Taylor Academy 12E

T
here are certain guitars
players will aspire to own
as they develop – a Les
Paul, a proper Tele…
maybe a PRS. And for
acoustic players, their wishlist will
often have two names at the top;
Martin and Taylor. But despite
their high-end reputations, both
these titans of tonewood have
been making moves to woo
entry-level players in recent years
– Martin with its Dreadnought Jr
and, even further back, Taylor’s
impressive travel models, the Baby
and GS Mini. With the full-size
Academy Series though, Taylor is
really getting serious, and this
Grand Concert model, nylon
version and a dreadnought are all
available in standard (£563 for the
12) and electro options, as here.
For so-called ‘beginner’ guitars
they’re dearer than some of the
competition. But is the Taylor
diff erence more than money?
The solid spruce top is paler
than we’re used to, but it does
give the Academy it’s own clean
aesthetic. Designer and Taylor
master luthier Andy Powers
wanted to create a guitar for
newcomers that’s ‘more inviting,
more forgiving, more comfortable’
here but with a simpler more
minimal design, too. One of the
features with a foot in both camps
is the most noticeable – the
mahogany arm rest for the picking
arm. While it may look strange
and puzzling to some, they idea is
to make the playing experience
more comfortable. And it works,
it feels right; drawing the guitar
closer to the body when playing.
And it plays very well indeed.
Low action, no buzz and Taylor NT
neck with an Ebony ’board that
makes us wish we’d had this guitar
when we started. But the sounds
here suggest a guitar that could be
a trade-up for existing acoustic
owners too. It’s a Taylor spruce top
and we expected brightness, but
the high mids here really sing for
chord work. You’re trading some
of the low end depth of a larger-
bodied dreadnought but we’d be
quite happy to for the addictive
chorusy trebles when we dig in.
And in DADGAD that character
helps melodies to stand out in
the midst of strumming.
Plugging in, it’s time to take
stock of the ES-B. It’s still an
Expression System but a distinct
version we’ve seen on the Baby
and Big Baby models. Beginners
gain an onboard tuner but lose the
bass control in place of a ‘tone’
(treble roll-off ). While we’d like
to be able to boost the low end
there’s no doubt the all-round
performance here represents
the character organically, and is
notably more ‘acoustic’ than other
stock piezo systems we’ve tested.
So is the Academy worth the
extra cost? Compared with much
of its competition at this price,
it’s the diff erence between a good
guitar and a great one.
Rob Laing
WE WISH WE’D HAD THIS
WHEN WE STARTED PLAYING
TAYLOR
ACADEMY 12E
School’s in for Taylor’s entry level guitars
1
2
3
£659
BODY: Grand Concert
electro acoustic
TOP: Solid Sitka Spruce
BACK & SIDES:
Layered sapele
NECK: Sapele
SCALE: 632mm
(24.875”)
FRETS: 20
ELECTRICS:
Taylor ES-B
HARDWARE: Taylor
100/200 18:1
chrome tuners
LEFT-HANDED: Yes,
no extra charge
FINISH: Matte
CONTACT:
Taylor Guitars
[phone]
taylorguitars.com
AT A GLANCE
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
PLAYABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SuMMarY
1
GUITAR BODY
The 12e gives more
for less, rewarding
softer playing with
dynamic resonance.
So it’s a good practical
option for fingerstyle
and practising at
lower levels
2
ARM REST
The choice of
mahogany for the
armrest does make
it more visually
conspicuous, but it
really does enhance
the playing
experience here
3
ES-B
CONTROLS
Setting the tone flat
at 12 o’clock is good
for fingerpicking, but
there’s plenty of
treble for cutting
through a band mix,
and without any
plasticky piezo quack
Photography: Joseph Branston
APRIL 2017 ToTal GuiTar
REVIEW
97
BEST BUY
AWARD
TGR291.gear_taylor.indd 97 22/02/2017 19:07