Taylor Academy Series: Great Tone, Great Price

The Taylor Academy Series of guitars show what an asset Taylor's Tecate factory is for guitarists, especially those on a budget. The excellent sound and playability is achieved by combining highly efficient production with a clean, functional aesthetic that looks simple rather than stripped down. The solid spruce tops are lightly braced and deliver a clean, clear tone with plenty of warmth and harmonic complexity. In impromptu blindfold tests here at Gryphon, these guitars consistently fool players expecting far less impressive sound for $699. These guitars get the same finely-dressed frets as higher Taylor models, so the playability is equally impressive.

There are currently a number of Taylor Academy Series models in the catalog and each is available in acoustic or acoustic-electric versions. The two steel strings models, the Dreadnought 10 and the Grand Concert 12, have a shorter 24 7/8” scale, a narrower 1 11/16" nut and they're voiced to sound great with light-gauge strings, all of which make these guitar easy on your fretting fingers. The steel strings are available with spruce or walnut tops. The Grand Concert 12-N is set up for nylon strings, which are even easier on your fretting fingers. 

All the Academy models have a built-in armrest that softens the edge of the body’s bass-side lower bout to enhance the playing comfort. All versions have genuine ebony fretboards, which come from Crelicam, an ebony mill outside of Yaoundé, Cameroon that Taylor purchased to sustainably harvest the increasingly scarce wood. The electric versions feature Taylor's ES-B pickup, which includes a built-in tuner as well as tone and volume controls. (Changing the battery takes just a few seconds and no tools are needed.) The Taylor Academy Series is an excellent choice for a beginning guitarist or a more advanced player looking to step up from that old guitar they found in a closet.