Massive Wall-of-Sound Taylor Grand Orchestra
The Taylor 818e acoustic-electric guitar boasts Taylors largest body shape — the Grand Orchestra. With an outsized air capacity, the 818e produces an enormous sound, full of robust lows with a tremendous amount of projection. Yet, it remains incredibly sensitive and articulate, adding punch and clarity to picked notes and strummed chords. The newly redesigned 818e features deluxe appointments, including a Mission inlay pattern in mother-of-pearl and grained ivoroid, an ebony fingerboard, maple binding, Taylor nickel tuners, and a rosewood pickguard. The combination of rosewood back and sides and Sitka spruce top adds additional richness and depth to the Grand Orchestra sound, and the 818e is built around Taylor's V-Class bracing, which enhances the instrument's volume and sustain. For playing out live, the 818e includes Taylor's innovative Expression System 2 electronics, renowned for transparent amplification that maintains the integrity of your guitar's tone. For a matchless playing experience that you're guaranteed to love, check out the Taylor 818e acoustic-electric guitar — available from Sweetwater.
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V-class bracing: a sonic revelation
Bracing is the internal framework of an acoustic guitar that helps shape its sound. Although X-bracing has been standard in acoustic guitars for over a century, it creates an innate conflict between two key elements of a guitar’s sound: volume and sustain. The guitar's top (its soundboard) contributes to both. The flexibility of the top generates volume (projection), while its stiffness generates sustain. And with X-braced guitar tops, here's where the tradeoff comes in: when something is made stiffer, its flexibility is reduced (and vice versa).
V-class bracing changes all that. With Taylor's V-class bracing, an acoustic guitar top can be both stiff and flexible — for more volume and sustain. V-class bracing provides stiffness parallel to the strings for more rigidity and, hence, sustain. Flexibility on either side generates the air movement necessary for robust projection. It's the best of both worlds. This groundbreaking innovation also improves intonation, not only producing notes that are louder and with longer sustain — but also more in tune with each other. Guitarists at Sweetwater are gobsmacked. But don't take our word for it — pick up the superb Taylor 818e and experience it for yourself!
Taylor's Grand Orchestra body delivers power and detail
The Taylor 818e Grand Orchestra is the biggest guitar body that Taylor makes. At Sweetwater, we love this large footprint because it offers a bold and rich voice that is extremely responsive. Unlike other large body styles, the Grand Orchestra has an even, full-range response with big bass. A custom bracing design increases sustain while coaxing loud, complex tonalities. The Taylor 818e acoustic-electric guitar has the power and rich detail you want from an acoustic.
A classic tonewood combination
Nothing beats the sound of rosewood topped with spruce. As a top tonewood, Sitka spruce offers a combination of strength and elasticity that delivers a broad dynamic range with crisp articulation that's ideal for a wide range of playing styles, from delicate fingerpicking to aggressive flatpicked strumming. Used for the back and sides of the 818e, Indian rosewood’s extended frequency range and rich, musical tonality have elevated it to premium status among tonewoods. Its potent low end can serve up a throaty growl, while sparkling treble notes ring out with bell-like clarity. Slightly scooped in the midrange (as compared with mahogany), rosewood acoustic guitars are perfect for solo performance, vocal accompaniment, and tracking in sparser arrangements.
Cutting-edge Taylor Expression System 2 electronics
If you play plugged in, then you're going to love the Taylor Expression System 2 (ES2) electronics built into your 818e. The key to this fantastic system is the 3-section proprietary pickup located behind the saddle. Because of where it's positioned and how it's integrated into the 818e's saddle, the ES2 pickup provides you with remarkably clear and accurate sound. In addition to a master volume control, a pair of tone controls lets you tweak your highs and lows to get the sound you need, and a discreet phase switch offers vital onboard feedback suppression.
Taylor 818e Acoustic-electric Guitar Features:
- 818e acoustic-electric guitar with V-Class bracing
- Grand Orchestra body shape has a bold, rich voice
- Custom-designed bracing provides better response, projection, and tone
- Expression System 2 electronics deliver natural acoustic sound to your amp or PA
- Sitka spruce top with Indian rosewood back and sides
- Mahogany body with ebony fingerboard
- Loud performance and uniformly responsive lows and highs
- Gorgeous antique blonde finish
