New to the lineup in 2020, Taylor’s Grand Theater body shape provides a supremely comfortable playing experience. But this small-bodied acoustic-electric sounds anything but small. Its cutting-edge C-Class bracing pattern gives it a full and robust bass response and the power to punch well above its weight class. The GTe gets its voice from a solid Sitka spruce top paired with solid urban ash back and sides. Reclaimed from Southern California’s bustling metropolis, urban ash delivers a sweet tone that’s reminiscent of mahogany. As much as your ears will like the sound of the guitar, your fingers will delight at the 24-1/8-inch scale length. The lower string tension makes the strings feel light and pliable, which is perfect for fingerstyle, cowboy chords, and the occasional solo. Plus, thanks to the stellar ES2 electronics, you can take the GTe onstage. Packing heavyweight power into a lightweight and comfortable body, the Taylor GTe is sure to impress you with its sound and feel.
2020 marked the debut of Taylor’s Grand Theater body shape. Sized between the uber-comfortable GS Mini and Taylor’s classic Grand Concert body style, the Grand Theater offers the perfect blend of power and comfort. It’s capable of a full-sized guitar’s acoustic performance with the comfortable playability of a travel-sized guitar. It has a 24-1/8-inch scale length that gives the strings a softened feel akin to playing down-tuned with a capo on the first fret. You’ll love the feel of the body and the sprightly playing experience. Whether it becomes your go-to stage companion, studio workhorse, or favorite daily driver, the GTe is ready for a lifetime of playing.
If you ask Taylor master builder Andy Powers, a guitar is only as good as its bracing pattern. And with the limited size of the GTe, a new bracing pattern is required to help it reach its full sonic potential. This small guitar introduces C-Class bracing, a proprietary bracing pattern developed to bring out a surprisingly robust bass response despite its size. C-Class bracing uses an asymmetrical, cantilevered design that strikes the perfect balance between stiffness and flexibility. Like Taylor’s groundbreaking V-Class architecture, the GTe’s C-Class bracing increases sustain, improves volume, enhances projection, and sharpens intonation. When you hear it for the first time, you won’t believe that a guitar this small can sound so big.
One of the most recent tonewoods to be added to the Taylor lineup, urban ash debuted on the 324ce Builder’s Edition in early 2020. Making its return, this tonewood comes from Shamel ash trees growing in urban areas of Southern California. They grow extremely quickly, reaching heights of more than 40 feet in just 20 years, making urban ash readily available and more renewable than just about any other hardwood. Plus, Taylor told guitar players at Music Experience that urban ash shares many tonal properties with Honduran mahogany. It’s highly resonant, charming in the midrange, and has an exceptionally clear top end. One thing’s for sure: your new Taylor GTe’s urban ash back and sides will provide you with a lush tone you’ll hear each time you strum it.
The Taylor GTe is a bona fide studio and stage workhorse, thanks to the onboard ES2 electronics. ES2 electronics take advantage of Taylor’s proprietary pickup design. It has a three-section pickup mounted in the bridge, behind the saddle. Because of its position, the pickup delivers a clear, lifelike acoustic tone each time you plug in. For tone tweaking and sound shaping, the ES2 system has a master volume control and a pair of tone controls. The ES2 electronics and the character of the GTe combine to create a potent tonal combination that will leave you and your audience stunned.
An exciting new entry into the world of acoustic-electric guitars, the GTe Urban Ash debuts a new body shape that’s sure to inspire players of all skill levels with its compact frame, accommodating feel, and robust acoustic voice. The GT (Grand Theater) features a scaled-down body that echoes the jumbo curves of our Grand Orchestra shape, with its dimensions reduced to create a remarkably approachable feel. The innovation extends to the GT’s interior architecture, built on a new asymmetrical bracing design called C-Class bracing. This new sonic structure brings the tonal benefits of V-Class bracing to the smaller GT body shape, producing more volume and longer sustain while also bolstering the GT’s bass response to surprising levels of low-end power from a smaller guitar. This model takes its name from the solid Urban Ash that composes its back and sides, which serve up a rich, shimmering midrange accented by pristine highs. Visually, the GT is appointed with modest details such as a three-ring koa rosette and Pinnacle inlays in Italian acrylic, preserving its accessible price point and clean aesthetic. A super-thin, water-based matte finish, paired with an Urban Sienna stain for the back and sides, reflects a dusky, alluring visual character, preserving the wood’s visual texture and allowing the player to feel the grain through the finish. Onboard ES2 electronics provide quick plug-and-play functionality when you need amplified sound. This model includes a sturdy, lightweight AeroCase™ for easy, safe transport.
More and more players want the playing comfort of a smaller acoustic guitar without having to sacrifice tone. So Taylor master builder Andy Powers set out to design a new guitar that could deliver on both fronts — combining the inviting feel of a compact instrument with the rich voice of a full-size, all-solid-wood guitar. Designed from the ground up, the new Taylor GT™ (short for Grand Theater) introduces a new category of acoustic guitar in size, feel and sound. Crafted on Taylor’s California campus, the GT’s uniquely modern proportions make it super fun and easy to play, with a big sonic personality worthy of any pro player’s toolbox.
The new GT body style borrows the basic body curves of our Grand Orchestra (our largest body style), but they’re scaled down for comfort. The width at the lower bout is nearly the same as the Taylor Grand Concert, but the GT’s body length is shorter and the body depth is slightly reduced. This creates an accessible feel for all types of players and scenarios, from the couch to the campfire to the concert hall.
The GT’s unique neck proportions are also scaled for the ultimate in playing comfort. The 24-1/8-inch scale length lies between our GS Mini and the Grand Concert. The result is light string tension — the same as if you tuned a guitar with a 25-1/2-inch scale length down a half step. The closer fret spacing will help your fret-hand dexterity, while the string spacing at the nut (1-23/32”) finds the sweet spot between 1-11/16” and 1-3/4”.
Featuring all-solid-wood construction, the GT belies its size with a high-octane musical response. The secret sauce is our new C-Class™ voicing architecture inside the guitar. Inspired by our acclaimed V-Class® bracing, the C-Class design enhances the volume and sustain, while its unique asymmetrical pattern accentuates the lower frequencies. This allows the GT to produce a surprisingly warm bass response for its compact dimensions. The sound is sweet, focused and responsive — perfect for recording or plugging in with our ES2 pickup.
The first pair of acoustic guitars released with the new GT body shape features the GTe Urban Ash and its all-acoustic counterpart. Made with backs and sides of solid Urban Ash responsibly sourced from Shamel ash trees in need of removal from California municipal areas, these models generate a punchy midrange voice balanced with crisp highs and a rich low end boosted by our new C-Class bracing, developed specifically for the GT body shape. A solid spruce top rounds out the body and adds overall articulation, while the built-in ES2 pickup and preamp provide faithful sound for amplified situations and recording sessions.
Compact yet gifted with a bold voice, the GT’s scaled-down frame offers surprising tonal power and texture.
The soundboard choice for most guitars, Sitka spruce produces a broad dynamic range and accommodates a versatile range of playing styles.
Sourced from city trees in need of removal, Urban Ash produces midrange power and balance comparable to Honduran mahogany.
The Expression System® 2 captures more of a guitar’s dynamic properties using a breakthrough behind-the-saddle design.
| Series | GT |
|---|---|
| String Type | Steel |
| Number of Strings | 6 |
| Body Shape | Grand Theater |
| Left-/Right-handed | Right-handed |
| Color | Natural |
| Finish | Satin |
| Top Wood | Solid Spruce |
| Back & Sides Wood | Solid Urban Ash |
| Body Bracing | C-Class |
| Binding | None |
| Neck Wood | Tropical Mahogany |
| Fingerboard Material | Eucalyptus |
| Fingerboard Inlay | Italian Acrylic Pinnacle |
| Number of Frets | 20 |
| Scale Length | 24.1" |
| Tuning Machines | Taylor Nickel Mini |
| Bridge Material | Eucalyptus |
| Nut/Saddle Material | Black Graphite/Micarta |
| Nut Width | 1.719" |
| Electronics | Expression System 2 |
| Strings | Elixir NANOWEB Light Gauge (.012-.053) |
| Case Included | Aerocase |
| Manufacturer Part Number | A092036011006121265 |
