Taylor 354ce 12-String Acoustic-Electric Guitar

12-String | Sitka Spruce Top | Sapele Back and Sides | Neo-Tropical Mahogany Neck | West African Crelicam Ebony Fretboard | Expression System 2 Electronics | Venetian Cutaway | Taylor Deluxe Hardshell Brown Case

Built on the comfortable, versatile foundation of Taylor’s Grand Auditorium body shape, this 300 Series 12-string acoustic-electric guitar serves up a rich octave voice that adapts beautifully across styles and genres. Back and sides of solid sapele paired with a Sitka spruce top yield a bold midrange character with minimal overtones, maintaining clarity along with the double-course sound while Taylor’s V-Class bracing adds more volume, longer sustain and improved harmony all the way up the neck. Players are sure to appreciate the slender, easy-playing neck, which offers relaxed fretting across the entire tonal spectrum. This model features sleek black binding, a Venetian cutaway, Gemstone fretboard inlays, a firestripe pickguard and a gloss-finished top with a satin finish for the back and sides.

• Solid Sitka spruce top generates bold, clear projection
• Solid sapele back and sides for punchy midrange voice
• V-Class bracing dials up more volume and sustain
• 12-string configuration produces beautiful octave shimmer
• Includes ES2 electronics and deluxe hardshell case

FEATURES

Grand Auditorium Body: Taylor’s 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 flatpickers 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 GAs 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 Taylor’s bestselling shape. If you want a great all-purpose guitar, the multi-dimensional GA wont let you down.

Grand Auditorium Body Specifications: Body Length: 20″ / Body Width: 16″ / Body Depth: 4 5/8″

Sapele Body Wood: Sapeles tonal output is consistent and balanced across the tonal spectrum, making it compatible with a diverse range of playing styles. Its comparable to mahogany but its higher density tends to produce a slightly brighter sound with more top-end shimmer.

Origin: Central Africa

Sound: An alternative tonewood that joined the Taylor fold over a decade ago. Its sometimes mistakenly referred to as African mahogany because it closely resembles the West African wood khaya, which is commercially known as African mahogany. Sapele is a highly sustainable, relatively fast-growing wood. Tonally, it does everything that mahogany does, with a little extra treble zing. Taylor will be able to offer it for a long, long time.

Goes Well With: Everything. Like ovangkol, its a great all-purpose tonewood that will deliver a consistent, balanced tone in a variety of playing applications, from fingerstyle to strumming.

Sitka Spruce Top Wood: As a guitar soundboard, or top, Sitka spruce is the tonewood standard of the modern era. Its used on 85-90 percent of the guitars that Taylor makes. Its combination of strength and elasticity translates into a broad dynamic range, yielding crisp articulation and allowing for everything from aggressive strumming and flatpicking to fingerpicking. Sitka spruce is Bob Taylors personal favorite for an all-around great guitar.

Origin: Canada

Goes Well With: All styles of guitars and players.

Expression System 2: The Taylor Expression System 2 (ES2) is a revolutionary pickup design that delivers the latest in Taylors ongoing innovation in acoustic guitar amplification. The heart of the Expression System 2 is Taylors patented behind-the-saddle pickup, which features three uniquely positioned and individually calibrated pickup sensors. The location of the sensors enables a more dynamic range of acoustic sound to be captured than ever before. Together with Taylors 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.

Venetian Cutaway: The Venetian cutaway is known for its soft, round lines. The sloping peak of the cutaway will vary depending on the shape of the body. The Grand Concert and Grand Auditorium have a steeper slope, while the Dreadnought is a bit flatter. Taylor’s Grand Concert nylon-string models also feature a subtle, flatter slope, while Taylor’s 200 Series cutaway models incorporate their flattest slope.

V-Class Bracing: Taylor’s patented V-Class bracing is a revolutionary new pattern a new sonic engine that marks a major shift away from traditional steel-string bracing patterns. By allowing the soundboard to flex naturally while maintaining rigidity along the center (in the direction of the strings), V-Class helps enhance the volume and sustain. It also creates a more orderly response from the soundboard. Up and down the fretboard, notes are full, true and consistent, with more harmonic agreement. It represents an entirely new design platform that can be adapted to different body styles in different ways to infuse each with a unique sonic personality.

SPECIFICATIONS

General

• Number of Strings: 12 String
• Orientation: Right Handed
• Body Shape: Grand Auditorium
• Bracing System: V-Class Bracing
• Cutaway: Venetian Cutaway
• Color: Medium Stain
• Electronics: Expression System 2
• Case/Bag: Taylor Deluxe Hardshell Brown

Body

• Top Wood: Sitka Spruce
• Back/Side Wood: Sapele
• Rosette: Black Plastic 3 Ring
• Back Configuration: 2-piece No Wedge
• Body Binding: Black
• Armrest: No
• Top Finish: Gloss
• Back/Side Finish: Satin

Neck

• Neck Wood: Neo-Tropical Mahogany
• Fretboard Wood: West African Crelicam Ebony
• Neck Profile: Standard Carve
• Fretboard Inlay: Faux Pearl Gemstone
• Fretboard Binding: Black
• Neck Finish: Satin

Peghead

• Nut Width: 1-7/8″
• Peghead Veneer Wood: West African Crelicam Ebony
• Scale Length: 25-1/2″
• Peghead Inlay Faux: Pearl Gemstone
• Peghead Type: Paddle
• Peghead Binding: None
• Peghead Finish: Satin

Other

• Bridge: West African Crelicam Ebony
• Nut & Saddle: Black Tusq Nut, Micarta Saddle
• Bridge Pins: West African Crelicam Ebony
• Strings: D’Addario XS Coated Phosphor Bronze Light (.010 – .047)
• Pickguard: Firestripe
• Tuners: Taylor Nickel with Nickel Buttons
• Strap Pin: Nickel
• End Pin: Black