Taylor 327e Grand Pacific Dreadnought Acoustic-Electric Guitar Shaded Edge Burst

The Grand Pacific is a new Taylor shape that delivers a new Taylor sound. Taylor's 300 Series has introduced countless players to the pleasures of the all-solid-wood, USA-made acoustic experience. It is also the most approachable entry point in the Taylor line to the Grand Pacific round shoulder dreadnought. Built on the innovative V-Class bracing platform, the Grand Pacific is a fully realized example of how body shapes and tonewoods can be sculpted to create distinct and highly desirable tonal palettes. The Grand Pacific is a unique entry to the dreadnought category, possessing clear low-end power, tonal consistency and sweeping versatility. The Grand Pacific ships in a luxurious hard shell case with Western floral pattern, made by Taylor for optimal fit and protection.

Body Shape
The Grand Pacific brings a new flavor of sound to the Taylor line: warm and seasoned, with broad, round overlapping notes that blend into each other to create a unified harmony. It's a departure from the focused, precise, clear and vibrant sound of Taylor's Grand Auditorium shape, which helped define what players have come to recognize as "the Taylor Sound." An important attribute of the Grand Pacific shape is the elimination of problematic low-end woofiness and muddiness (perceived as a "puff of air") often associated with dreadnought-style guitars. This has been accomplished while retaining the usable, musical, warm power of bass response. Because of this the Grand Pacific is especially microphone-friendly and suits flat-pickers, strummers and fingerstyle players alike.

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. Tropical mahogany is known for a meaty midrange featuring a strong fundamental without adding a lot of ringing overtones. It responds well to players with a strong attack who like dry, earthy, lo-fi sounds. It has a natural compression that smooths out strumming and picking technique. Mahogany's clear and direct tonal character makes it a great option for playing and standing out among other instruments.

Tonally, blackwood behaves somewhere in the middle of rosewood and mahogany, with a little extra shimmer and chime that shows its family resemblance to koa. Pairing blackwood with the mahogany top not only gives you that roll-in effect associated with a mahogany top - really smooth attack and balance - but extra complexity as the note decays. It's a great combination.

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 a "sonic engine" that optimizes the response of an acoustic guitar in three key ways: by boosting volume, sustain, and by largely resolving the intonation (in-tune-ness) 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.