Taylor Builder's Edition 517e Acoustic Electric Guitar Natural

The Taylor Builder's Edition 517e Grand Pacific Acoustic Electric Guitar in Natural Finish

Among the first generation of our Grand Pacific dreadnought guitars, the mahogany/torrefied spruce Builder’s Edition 517e dramatically expands the Taylor line’s sonic palette with a new flavor of acoustic tone that may surprise players who think they know the Taylor sound. An exciting new entry into the dreadnought category, this round-shoulder Grand Pacific resonates with a finely-honed balance of low-end power and clarity across the middle and upper registers, producing warm, rounded tone in which notes blend seamlessly together to create a seasoned sound. Back and sides of neo-tropical mahogany flavor the sound with dry, woody character, coupling beautifully with the dynamic response of the torrefied Sitka spruce top. The Builder’s Edition stamp means that the 517e is detailed with premium features designed to maximize player comfort, including chamfered body edges and a new compound-carve neck profile that compensates for the change in your hand position as you move along the neck. Subtly contoured fretboard edges and a rounded, ridgeless heel add to the guitar’s pleasing fretting-hand feel, while a refined bridge shape brings extra comfort to your pick hand. Under the hood, V-Class bracing enables the guitar to pump out stunning projection and sustain, plus nearly perfect intonation, which means you won’t have to contend with sour notes on the fretboard. And with our proprietary onboard ES2 electronics, the guitar’s many tonal virtues will shine for amplified applications. Between its sound and feel, the Builder’s Edition 517e once again raises the bar on the Taylor playing experience.

Released in 2019 following the successful launch of our innovative bracing design, the Grand Pacific marks a departure from what many would consider the quintessential Taylor sound: bright individual notes that resonate separately, with plenty of high-end sparkle and and clarity.

The Grand Pacific boasts a dramatically different flavor of sound. Thanks to the contours of the shape (especially the wider waist) and the tone-shaping power of our V-Class bracing architecture, the notes are rounder and broader, overlapping to create a more blended sound with a warm, seasoned personality. The guitars also produce stunning power in the bass range, without the muddy, woofy characteristics that create sonic problems, making for a more musical, usable in virtually every application. Together with the other fundamental sonic improvements of V-Class—more volume and projection, longer sustain, cleaner intonation, and more tonal consistency from top to bottom—the Grand Pacific brings broader versatility to a dreadnought-style guitar, promising to satisfy players across many genres and musical styles.

SPECS AND FEATURES:
-Body Length: 20" / Body Width: 16" / Body Depth: 4-5/8"
-Scale Length: 25-1/2"
-Neck Width: 1-3/4"
-Nut & Saddle: Black Graphite, Micarta Saddle
-Bracing: V-Class
-Truss Rod Cover: West African Crelicam Ebony
-Pickguard: None
-Number of Frets: 20
-Top: Solid Sitka Spruce
-Sides/Back: Mahogany
-Back Configuration: 2-Piece No Wedge
-Binding/Edge Treatment: Sapele
-Rosette: Black Sapele/Maple
-Inlays: Grained Ivoroid, Arrowheads
-Fretboard Binding/Edge Treatment: West African Crelicam Ebony
-Heel Cap Binding: West African Crelicam Ebony
-Type of Neck Joint: Scarf
-Neck/Heel: Hard Rock Maple
-Fretboard Wood: West African Crelicam Ebony
-Neck Finish: Satin
-Heel Length: 3-1/2"
-Peghead Finish: Gloss
-Peghead Binding: West African Crelicam Ebony
-Peghead Type: Standard
-Peghead Purfling: Koa
-Headstock Overlay: West African Crelicam Ebony
-Peghead Inlay: Mission, Celluloid/Shell, Grained Ivoroid/Mother of Pearl
-Peghead Logo: Taylor Mother of Pearl
-Bridge Pins: West African Ebony with Green Abalone Dots
-Tuners: Taylor Nickel
-Electronics: Expression 2 System (ES2)
-Finish: Silent Satin, Blackwood Stain Back/Sides/Neck, Natural Top
-Hardshell Case Western Floral Brand
-Strings: Elixer Phosphor Bronze Medium