Taylor Academy 12e Grand Concert Sitka Spruce/Sapele w/Maple Neck and Gig Bag

Seems that I’ve been on an endless quest to find an acoustic to replace the one I’d been working with - my hands are small, and the 1.77" nut width of my Ibanez was just a bit too cumbersome. Right away, upon opening the box (and the excellent carry case it comes in), it’s very apparent that this Taylor is a high quality instrument, with a nut width of 1.69" - it’s put together very well! The sound is so open and pleasing: a California shimmer with crisp, balanced lower end - lovely. The beveled lower bout is very nice to have, but I find the edge of the upper bout pokes into my sternum - I would definitely concede that I am to blame for that, because I seem to hunch over more than I realize as I play. I’ve always loved the idea of having an onboard tuner (I’m not too interested in plugging in), and, I hate to say, the Taylor disappoints - it is simply not as accurate as the Snark clip-on. Honestly, if I’d known that, I might’ve considered getting the non-electric version of this guitar.... for $150 less.... So, I will honestly say this as well: even though I’m very happy with this guitar, I was on the fence about it initially, because it just didn’t feel as overall comfortable to me as I’d read it would. The game changer, for me, was changing the strings! The guitar comes with Elixir Nanoweb Light strings, and switching them out to Elixir 80/20 Bronze Nanoweb Extra Light 10/47 gauge made all the difference to my apparently delicate hands. Even with this switch in gauge, the guitar still sounds great, with maybe just a bit of loss of that jangle.... but not by much, and not enough to switch back!

My 14 year old young lady student began to improve immediately after receiving her Academy 12e guitar.Great sound and play-ability plus the bevel arm rest really has a great feel.

Well made, sweet sounding, easy playing. Nice setup out of the box. You can't go wrong if you buy this guitar. I own a number of other acoustics, including American made Martin and Breedlove. This guitar holds its own against them.

I played the same budget guitar for 10 years. I always find it difficult to spend money on myself but it was the right time to treat myself to something special, and boy oh boy is this guitar special! It's extremely comfortable to play and sounds incredible. I've always found Travis picking to be difficult but after about 2 months owning this guitar, I can tell you that having a decent instrument really is important when working on improving different techniques and styles. I couldn't be happier with my Taylor!

I give it 4 stars since do not want to bring the overall value of this guitar down on reviews, but the guitar was not what I thought (maybe I had too much expectations).I have a couple of classical guitars in range of $5-7000, so possibly am spoiled by them. I wanted to have a metal string acoustic too. Searched a lot and based on the reviews and the reputation of Taylor, decided to buy this guitar. I was 100% sure I would love it and never thought I would end up returning it. I was so excited while opening the box... Once played it, I could not believe. I questioned myself rather than the guitar. I really tried to like it, but couldn't. Played again another time, and again, with fresh mind, but same thing. So am going to return it, very unfortunately.The guitar is very neat-looking, although its design is simplistic, but very sharp and nice. The action and playability are very good (that was one main reason I bought it). There is no dead note or buzzing, etc.The problem I had was the sound and intonation. Again, maybe my personal bias, particularly that I'm spoiled with expensive classical guitars. The high E and B strings have good projection and nice sustain, but their sound is a bit too much bell-like, not very much in harmony with other strings, I feel a little unusual. The G, D and A strings do not really have good projection or sustain and their sound is dampened, underwhelming. The high E string is so so. Perhaps the dreadnought version of the guitar is better in this regard, I don't know. Another thing that was not attractive to me, overall the sound of the guitar is a bit different to others, meaning, the sound is kind of like if you play a guitar closer to the bridge with your right hand. I know many people love this kind of sound (I call it "bridgy" sound!), but I prefer more natural sound.Again, many people may like this guitar, it is not bad, just not my taste.I suggest if you can, try it before buying. I did not have that option, so had to buy blindly.UPDATE:I tested again and still could not convince myself to keep it, so sadly returned the guitar today.

I have been playing it twice a day since I got it. Really like the electronics.

Received in perfect condition, despite UPS torturing the box. A very good value. Light, great response and exceptional fit and finish. It does need minor nut and neck angle adjustment, which, every guitar I've owned has needed. Buy one!

Overall quality was awesome, especially the sounds and wood quality. Just one issue is the ES-B Tuner.The ES-B tuner seems not calibrated due to not matched with the tuning standard. Temporarily, i use other way to tune up my guitar due to ES-B tuning doesn't work properly. You can check more detail in my you tube channel in "Kuping Goldstrings".