2 Professional Audio-Grade
- Pickup configuration: Behind-the-Saddle Transducer with Adjustable Sensors
- Preamp EQ: Volume, Active Bass and Treble
- Feedback filter: Onboard Phase Switch
- Tuner: None
- Headstock overlay: Genuine West African Ebony
- Tuning machines: Taylor Nickel Tuners with Nickel Buttons
- Bridge: Genuine West African Ebony
- Saddle & nut: Black Graphite Nut, Micarta “Wave” Saddle
- Number of strings: 6
- Special features: V-Class Bracing
- Case: Taylor Deluxe Hard Shell Case
- Accessories: None
- Country of origin: USA
- Actual weight: 4.4 lbs.
