Taylor Builders Edition 517e Grand Pacific

101
april 2019 Guitarist
reviewTaylor Builder’s edition 717e & 517e Grand Pacific Taylor Builder’s edition 717e & 517e Grand Pacific
If the rounded-shoulder design harks back
to a more vintage-y aesthetic, then so does
the finish using Taylor’s ‘silent’ satin on
the body (again, introduced last year) to
prevent the ‘squeak’ you often get from a
high gloss. The whole package seems to
dig back into a bygone era – at least for the
hugely contemporary Taylor.
Obviously, back and sides wood differs
– the 717e is rosewood, the 517 mahogany –
but even those, along with the mahogany
necks, are toned in to match the deep
brown of the tops. As ever, fingerboards and
bridges are a deep dark ebony but inlays are
minimal; binding is of the same colour with
subtle purfling and minimal soundhole
decoration. It appears the intention is not
to offer a cutaway, either.
Dimensionally, the Grand Pacific follows
Taylor’s previous dreadnought: the body
is 508mm (20 inches) long, 406.4mm
(16 inches) wide with a slightly shallower
depth of 117.5mm at the base tapering to
95mm by the heel. Likewise, the scale
length is 648mm (25.5 inches) with a ‘wide’
nut width quoted as 44.45mm (1.75 inches).
1. Taylor’s Expression
System 2 preamp has
its volume and tone
controls on the guitar’s
upper bout
2. The major difference
between the two models
here is the timber
used for the back and
sides: the 717e bearing
rosewood (shown here),
the 517e mahogany
3. Both guitars benefit
from graphite nuts,
which help keep tuning
stable and smooth
4. Fingerboards on both
instruments are made
from West African
ebony with distinctive
‘arrowhead’ inlays
The whole package
seems to dig back
into a bygone era –
at least for the hugely
contemporary Taylor
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Video demo http://bit.ly/guitaristextra
GIT444.rev_taylor.indd 101 2/21/19 2:18 PM