Description

6-String | Torrefied Spruce Top | Layered Walnut Back and Sides | Hard Rock Maple Neck | Eucalyptus Fretboard | No Electronics | Non-cutaway | Gig Bag Case

Designed with new players in mind, the Academy 12’s compact Grand Concert body, solid-wood top and easy-playing Taylor Neck offer a comfortable, accessible experiencec to guitarists of all ability levels. The solid torrefied spruce top generates projection, clarity and volume with a splash of played-in sweetness and depth thanks to Taylor’s special roasting process. This all-acoustic, non-cutaway model features a built-in armrest that takes the edge off your strumming arm for greater playing comfort, making it a perfect option for learners seeking a guitar that will grow with them. It ships with a lightweight gig bag for transportation between lessons, practice sessions and anywhere else your music takes you.

• Comfortable, compact Grand Concert body
• Solid torrefied spruce top for projection and aged-in warmth
• Slender Taylor neck makes fretting notes and chords easier
• Beveled armrest for enhanced playing comfort
• Includes gig bag for transportation and storage

FEATURES

A Compact Acoustic Guitar Built to Inspire

An inviting handfeel and comfortable body make this Grand Concert a delight to play.

Grand Concert

The small-body Grand Concert debuted in 1984 to meet the needs of a new wave of adventurous acoustic fingerstyle players. In contrast to the traditionally darker, boomier voices of bigger body styles like dreadnoughts and jumbos, the GCs compact size and tapered waist kept the overtones in check. It was also more comfortable to play while sitting down, and the guitars slightly wider neck gave players more room for complex fingerings. The GCs smaller sonic footprint also fit cleanly in a mix with other instruments when tracking in the studio and with a band on stage, making it a useful tool for professional session and side players. Taylor’s current generation of GC models continues to accommodate fingerstylists with finger-friendly traits like a shorter 24 7/8-inch scale length, which makes fretting easier and adds a slightly slinkier feel on the strings due to the lighter string tension. If you feel more comfortable with a small body or favor controlled overtones, a Grand Concert is a great option.

The smallest of Taylors full-size body shapes. Its compact dimensions make for a physically comfortable guitar with an intimate feel and sound. The smaller footprint keeps the overtones in check, contributing to a focused, articulate sound thats well-suited for recording and stage work.

Grand Concert Specifications: 19 1/2″ / Body Width: 15″ / Body Depth: 4 3/8″

Layered Walnut Body Wood

Taylor’s layered wood construction features three wood layers: a middle core of poplar with a thinner layer on each side. Layered walnuts rich brown hues lend a pleasing aesthetic warmth to the guitars that showcase it.

Sound: Taylor uses layered woods for the back and sides of some of Taylor’s guitars for their blend of sound quality, durability, and affordability. Layered wood construction also enables Taylor to preserve tonewood resources. Although layered wood guitars wont yield quite the same level of tonal complexity as an all-solid guitar, all are paired with a solid wood top to produce a rich, responsive voice that will continue to improve with time and extended play. Layered walnut provides a strong backbone for Taylor’s 100 Series, adding subtle touches of high-end sparkle together with midrange presence. An outer layer of walnut is overlaid onto a poplar core (with a layer of sapele on the other side). The layering process also allows Taylor to bend an arch into the back for extra strength and produces a durable that travels well.

Torrefied Spruce Top Woods

By far the most popular and common wood used for acoustic guitar tops, spruce has a long heritage in the music world. In typical Taylor style, Taylor developed their signature recipe for a process called torrefaction to make spruce sound even richer and more sophisticated, adding a new dimension to this much-loved wood.

Torrefaction is a process in which spruce tops (before being added to guitar bodies) are roasted in ovens typically used for drying out wood so that it can be worked. The roasting process lends the wood a slightly darker visual hue while also altering its structure slightly to give it new sonic traits. In particular, torrefied spruce tops tend to sound warmer and sweeter, giving them a played-in quality you would expect from a much older piece of wood. While torrefaction cannot replicate the effects of decades of age and play, it does provide a touch of extra sonic depth without losing spruces trademark clarity, articulation or volume.

Origin: Canada and Alaska

Goes Well With: Virtually all musical genres and playing styles.

No Electronics

Taylor respects guitar players who know what they wantand what they dont. Most Taylor models that come standard with acoustic electronics can be ordered without them. Just contact your local Taylor dealer and theyll make it happen. The good news is that if you ever change your mind, Taylor’s Service department can install a pickup. Taylor will say that if youre on the fence about it, or think you dont need one right now, its nice to haveyou never know when you might want to do some home recording or play that open mic night and cross it off your bucket list.

SPECIFICATIONS

General

• Number of Strings: 6 String
• Orientation: Right Handed
• Body Shape: Grand Concert
• Cutaway: Non-cutaway
• Color: Natural
• Electronics: None
• Case/Bag: Gig Bag

Body

• Top Wood: Torrefied Spruce
• Back/Side Wood: Layered Walnut
• Rosette: Baltic Birch Marquetry 3 Ring
• Back Configuration: Layered, 2-Piece
• Body Binding: None
• Armrest: Beveled Walnut
• Top Finish: Matte
• Back/Side Finish: Matte

Neck

• Neck Wood: Hard Rock Maple
• Fretboard Wood: Eucalyptus
• Neck Profile: Standard Carve
• Fretboard Inlay: Faux Pearl 4mm Dots
• Fretboard Binding: None
• Neck Finish: Matte

Peghead

• Nut Width: 1-11/16″
• Peghead Veneer Wood: Copafera
• Scale Length: 24-7/8″
• Peghead Inlay: None
• Peghead Type: Paddle
• Peghead Binding: None
• Peghead Finish: Matte

Other

• Bridge: Eucalyptus
• Nut & Saddle: White NuBone Nut, White Micarta Saddle
• Bridge Pins: Black ABS Plastic
• Strings: D’Addario XS Coated Phosphor Bronze Light (.012 – .053)
• Pickguard: Tortoise
• Tuners: Die-cast Chrome with Chrome Buttons
• Strap Pin: Chrome
• End Pin: Nickel