By David Gedge
GRANDE DAME
Taylor Pacific Series
Taylor's Pacifica
Taylor Grand Pacific Guitar Series
Taylor Guitars just introduced a
brand-new body shape — The Grand
Pacific. Developed by master guitar
designer Andy Powers and leveraging
Taylor’s new "sonic engine," V-Class brac-
ing, the round-shoulder dreadnought adds
a dramatically different tonal personality
to the Taylor line. As an alternative to what
46 illinoisentertainer.com may 2019
many consider to be “the Taylor sound,”
the Grand Pacific adds a new voice to a
dreadnought category defined by tradi-
tional, legacy models. The new body shape
is available in three new models: the
Builder’s Edition 517, Builder’s Edition
717 and 317.
In 2018 Taylor launched its acclaimed
bracing architecture, V-Class bracing.
Guitars outfitted with this bracing produce
greater volume, projection and sustain,
with enhanced intonation and all-around
musicality. Since then the V-Class guitars
have enjoyed an overwhelmingly positive
response, earning numerous awards from
industry experts as well as high praise
from professional musicians and amateur
enthusiasts alike.
“It’s been so fun to watch and hear how
musicians of every style have taken to the
wide range of expression that V-Class gui-
tars deliver since our introduction of these
instruments last year,” says Andy Powers.
“I’m thrilled to hear players exploring new
reaches in their musicality and making
good use of these guitars.”
One of the most impactful aspects of
the V-Class framework is its flexibility as a
voicing platform, one that has enabled
Powers to shape an acoustic guitar’s tonal
character in unprecedented ways — open-
ing the door for dramatic new designs
such as the Grand Pacific.
In a dreadnought category known for
traditional, legacy models, the Grand
Pacific offers a voice that is both familiar
and unique. It combines a warm, seasoned
tone with modern Taylor playability, relia-
bility and intonation.
“I wasn’t interested in building another
version of an existing dreadnought,”
Powers says of the design. “Those guitars
already exist. This guitar makes sounds
that are deeply familiar yet unattainable
with any other guitar. With the help of our
V-Class bracing architecture, we’ve cap-
tured everything we love about a venera-
ble acoustic guitar sound and added other
sonic improvements that we think will
appeal to a wide array of players.”
With the debut of the new body shape,
Powers has delivered on the promise of V-
Class bracing as a powerful tone-shaping
platform. In this case, the bracing system
eliminates the problematic low-end rum-
ble often associated with dreadnoughts.
With the Grand Pacific, players will expe-
rience clear power in the low end, which
means a more musical, usable tone.
Over the years, the Grand Auditorium
has become Taylor’s most popular body
style, synonymous with what people iden-
tify as “the Taylor sound.” To many, it’s a
modern acoustic voice — clear and
vibrant, with notes that are well-defined.
By contrast, the new Grand Pacific pro-
duces a sound with a different tonal char-
acter altogether — warm and seasoned,
with notes that overlap and blend smooth-
ly. Using the V-Class voicing platform,
Powers not only improved the bass
response, but he also enhanced other fre-
quencies to create consistent notes across
the tonal spectrum. This helps make the
Grand Pacific a versatile guitar that will fit
in among bluegrassers, singer-songwrit-
ers, and even fingerstyle players. “This
guitar isn’t confined the way a dread-
nought guitar can be,” he says. “It has
strength and power, but it also has clarity
and playing comfort," concludes Powers.
Building on the success of Taylor’s
Builder’s Edition V-Class models from
2018, the Grand Pacific launches with two
inspiring Builder’s Edition models made
from the classic tonewoods rosewood and
mahogany, each paired with a Sitka spruce
top, as well as a 300 Series model made
from Sapele and Sitka spruce. The new
shape will be offered exclusively as a non-
cutaway. For details and MSRP, visit taylor-
guitars.com, or visit a Chicago-area dealer.