Taylor Builders Edition 517e Grand Pacific

review
TAYLOR BUILDER’S EDITION 717E & 517E GRAND PACIFIC
104
Guitarist april 2019
control over electronic voicing and it
confirms that both dreads are performance-
ready and raring to go.
Verdict
It would be tempting to judge these Grand
Pacific models on the difference that
V-Class bracing has brought to the party,
but it would be wrong to do so. We’ve
already seen how the new system has
proved itself, so the real question is ‘do they
satisfy as vintage-informed dreadnoughts?’
And we’re happy to say that they do.
The slightly cleaner and less muddy lower
midrange means they don’t quite fit the
established thumbprint, but is that really
such a bad thing? We don’t think so. The
point should be that Taylor has succeeded
once again in building a pair of stage-ready,
tonally adept instruments that will provide
the goods reliably for years into the future.
And when you think about it, you can’t
really ask for more.
PROS An honest 21st-century dread
with bags of tonal colour
CONS Once again, traditionalists
may whinge a bit about the drop in
low-end oomph
PROS Expertly built dreadnought
electro with its own character and
a fi ne set of lungs
CONS Traditionalists looking for
midrange boom may be disappointed
88
TAYLOR BUILDER’S
EDITION 517E
GRAND PACIFIC
PRICE: £3,359 (inc case)
ORIGIN: USA
TYPE: 14-fret Grand Pacifi c-size
electro-acoustic
TOP: Solid torrefi ed Sitka spruce with
V-Class bracing
BACK/SIDES: Solid neo-tropical
mahogany
MAX RIM DEPTH: 114mm (tapering
to 95.5mm)
MAX BODY WIDTH: 406.5mm (16”)
NECK: Neo-tropical mahogany w/
Compound Carve neck profi le
SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
TUNERS: Individual Taylor logo’d –
nickel-plated
NUT/WIDTH: Black Graphite/44.7mm
FINGERBOARD: West African ebony,
grained ivoroid ‘Arrowheads’ inlays,
381mm (15”) radius
FRETS: 20, medium
BRIDGE/SPACING: West African
ebony with compensated Micarta
saddle/56mm
ELECTRICS: Taylor Expression
System 2 with volume, treble and bass
rotary controls
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2.22/4.88
OPTIONS: With Natural top (see
below), the 517e costs £3,179
RANGE OPTIONS: Without pickup
system, the 517 (Natural) costs
£2,999; in Wild Honey Burst at £3,179
LEFT-HANDERS: Yes
FINISH: Wild Honey Burst (as
reviewed) or Natural top, Blackwood
stain back/sides (‘silent’ satin), satin
fi nish neck and headstock
TAYLOR BUILDER’S
EDITION 717E
GRAND PACIFIC
PRICE: £3,539 (inc case)
ORIGIN: USA
TYPE: 14-fret Grand Pacifi c-size
electro-acoustic
TOP: Solid torrefi ed Sitka spruce with
V-Class bracing
BACK/SIDES: Solid Indian rosewood
MAX RIM DEPTH: 114mm (tapering
to 95.5mm)
MAX BODY WIDTH: 406.5mm (16”)
NECK: Neo-tropical mahogany w/
Compound Carve neck profi le
SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
TUNERS: Individual Taylor logo’d –
nickel-plated
NUT/WIDTH: Black Graphite/44.9mm
FINGERBOARD: West African ebony,
mother-of-pearl ‘Arrowheads’ inlays,
381mm (15”) radius
FRETS: 20, medium
BRIDGE/SPACING: West African
ebony with compensated Micarta
saddle/56mm
ELECTRICS: Taylor Expression
System 2 with volume, treble and bass
rotary controls
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2.18/4.8
OPTIONS: With Natural top (see
below), the 717e costs £3,359
RANGE OPTIONS: Without pickup
system, the 717 (Natural) costs
£3,179; in Wild Honey Burst at £3,359
LEFT-HANDERS: Yes
FINISH: Wild Honey Burst (as
reviewed) or Natural top, Blackwood
stain back/sides (‘silent’ satin), satin
fi nish neck and headstock
9. Both these new models
benefi t from Taylor’s
V-Class bracing system,
which has the effect
of reducing the typical
dreadnought midrange
mud to a minimum
10. The torrefi ed Sitka
spruce tops are fi nished
in Taylor’s distinctive
Wild Honey Burst
9
10
Video demo http://bit.ly/guitaristextra
GIT444.rev_taylor.indd 104 2/21/19 2:18 PM