A mid-size nylon string with an Engelmann spruce top, Indian rosewood back and sides, Venetian cutaway and Taylor ES-N electronics.
The Taylor 2012 714ce Rosewood/Spruce Nylon String Grand Auditorium Acoustic-Electric Guitar features an Engelmann spruce top. Engelmann yields a slightly more aged tone than Sitka, and accommodates fairly aggressive playing. A Vintage Sunburst top and ivoroid Heritage fretboard inlays conjure a distinctively old-school Americana vibe.
Grand Auditorium (GA)
Body Width: 16" / Body Depth: 4 5/8" / Body Length: 20"
Taylor’s signature shape embodies the ultimate all purpose acoustic.
The 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 the bestselling shape. If you want a great all-purpose guitar, the multi-dimensional GA won’t let you down.
Indian Rosewood
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 we know 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.
ES-N®
Like the the ES-T, The ES-N is a single-source, under-saddle transducer, but the preamp design and tone controls were customized to complement the nylon-string voice. Standard ES control knobs enable plenty of tone-shaping and preserve the natural design aesthetic.
