Just played a taylor academy 10

[RedJoker]

I swung through a local guitar shop and got to play a taylor academy 10. (Since I had no intention of buying one, I asked before I picked it up.) Wow, I was impressed! Sure, I didn't like it as much as the D28 that they also let me play but I sure wouldn't be ashamed to own that guitar.

Anyway, if you're shopping in that $500 price range, definitely give it a try!

[DukeX]

Haven't played one yet, but these will be a hit, I'm sure.

[HodgdonExtreme]

I just played one of these this evening myself.

I thought playability was really excellent. The action was nice and low, with no buzzes or anything weird. Saddle was nice and high. With the extra light strings, I could effortlessly bend over a full step.

Downside was the tone was a little "thin". It sounded nice, but had a rather simple and uncomplicated sound to it. Partly due, I'm sure, to the light strings...

Another bummer is the finish on the top. Seems like it'll scratch super duper easy.

Anyway, nice entry level level guitar.

[cotten]

Thanks, RedJoker. I haven't tried one yet either, but I know a couple of students who might be interested. Appreciate the tip!

cotten

[gr81dorn]

I just picked one up because I was so intrigued. It is clear to see every corner they cut if you want to take a look at the construction - but I actually appreciate it. They took out anything that wouldn't be important to the playability without totally compromising the sound. I think it plays great - it plays like a Taylor for sure. I think it sounds pretty dang good. I don't expect it to get a lot better over time based on how it's made, but it sounds really nice and balanced and WAY better than most things in its class, so it's a win there for sure.

PROS:
- Comfort - great feel of the scaled down size and the armrest is awesome
- Playability - it's a Taylor and completely feels like it.
- Fit & finish - despite some lower-quality materials, it feels like a guitar that should last a lifetime. The satin finish and no-filler on the neck/back/sides actually feel better to me and sort of work wit the overall stripped-down vibe.
- Sound - it sounds really nice for a $500 guitar. True, balanced, not overly dark or bright, just a nice sweet spot in the middle to my ear, which is great for a knockaround guitar or perfect for a starter.
- Price - it's a helluva guitar for the money. There are plenty of guitars in the price range that may look better, but none will play better and I can't imagine (after playing a ton) that much could sound better (Loar/RK make some awesome stuff in this range, but feel noticeably less quality and less consistent). Taylor has mastered mass manufacturing and these guitars, one to the next, are going to all be great.

CONS:
- Appearance - while I appreciate the intentional stripped-down style, the exposed ends of the laminated body look funny with no binding and the bevel, which is also some laminate material, exposes the guts of the plywood and, at least in mine, you can see some discoloration that just looks dirty compared to the perfectly CNC'd clean lines that abound. I will likely add a pickguard just to make it look less bland. The laminate Sapele is too perfect for its own good and looks fake as a result. Again, it's the playability and overall quality they were going for and something had to suffer, which was clearly the appearance.
- Cheap parts - I realize that they were trying to make this as good as possible, while still being $500, so you gotta cut corners, but there is no bracing on the back, and there is no wood kerfing, instead a plywood strip is bent around the body to join the back and sides. It just looks weird and cheap when you look into the body. Really cheap plastic bridge pins, cheaper versions of the Ping style tuners. Everything works and functions great, it just feels cheaper than it maybe had to as a result of some of those touches.
-Gig bag - not he hard-side style gig bag of many other Taylors, a really flimsy gig bag with not much padding. It's fine, but not super durable so won't function for people like me who were thinking this could be a great "tag-along" guitar. it'd get damaged for sure.

Overall, it's a heckuva fun and nice guitar and I am glad I got one and I'll continue to be happy so long as I keep the right perspective. If/when my kids are ready, it'd definitely be the guitar to get a newbie started and playing - which was Andy's main goal in the design it would seem, so they knocked it out of the park there. For seasoned players or people with a collection, it's a fun addition and a little more of "real guitar" feel (to me) than the GS mini, though I think the GS Mini is a little more functional as a travel or knockaround guitar and has all of those cool wood combos and colors.

All things considered, 5 out of 5 stars considering the context of the instrument.

[Greg Ballantyne]

gr81dorn - I appreciate the review. Very informative. I've been curious about these.....

[CodyToonz]

I'm very impressed with my recently acquired Academy 12. You can see from my signature I'm a concert size fan. The main thing is that it truly feels like the other Taylors. I love the armrest and don't mind the edgework. Somewhere in an Andy Powers interview he stated that an armrest is much more difficult to do on a guitar with binding. The armrest is a +$600 option on a custom Taylor.

[Blueser100]

I was just wondering about the "nice and high" saddle, which I can't imagine on a guitar with low action. What is considered high? I think I must prefer mine on the lower side.

Originally Posted by HodgdonExtreme

I just played one of these this evening myself.

I thought playability was really excellent. The action was nice and low, with no buzzes or anything weird. Saddle was nice and high. With the extra light strings, I could effortlessly bend over a full step.

Downside was the tone was a little "thin". It sounded nice, but had a rather simple and uncomplicated sound to it. Partly due, I'm sure, to the light strings...

Another bummer is the finish on the top. Seems like it'll scratch super duper easy.

Anyway, nice entry level level guitar.

[Greg Ballantyne]

Originally Posted by Blueser100

I was just wondering about the "nice and high" saddle, which I can't imagine on a guitar with low action. What is considered high? I think I must prefer mine on the lower side.

The saddle height from the bridge is independent of the action on the fretboard. The neck angle drives the relationship. A straightedge on the frets extending to the bridge will show this - the lower the straightedge lands on the bridge, the less height there is available for the saddle when desirable fretboard action is maintained.

The high saddle is desirable to maintain the string break angle to the bridge pins. The more acute that angle, the more vibration passes through the saddle and transmits to the guitar top, rather than getting lost in the bridge. Better vibration transmission to the guitar top of course makes for the best sound from the guitar.

If getting the right fretboard action results in too low a saddle height, this can be compensated somewhat by filing the slots leading to the bridge pins to allow a more acute angle. There is of course a limit to what is available by doing this.

Due to overall configuration limitations of acoustic guitars, achieving great sound and great playability can be a balancing act.....

[g.man]

While I was in GC picking up an amp I picked up one of the Academy guitars, and I too was quite impressed. Not the tone of my Taylor 814ce Dlx, but still an awesome guitar.

I can imagine how nice it would have been to start on something like that instead of the cheap crap I learned on

[Rudy4]

gr81dorn, Very nice review, thanks!

It's necessary to realize that the lack of rear bracing, as well as the laminated wood linings, are a purposeful Taylor design feature that serves to tie the arched laminate back plate and sides into a structure that assists in the production of sound.

It's one of the features that coaxes the GS-Mini to have a tonality that belies it's diminutive proportions, and will do the same for the Academy series.

You comments are well noted, but do consider that some of those cons aren't done strictly to lower production cost. Taylor is doing a really nice job at balancing the cost to produce an instrument vs. the true value of a an instrument based on it's perceived level of playability, sound, and overall construction methodology.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by g.man

...I can imagine how nice it would have been to start on something like that instead of the cheap crap I learned on...

Same thing I said the first time I picked up a GS Mini hog-top - can't wait to get my itchy little hands on an Academy...

[g.man]

I also have a GS-Mini Koa, and it is and awesome guitar.