356ce Sapele/Spruce Grand Symphony 12-String Acoustic-Electric Guitar

The Taylor 356ce Sapele/Spruce Grand Symphony 12-string Acoustic-Electric Guitar shares the richness of the 300 Series solid-wood acoustic experience. Sapele has mahogany' lively tonal response and, together with a gloss-finish Sitka spruce top, rings out with a brightness and clarity that give these guitars a definitive Taylor voice. Black binding flanks sapele' ribbon-like grain, with large pearl fretboard dots adding a traditional touch.

Grand Symphony (GS)
Body Width: 15" / Body Depth: 4-3/8" / Body Length: 19-1/2"
The ultimate Taylor strummer.

The Grand Symphony shape joined the line in 2006 and delivers Taylor' boldest, richest acoustic voice. Think of it as a Grand Auditorium with a turbo boost, thanks to expanded physical dimensions, including a slightly wider waist and a bigger lower bout. Strummers and pickers with a driving attack will love the fullness, volume and sustain. Yet for such a robust voice, the GS is also clear and responsive to fast picking runs or a light fingerstyle touch, so if you'e a dynamic player, this shape is a true contender. And the big voice doesn™t come at the expense of balance. The piano-like bass, meaty midrange, and thick, shimmering highs blend seamlessly. These traits also make the GS a great vehicle for 12-strings. If you like a lush, potent guitar tone that has the horsepower to compete with other acoustic cannons out there, the GS shape is a worthy choice.

Sapele
Origin: West Africa
An alternative tonewood that joined the Taylor fold over a decade ago. It' sometimes mistakenly referred to as African mahogany because it closely resembles the West African wood khaya, which is commercially known as African mahogany. Sapele is a highly sustainable, relatively fast-growing wood. Tonally, it does everything that mahogany does, with a little extra treble zing. Taylor will be able to offer it for a long, long time.

Goes Well With: Everything. Like ovangkol, it' a great all-purpose tonewood that will deliver a consistent, balanced tone in a variety of playing applications, from fingerstyle to strumming.

Expression System®
Natural Sound Made Simple
People love the clear, full acoustic tone of their Taylors. Why should it be any different when they plug in? That' why we spent several years developing the onboard acoustic pickup and preamp. Taylor' ground-breaking Expression System (ES) was designed to naturally amplify the warm acoustic sound of your guitar.

The ES is an all-magnetic acoustic guitar pickup system that works like a microphone to produce a pure signal and a warm, natural acoustic sound. When you plug in, you'll hear the sound of your guitar, not the sound of the pickup. No complicated controls. No tone simulators. Just a clean amplified acoustic guitar sound supported by three simple controls ” volume, bass and treble.

Breakthrough Technology
Years of research brought Taylor to a simple realization: Nothing sounds as true and musical as a microphone. With that as a starting point, Taylor' David Hosler led the team responsible for the Expression System's breakthrough technology. Utilizing a unique Dynamic Body Sensor mounted to the soundboard, a Dynamic String Sensor embedded beneath the fretboard, and a discrete preamp, the advanced ES technology is unlike any other guitar pickup system.

Integrated Design
The ES was designed in-house, alongside their acoustic guitars, which allowed Taylor to build the ES seamlessly into the design of the guitar, for an integrated pickup system unlike any other. From the design and location of the body and string sensors to the voicing of the preamp, the ES is fully optimized for the Taylor sound. The elegant design, including the non-intrusive control knobs, also preserves the aesthetic of a Taylor guitar.