rafted for the ultimate playing experience, the Builder's Edition 324ce combines signature Taylor playability and comfort with the rich tonal character of our responsibly sourced Urban Ash tonewood. Originating from Shamel ash trees in need of removal from cities and municipal areas, Urban Ash offers a response akin to high-grade mahogany: warm and woody with a strong focus on the fundamental note and minimal overtones. The solid mahogany top adds a bit of natural compression to help create remarkable tonal balance across the frequency spectrum. For comfort, this Grand Auditorium model sports a beveled armrest and cutaway, chamfered edges, and our Silent Satin finish to reduce incidental noise. It ships with a deluxe brown hardshell case.
As a top wood, mahogany produces a natural compression, so it won’t yield as quick a response as a spruce-top guitar will. A mahogany-top guitar will produce strong fundamentals, with clear and direct focus. It might be characterized as having a woody, dry tone.
Origin: Central and South America
Used On: 300 Series, 500 Series, American Dream Series, GT Series, GS Mini, Baby Taylor,
A hardwood top with more density than spruce or cedar
The stiffness initially yields a bright tone that gradually gets deeper
Harder, denser woods like mahogany and koa that are used on the back and sides of a guitar are sometimes used as tops. Their stiffness initially translates into a bright tone and tends to need more play-in time to open up, but the more a mahogany-top guitar is played, the more it develops overtones that contribute to a fuller, richer sound. A mahogany-top guitar might appeal to rootsy players who like a little extra punchiness in their tone.
Goes Well With: Blues and roots players, anyone who likes an slightly more burly or punchy quality to their tone.
The Taylor Expression System® 2 (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. The location of the sensors enables a more dynamic range of acoustic sound to be captured than ever before. 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.
Behind the ES2 Design: Rethinking the Piezo Pickup
For decades, piezo-electric transducers have been positioned under the saddle of a guitar based on the long-held belief that the string and top vibration cause the saddle to “bounce” up and down. But Taylor’s electronics team, led by developer David Hosler, discovered that the vertical movement is actually heavily restricted, and that the saddle gets “locked down” due to the string tension’s downward pressure. That’s why a traditional under-saddle pickup with piezo-electric crystals often responds with a sound often characterized as thin, brittle, brash or synthetic, especially with more aggressive playing.
The saddle’s natural range of movement as the guitar is being played is actually back and forth like a pendulum. That revelation led Taylor’s design team to relocate the crystals from under the saddle to behind it. The new positioning enables the crystals to respond more naturally to the guitar’s energy as it is transferred through the saddle. Three pickup sensors are installed behind the saddle, through the bridge, with three tiny Allen screws that calibrate the position of the sensors in relation to the saddle.
Like the original Expression System, the ES2 features the same volume and tone control knobs. The preamp is similar but with a slightly different gain structure. As a result it will be about 25 percent hotter, which is more in line with other pickups. This makes it plug-and-play friendly both for artists and live sound mixers.
The Venetian cutaway is known for its soft, round lines. The sloping peak of the cutaway will vary depending on the shape of the body. The Grand Concert and Grand Auditorium have a steeper slope, while the Dreadnought is a bit flatter. Our Grand Concert nylon-string models also feature a subtle, flatter slope, while our 200 Series cutaway models incorporate our flattest slope.
The Venetian cutaway is known for its soft, round lines. The sloping peak of the cutaway will vary depending on the shape of the body. The Grand Concert and Grand Auditorium have a steeper slope, while the Dreadnought is a bit flatter. Our Grand Concert nylon-string models also feature a subtle, flatter slope, while our 200 Series cutaway models incorporate our flattest slope.
Our patented V-Class bracing is a revolutionary new pattern — a new sonic engine — that marks a major shift away from traditional steel-string bracing patterns. By allowing the soundboard to flex naturally while maintaining rigidity along the center (in the direction of the strings), V-Class helps enhance the volume and sustain. It also creates a more orderly response from the soundboard. Up and down the fretboard, notes are full, true and consistent, with more harmonic agreement. It represents an entirely new design platform that can be adapted to different body styles in different ways to infuse each with a unique sonic personality.