Taylor 717e Grand Pacific Builder's Edition V-Class - Natural Reviews

In 1977, I walked into a music store in Omaha to look at Martin D-35s. The first two I tried, after hitting a few chords, were just not for me! But the third? One G chord and the heavens opened up and I heard angels singing. Needless to say, it went home with me and I have played it through the last 44 years. But a cracked neck and a neck replacement later, it is still beautiful, but not quite the same. Time to add a new acoustic! First call? Dave Brow and Sweetwater.

Now, I was extremely skeptical about buying an acoustic guitar online. After researching guitars half this price I realized I was not willing to settle for good, not great tone. In my search for a QUALITY sitka/rosewood combo I came across the Taylor Grand Pacific 717e in Natural. Now, of all the brands in the world, I NEVER, EVER thought I would buy a Taylor, but I did!

After nervously waiting for the delivery (and reassured by Sweetwater's great return policy!), I opened it up. And man, was Dave ever right (and he's a bass player, go figure)!

The Grand Pacific 717e is beautifully built, plays like a dream, and from the first chord, well, let's just say I heard those angels sing again. It has such a beautiful, full, rich, even and articulate sound. (My wife, the Diva, said it sounded like I had been playing it for years!) SO COMFORTABLE to play, and it has already made me a better guitar player in just these first few hours. And as Bob Taylor once said, "The worst your new guitar will ever sound is the first day you play it", so I can't even wait to hear this one in a few weeks/months/years!

The ES2 system does the guitar justice, although it picks up finger and pick noise, which is also helping me to be a little more deliberate and accurate in my playing.

The TL/DR version... Dave Brow rocks, Sweetwater rocks and if you never considered a Taylor guitar before, consider the Grand Pacific 717, it is AWESOME. (Oh, and as always, your mileage may vary!)

I went to Sweetwater to try out guitars even though I was pretty convinced I was going to leave with a Taylor 818e. I played Gibsons, Martins, Guilds and Taylors. Once I played one of the 717e's I was blown away. It sounded so clean and the resonance was amazing. Love the guitar acoustically and plugged in direct.

Visiting a friend a few days ago, he said, "Let me show what I got"
He brought out a new Taylor 717e and handed it to me. I looked it over, loved the wild honeyburst finish and started picking it. My fingers slipped so easily along the frets and the sound? I can say, I have a Moonstone J99 Eagle built by my late friend Steve Helgeson in Eureka, Ca and I love it but this...sound was so well balanced.
Putting the pick down and finger picking it still had plenty of volume without finger picks and still that nicely balanced sound. We played for a couple hours. I wasn't going to put this one down and he had another Taylor to play leads.
I'm not sure I can afford this guitar but if I can work it out, there's no doubt what my next one will be.

This guitar is amazing! You will not regret buying this guitar.

My whole guitar playing experience has been with a Gibson SJ200 and J35.And for years I have been totally satisfied with these two Gibson's. But for many years my finger style concentration has found Gibson lacking on the two guitars I've been playing. So, I began to explore other guitars. I found in looking at Taylor I like the innovation and use of high quality tone woods. In my research for a quality finger style guitar, I settled on the Taylor 717e.

In my area there is no place to play a Taylor before purchase. So I had to rely on YouTube. I didn't make a mistake. After several weeks of playing the Taylor 717e I am totally satisfied with my decision. It is so much easier to play than my previous guitars. Fingerpicking is a joy. The sound/tone is so warm and inviting and its playability just keeps me excited for hours and hours of playing.

I've paired the Taylor with a Marshall AS50D and that has given the Taylor such a wonderful sound that words just cannot describe it. I realize the Taylor Builder's Edition is a bit pricey, but you will not be disappointed if you go with this model.

The Taylor 717e Builder's Edition is as wonderful to look at as it is to hold and play. An understated guitar, it has gentle curves including the binding and fretboard edges, and nicely grained woods. Playing the guitar is a bit different than my 814e; the 717 has a little higher action that allows accurate finger picking as well as allowing a mature tone from the body. I find the rounded edges of the fretboard allow my hand to form chords without interference, very smooth transitions. Using a pick really gives out some volume! All in all this is an outstanding compliment to the 814. I couldn't be happier with this crafted instrument. Great job, Mr. Powers! As usual Brian Loney and his team at Sweetwater did great job in getting my purchase to me quickly and safely.

I wanted to score one top of the line guitar before I retire from work. Taylor 717 or Martin D28 (or 18)? What to do?
I preferred the body shape of this Taylor and my Sweetwater sales eng' said if I didn't like, it, they'd do the swap to the Martin. You can't go wrong there.

It's been almost a month and I've had a minimum of 2 hours on this guitar every day since it arrived. In fact, the day it arrived I played it nearly 5 hours straight! Even with a good set of calluses on my fingers I just had to quit that night.

This guitar just feels like high quality, and she's beautiful to look at but it's even better in the tone department. I just smile every time I play it. I don't have a single gripe at this point. It did take me a few days to get used to the beefy neck, but I don't even notice it now.
Also, just because it has the torrified top, don't think that it won't still get better over time. Just this week I feel like the tone is opening up and getting even better. (and with all of these hours of play time, I am too!)

Great guitar!

I"ve always admired Taylor"s for their quality control and precision engineering - but that"s not what makes a musician fall in love with an instrument. This new Taylor guitar has much more of an old school vibe in tone with the more rounded shape and V- bracing that allows a brand new guitar to feel comfortable and sound much more earthy than previous Taylor"s. It"s a combination that"s hard to beat, high end structural integrity meets great tuning stability and lush sounds. My only complaint is that they haven"t come out with a beautiful 12 string version yet !

Cant go wrong with sweetwater,and this guitar is really special just give yourself a couple days with this thing and you will love it

First, a shout out to Michael Grebe, whose unparalleled handling of my orders (not to mention high tolerance for my silly questions and whims over the years) has been a textbook example of the level of customer care that creates lifetime loyalty to a company. Thank you Michael! Now, on to the guitar. This is my first Sweetwater review, because I'm generally not good at writing them... but for this, I feel compelled to try to share how unbelievable an instrument this is (after only an hour of playing it). Andy and the folks at Taylor absolutely nailed this design and build. It is beyond extraordinary. Some history... I bought my first "nice" guitar in 1995. It was a Taylor 710 and it changed my life. I recorded three records with it and it inspired the writing of dozens of songs. Then in 2002, for reasons I simply can't explain, I traded it. Worst decision of my life. Many of us have this story... that spur of the moment decision that you regret almost immediately. I tried for years to track it down... I would have paid anything to get it back. No luck. Over the years I also bought, sold, and traded many others (including other Taylors), trying to reclaim the magic I felt with that one. Nothing was ever quite the same. Fast forward to now. When I saw the videos and NAMM interviews surrounding the release of the 717e, I got that gut feeling... maybe this could be The One? I called Michael who is always honest with me; I know he would have steered me away from this impulse purchase if he'd thought the guitar couldn't match my clearly astronomical expectations, but he said "trust me on this, it's everything you think it is and then some." So I went for it (thanks Sweetwater card with no interest for 24 months). The guitar arrived yesterday... in the middle of the polar vortex. After 24 hours of agony waiting for the requisite "don't mess up your awesome new guitar with rapid temperature shifts" waiting period, I opened the case and it took my breath away. The fit and finish is extraordinary. Just looking at it makes me giddy. But nothing compares to the sound. The first chord blew my mind. It reminded me of the 710 I had been missing for 20 years, but with the maturity of a guitar that has been around the block (no doubt thanks to the torrefied spruce top). The tone is still all Taylor, but like a Taylor that is 40 years old and has opened up with all the warmth and depth that you are imagining. And the note definition... oh my God. This is everything you love about a dreadnought including the beautiful warm low end, but without the characteristic muddiness. Truly extraordinary. Okay, I have blabbed enough and I need to go back to playing my new guitar. Final thought: if you are on the fence, do not hesitate. You won't be sorry. Thank you again Michael and Sweetwater!

I just bought a Taylor 717e. It is excellent. I was very apprehensive about Taylor"s marketing hype, especially after my disappointment with Taylor"s new Grand Auditorium V Class bracing (I find the V class bracing in the Grand Auditorium lacking in bass and it sounds sterile to me). I have a Taylor 812dlx and a Taylor 814dlx that I like, they have a very articulate the modern sound with good bass, I also have the new Martin HD 28, Martin GP35e and OM 28. I will not be getting rid of my beloved Martins however, if I only could keep one acoustic guitar, it would be the Taylor 717 or Martin GP35. A few observations, I played a few of the new 717 Grand Pacific guitars, they all sounded great but they all sounded noticeably different. The tone of the new Grand Pacific is warmer, deeper, fuller and it has a more mature sound, than the Taylor Grand Auditorium which is a much more modern sound. The feel, fit and finish of the builder"s edition is wonderful. The 517 is the best and warmest mahogany guitar that I have every played (I will be buying one soon). I also played the Taylor 317 and it is a good guitar for less than $2K, but the 517 builders edition is a big upgrade over the 317. It is also nice that you can buy the Grand Pacific without Taylors expression pickup system, unless you really want the proprietary Taylor system, now you can buy it without and add your own pickup system of choice at a latter date. I believe that the Grand Pacific will become one of Taylors best sellers. I think the 517 and 717 will sound great playing country, folk, CCM, pop, and singer song writer music but I don"t think very many hard-core bluegrass players will give up their Martin HD 28 or Martin D 18s for the Grand Pacific. If you are a player looking for one guitar that can play well in all styles of music, the Grand Pacific is one of the best all-around guitars for sound, comfort and size.

After owning this model for a year, its my least favorite. My Gibson J35 and Breedlove Oregon series sound better unplugged and are easier to play fingerstyle. Flatpicking or strumming is where this guitar shines. Its not easy to fingerpick. Knowing what I know now I wouldn't buy it. I do like it plugged in, but its still tough fingerstyle. For the most part it just sits idle while I play my other guitars. The Taylor is over hyped.