Years ago, Taylor's sleek, ultraplayable necks blurred the line between the electric and acoustic playing experience. Recently, Andy Powers (Taylor's Master Guitar Designer) has added his own signature elements to create an even more fluid playing experience that leans toward the electric world. The Builder’s Edition 912ce is aimed squarely at electric players, packing an array of attractive playing features into a guitar that he envisioned as the quintessential electric player’s acoustic guitar. In addition to the functional benefits, this model is Taylor's first Builder's Edition cutaway featuring the bell-like response of rosewood back and sides. Incorporating Builder's Edition ergonomic features like a contoured/beveled cutaway, Andy chose Taylor's smaller, slightly shallower Grand Concert body, which delivers Taylor's most direct, focused and balanced response.
The Builder's Edition 912ce is set up with very low action. Taylor also incorporated the comfortable rolled fretboard edges first introduced on the Grand Pacific, and a 24-7/8" scale length makes for a comfortable, slightly compact feel. Every note is well within reach. The response is immediate and the strings jump to life; even the highest notes will feel surprisingly powerful in relation to the low notes. Aesthetically, this guitar draws from Taylor's 900 Series ornamentation, featuring paua purfling in the top and back, with koa fretboard and peghead trim, a paua abalone rosette with ebony and koa accents, and a new Bellefleur fretboard/peghead inlay in mother-of-pearl and pink abalone. This guitar ships in a deluxe hard shell case made by Taylor for optimal fit and protection.
Body Shape
Taylor's Grand Concert is slightly smaller that its Grand Auditorium and yields controlled overtones, so the sound won't occupy a lot of sonic space. This is often a key consideration when other instruments are in the mix, such as in a performance or recording environment, and it allows the guitar to be heard more clearly. Its intimate size makes it lap/couch-friendly, and a great fit for players who find smaller instruments more physically comfortable. Taylor's 12-fret designs are appealing to many players who enjoy the guitars' compact playing framework, blending the lap-friendly Grand Concert body with the slightly condensed fret spacing of the 24-7/8" scale length and the shorter 12-fret neck orientation. This combination creates a slinky "handfeel" and easier fretting.
The smaller body yields surprising tonal power, midrange warmth and vibrancy, thanks to the bridge's position near the center of the lower bout. The design is physically efficient, so it has strong projection; despite its smaller size it sounds like a huge instrument. Taylor 12-fret guitars are not just great for fingerstyle and light playing; players who love strumming or digging in with a heavier attack also appreciate them for their tonal character. Pairing a 12-fret neck design with a cutaway body blends the unique response from the bridge sitting back a little farther on the lower bout with the accessibility to the upper register.
Tonewood Pairing
A guitar's top is the primary filter and distributor of vibrating string energy through the guitar, which means it has a huge impact on its sound. Lutz Spruce is a naturally occurring hybrid of Sitka and White spruce. Sitka is the most prevalent guitar top wood of the modern era because it blends stiffness and elasticity in just the right proportions which translates into broad dynamic range with crisp articulation. Lutz spruce takes these attributes and blends them with those of White and Englemann spruce, with an end result resembling old Adirondack spruce.
Solid Indian rosewood back and sides complement the Lutz top with sound that's made it one of the most popular tone woods ever. Rosewood produces the strongest bass response among the tone woods commonly used for guitars, with a slightly scooped midrange. Rosewood's sweeping frequency range—deep lows that assert a throaty growl with sparkling highs—rings out with bell-like, high-fidelity clarity. It yields a full-range acoustic voice with complex overtones and extended sustain.
Together with Taylor’s 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. The Taylor Expression System 2 operates through a proprietary 9-volt battery compartment and easy-to-use volume, and active bass and treble controls.
V-Class Bracing
Taylor's V-Class bracing is a fundamental innovation in acoustic guitar design. It marks an important evolution beyond traditional X-bracing, introducing an entirely new platform for acoustic performance. It is essentially a "sonic engine" that optimizes the response of an acoustic guitar in three key ways: by boosting volume, sustain and by largely resolving the intonation (in-tune-ness) issues that have long plagued acoustic guitars. V-Class bracing creates purer, more orderly notes that don't cancel each other out or sound "off." They have clearer, more consistent response, and the whole fretboard is brought into greater sonic alignment for a more musical playing/listening experience.
Guitars with V-Class bracing are easier to tune; the pitch sounds purer and more solid, and electronic tuners can more easily locate notes for quick, precise tuning. Other benefits: harmonics ring more uniformly down the neck, notes are louder with more projection and sustain, and notes are more consistent, i.e., upper register notes don't get choked out or swallowed. Fewer "sour" sonic qualities exist with chords; a more agreeable relationship is created between notes as they ripen, bloom and decay.
The Builder's Edition 912ce is set up with very low action. Taylor also incorporated the comfortable rolled fretboard edges first introduced on the Grand Pacific, and a 24-7/8" scale length makes for a comfortable, slightly compact feel. Every note is well within reach. The response is immediate and the strings jump to life; even the highest notes will feel surprisingly powerful in relation to the low notes. Aesthetically, this guitar draws from Taylor's 900 Series ornamentation, featuring paua purfling in the top and back, with koa fretboard and peghead trim, a paua abalone rosette with ebony and koa accents, and a new Bellefleur fretboard/peghead inlay in mother-of-pearl and pink abalone. This guitar ships in a deluxe hard shell case made by Taylor for optimal fit and protection.
Body Shape
Taylor's Grand Concert is slightly smaller that its Grand Auditorium and yields controlled overtones, so the sound won't occupy a lot of sonic space. This is often a key consideration when other instruments are in the mix, such as in a performance or recording environment, and it allows the guitar to be heard more clearly. Its intimate size makes it lap/couch-friendly, and a great fit for players who find smaller instruments more physically comfortable. Taylor's 12-fret designs are appealing to many players who enjoy the guitars' compact playing framework, blending the lap-friendly Grand Concert body with the slightly condensed fret spacing of the 24-7/8" scale length and the shorter 12-fret neck orientation. This combination creates a slinky "handfeel" and easier fretting.The smaller body yields surprising tonal power, midrange warmth and vibrancy, thanks to the bridge's position near the center of the lower bout. The design is physically efficient, so it has strong projection; despite its smaller size it sounds like a huge instrument. Taylor 12-fret guitars are not just great for fingerstyle and light playing; players who love strumming or digging in with a heavier attack also appreciate them for their tonal character. Pairing a 12-fret neck design with a cutaway body blends the unique response from the bridge sitting back a little farther on the lower bout with the accessibility to the upper register.
Tonewood Pairing
A guitar's top is the primary filter and distributor of vibrating string energy through the guitar, which means it has a huge impact on its sound. Lutz Spruce is a naturally occurring hybrid of Sitka and White spruce. Sitka is the most prevalent guitar top wood of the modern era because it blends stiffness and elasticity in just the right proportions which translates into broad dynamic range with crisp articulation. Lutz spruce takes these attributes and blends them with those of White and Englemann spruce, with an end result resembling old Adirondack spruce.Solid Indian rosewood back and sides complement the Lutz top with sound that's made it one of the most popular tone woods ever. Rosewood produces the strongest bass response among the tone woods commonly used for guitars, with a slightly scooped midrange. Rosewood's sweeping frequency range—deep lows that assert a throaty growl with sparkling highs—rings out with bell-like, high-fidelity clarity. It yields a full-range acoustic voice with complex overtones and extended sustain.
Electronics
Taylor's ES2 is a revolutionary pickup design that delivers the latest in Taylor’s ongoing innovation in acoustic guitar amplification. The heart of the Expression System 2 is Taylor’s patented behind-the-saddle pickup, which features three uniquely positioned and individually calibrated pickup sensors. Because the pickup doesn't sit under the saddle, the bottom of the saddle comes in full contact with the bridge, allowing all the nuance of the guitar's tone to come through clearly whether playing acoustically or plugged-in. The location of the sensors enables a more dynamic range of acoustic sound to be captured than ever before while playing plugged-in.Together with Taylor’s 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. The Taylor Expression System 2 operates through a proprietary 9-volt battery compartment and easy-to-use volume, and active bass and treble controls.
V-Class Bracing
Taylor's V-Class bracing is a fundamental innovation in acoustic guitar design. It marks an important evolution beyond traditional X-bracing, introducing an entirely new platform for acoustic performance. It is essentially a "sonic engine" that optimizes the response of an acoustic guitar in three key ways: by boosting volume, sustain and by largely resolving the intonation (in-tune-ness) issues that have long plagued acoustic guitars. V-Class bracing creates purer, more orderly notes that don't cancel each other out or sound "off." They have clearer, more consistent response, and the whole fretboard is brought into greater sonic alignment for a more musical playing/listening experience.Guitars with V-Class bracing are easier to tune; the pitch sounds purer and more solid, and electronic tuners can more easily locate notes for quick, precise tuning. Other benefits: harmonics ring more uniformly down the neck, notes are louder with more projection and sustain, and notes are more consistent, i.e., upper register notes don't get choked out or swallowed. Fewer "sour" sonic qualities exist with chords; a more agreeable relationship is created between notes as they ripen, bloom and decay.
Specifications
Body
- Body type: Taylor Grand Concert
- Cutaway: Beveled cutaway
- Top wood: Solid Torrified Sitka spruce
- Back & sides: Solid Indian rosewood
- Bracing pattern: Taylor V-Class Bracing with Relief Rout
- Body finish: Silent Satin Finish (available Wild Honey Burst or Natural Top)
- Orientation: Right-Handed
- Neck shape: Taylor Standard Profile
- Nut width: 1-3/4" (44.5 mm)
- Fingerboard: Genuine West African ebony
- Neck wood: Tropical mahogany
- Scale length: 24-7/8"
- Number of frets: 18
- Neck finish: Satin
- Pickup/preamp: Expression System 2 Professional Audio-Grade
- Brand: Taylor
- Configuration: Behind-the-Saddle Transducer with Adjustable Sensors
- Preamp EQ: Volume, Active Bass and Treble
- Feedback filter: Onboard Phase Switch
- Tuner: None
- Headstock overlay: Genuine West African Ebony
- Tuning machines: Gotoh 21:1 Antique Gold Tuners with Gold Buttons
- Bridge: Genuine West African Ebony
- Saddle & nut: Micarta "Wave" Saddle; Teflon-Infused Graphite Nut
- Number of strings: 6
- Special features: Beveled cutaway, beveled armrest, chamfered body edges, rolled fretboard edges, Curve Wing bridge, Silent Satin finish, Belle Fleur mother-of-pearl/Paua Fretboard and Peghead inlays, and paua top and back purfling
- Case: Taylor Deluxe hardshell case
- Accessories: None
- Country of origin: USA
WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including Lead, which is known to the State of California to cause cancer, and to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.