♪ ♫ ♬ Taylor Grand Concert, so loud ? ♩ ♫ ♬

[wisedennis]

Hi guys,

I have got some chance to play a Taylor Grand Concert (x12) guitar. It was so loud. And It sustained well too. It was even louder than a 2018 914 v class and another 914ce... I measured them in the 'same' environment with equipment..



Is it common that the Taylor GC has such a big volume ? or its just an outliner?

Thanks!

Dennis

[Goodallboy]

The Goodall GC I owned for many years was as loud as any dreadnaught, so I think you're discovering that a great GC CAN be as loud, at the same time be more balanced (at least my Goodall was) than a Dred.

I owned a fine SCGC OM that could not punch in that weight class.

[cliff_the_stiff]

GC 12 frets moves the bridge back to a more central position. That has a favourable affect on the low end pronunciation and volume. My opinion is that the best Taylors are the GC 12 frets. And maybe my favorite of the GCs is the 612 Maple.

[LakewoodM32Fan]

There definitely is something different about the 12th fret join at the body form factor. If you can get over those "last two missing frets before the body" (and I had to be honest with myself, I'm never going to be shredding up there, it's just not in my skillset) personally I find the 12 v 14 fret sound difference compelling. Not that 14 fretters are bad (otherwise I'd have to get rid of all my guitars) but just like how we buy guitars with different woods for the change in tone, I've come to learn that the change of moving the bridge further back to closer to the "center" of the area between the soundhole and tailblock also results in a significant change in tone.

My next guitar will likely be a 12 fretter. Not sure about a GC body--I've got my eye on a GA which, when I last auditioned it a few weeks ago, it more than held it's own volume wise to every 14 fretter I put it up against.

[wisedennis]

Originally Posted by Goodallboy

The Goodall GC I owned for many years was as loud as any dreadnaught, so I think you're discovering that a great GC CAN be as loud, at the same time be more balanced (at least my Goodall was) than a Dred.

I owned a fine SCGC OM that could not punch in that weight class.

Yes It surprised me that ""a great GC CAN be as loud as a Dred" ... but it's real @@

[LakewoodM32Fan]

Originally Posted by wisedennis

Yes It surprised me that ""a great GC CAN be as loud as a Dred" ... but it's real @@

True, I have some OMs that can get very loud, probably as loud as a dread (though I've never taken an SPL meter to them) but there is something about the "easy power/volume" that the larger body dread can give which is hard to describe, but it there.

I don't know how to say it, but what I mean is that you don't have to dig in as hard on dreads to get the same volume, and there's an "easiness" to that sound whereas you can really tell when you're digging in to an OM to achieve the same volume.

Does that make any sense?

[FingahPickah]

I have a Larrivee 000-40 12 fret (Sitka/Mahogany/Satin Finish/Symmetrical Parabolic X-bracing). It's very balanced with the bass and volume of a dreadnought.

I also have an Eastman AC108ce-LTD Grand Concert cutaway - not a 12 fret but (Adirondack Spruce/Sapele) is also surprising loud ... cut-through mids, crisp trebles ... Eastman nailed it with an Adi top on a small body..

[jricc]

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to find a used 2012 Taylor GC3 in great condition, and it IS pretty loud... but more importantly for me, it is balanced, plays great and sounds really good.

[aeisen93]

i played a taylor 812ce at a GC recently and it was very loud! great guitars.

[donlyn]

wisedennis,

You never mentioned which model(s) of the GC series you played. In the absence of this information, it seems that many posters have assumed it is a 12 fret, but in the event, sometimes different woods may also have a noticeable effect on the difference of sound produced by the same model (xy2) guitar. (The 'x' is the series number, and the y is an indication that something is different, like the top wood or number of strings. Taylor doesn't always follow the numbering system, especially with Ltd's)

I have a Taylor 2016 412e-R, X-braced with a spruce top over Rosewood back and sides, short scaled, and joined at the 14th fret. Yes it can be quite loud, and that includes a more than decent bass presence. Even though I fingerpick using my nails, I can run out of headroom if I'm not careful. On the other hand, it has a very pleasing sound and has broken in (opened up, if you will) quite nicely. It is currently strung with Elixir PB HD Light gauge strings, .013 to .053. The medium trebles may have something to do with it's volume, and certainly something to do with a fuller and more balanced sound. Definitely the leading contender for my 'desert isle' guitar.

Don
.

[wisedennis]

Yes it makes a lot of sense;

Originally Posted by LakewoodM32Fan

True, I have some OMs that can get very loud, probably as loud as a dread (though I've never taken an SPL meter to them) but there is something about the "easy power/volume" that the larger body dread can give which is hard to describe, but it there.

I don't know how to say it, but what I mean is that you don't have to dig in as hard on dreads to get the same volume, and there's an "easiness" to that sound whereas you can really tell when you're digging in to an OM to achieve the same volume.

Does that make any sense?

[Jeff Mc]

I have a 712 12fret with Tasmanian Blackwood and baked Sitka. It is loud and I think warmer than many small body Taylors. Plenty loud but obviously not the bottom end of a dread.

[RussL30]

The GC bodies can be quite surprising. I have a an Engelman/Koa 14 fret GC and it can be loud for a small body, short scale, cutaway. Obviously it’s not near as powerful as my dreads, but there’s an explosive responsiveness and character in the tone that I don’t get with my dreads.

[wisedennis]

The GC I had a chance to play is a custom shop Taylor GC with engelmann spruce + Indian RW (and no cutaway)

Originally Posted by donlyn

wisedennis,

You never mentioned which model(s) of the GC series you played. In the absence of this information, it seems that many posters have assumed it is a 12 fret, but in the event, sometimes different woods may also have a noticeable effect on the difference of sound produced by the same model (xy2) guitar. (The 'x' is the series number, and the y is an indication that something is different, like the top wood or number of strings. Taylor doesn't always follow the numbering system, especially with Ltd's)

I have a Taylor 2016 412e-R, X-braced with a spruce top over Rosewood back and sides, short scaled, and joined at the 14th fret. Yes it can be quite loud, and that includes a more than decent bass presence. Even though I fingerpick using my nails, I can run out of headroom if I'm not careful. On the other hand, it has a very pleasing sound and has broken in (opened up, if you will) quite nicely. It is currently strung with Elixir PB HD Light gauge strings, .013 to .053. The medium trebles may have something to do with it's volume, and certainly something to do with a fuller and more balanced sound. Definitely the leading contender for my 'desert isle' guitar.

Don
.

[rpatkin]

I have a 322 12 fret (x braced, blackwood) and a 712 12 fret (v braced). Neither lack volume, the 322 in fact is almost "boomy" ... I've strung it with the Nickel Bronze Balanced tension to tune the bass down a bit. (I also use them on the 712, to tone down the trebles a touch.)