Shop Keyboard Deals, Financing, and More

Taylor 812ce-N Grand Concert Nylon-string Guitar - Natural

6-string Acoustic-electric Nylon-string Grand Concert Guitar with Spruce Top, Rosewood Back and Sides - Natural
Building your custom Guitar Gallery
$3,999.00

Earn $200 back in Bonus Bucks OR pay $84/month with 48 month financing*

In Stock!

Add to Cart
Notify me about deals

Ask An Expert

Our expertly trained Sales Engineers are ready to help!

What is a Sales Engineer?
Sweetwater Gear Exchange

Have one to sell?
Check out Sweetwater's Gear Exchange!
Learn More

Most Popular Accessories & Related Items

Taylor 812ce-N Grand Concert Nylon-string Guitar - Natural
In Stock!
$3,999.00
Add to Cart
Add to list
Back to navigation

This article was Written By

Our Product Research Team

Get to know them!

A Robust Nylon-string Guitar!

If you're looking for a smaller-bodied yet full-voiced nylon-string guitar, look no further than the Taylor 812ce-N acoustic-electric guitar. From its fast mahogany neck and its ebony fingerboard to its spruce and rosewood body, the 812-N is a player's dream come true. This guitar's supremely comfortable Grand Concert body resonates richly, while the ES-N electronics organically amplify every nuance of your playing. You'll hear a richer voice, with more complex harmonics and a more open sound that's incredibly vibrant. The secret is that Taylor optimized the wood thickness and bracing patterns to give you the best that the Grand Concert design has to offer. Take it from Sweetwater - you'll love the Taylor 812ce-N nylon-string acoustic-electric guitar.

A richer, more vibrant voice than ever before thanks to customized bracing

You'll notice that the Taylor 812ce-N boasts exceptionally vibrant tones with a unique character. Taylor went back to the drawing board and redesigned their bracing patterns to get the optimum response out of each of their iconic body shapes. Taylor even added side bracing to add rigidity to the sides and enhance top and back movement. In the words of luthier Andy Powers, the updated Advanced Performance bracing pattern gives the updated 812ce-N a "nice, cushy swell and long sustain, even with a delicate touch."

Super-comfortable Grand Concert body style provides excellent tonal balance

Arguably Taylor's most comfortable body style, the 812ce-N's smaller-than-average Grand Concert shape is the perfect fit for anyone looking for a more manageable instrument. That makes the Taylor 812ce-N a particularly good choice if you're a fingerstylist or if you have shorter arms. It features a beautiful Sitka spruce top, which gives you wonderful projection and the perfect amount of sparkle. Add to that the balanced tone and astonishing projection of the 812ce-N's Indian rosewood back and sides, and you have a guitar with timeless tone.

Exceptional tone, volume, and balance thanks to custom-tailored wood thickness

One of the things we like best about Taylor at Sweetwater is that their various body styles are designed for specific purposes, allowing you to choose a guitar that's the perfect match for your style. With the 812ce-N, Taylor takes that to another level by carefully matching the thickness of the spruce top and rosewood back and sides to the body style. They determined what the optimum wood thickness for the 812ce-N's Grand Concert body would be, to give you maximum tone and light weight while also being equally strong. Taylor is also using real animal protein glue (fish, in fact) instead of synthetic glue. Luthiers have been using protein glues for centuries for their incredible strength, and also for their tone. Protein glue optimizes transfer of vibrations and holds amazingly well, which means you're sure to get a lifetime of fantastic tone from the Taylor 812ce-N acoustic-electric guitar.

Premium plugged-in tone with Taylor's ES-N electronics

Designed to faithfully reproduce the Taylor 812ce-N's native tone, Taylor's ES-N system uses patented Dynamic Sensors - optimized for nylon strings - to capture top and string vibration like never before. The Taylor ES-N system is seamlessly integrated into the design of the guitar from the ground up. You can use the onboard tone controls to give your sound added flavor, or set them flat if you want an uncolored, exceptionally clean sound.

Taylor 812ce-N Nylon-string Classical Acoustic-electric Guitar Features:

  • Grand Concert body style gives you a dreadnought-esque projection with a more expressive upper register
  • Sitka spruce top provides a light and expressive sound
  • Indian rosewood back and sides add clarity and projection
  • Graceful Venetian cutaway gives you access all the way up the fingerboard
  • Onboard Taylor ES-N electronics give you natural sound even when plugged in live
  • Hardshell case included

Why Buy Your Guitar from Sweetwater?

See how Sweetwater goes to great lengths to give you the very best online guitar buying experience. From our online Guitar Gallery that allows you to see and select the exact instrument you want to our 55-point Inspection process and our in-house guitar techs, we take the guesswork out of buying your next guitar online.

Additional Media

Warranty Info

Sweetwater's FREE 2-Year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty

Extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

  • Save money with FREE parts and labor
  • Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time
  • Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department
Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage

Free 2-year Warranty

Sweetwater's 2-year Total Confidence Coverage™ Warranty gives you extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage
Tools Icon

Save money with free parts & labor!

Fast Icon

Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time.

Award Icon

Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department.

Back to navigation

Tech Specs

  • String Type: Nylon
  • Number of Strings: 6
  • Body Shape: Grand Concert
  • Body Style: Single Cutaway
  • Left-/Right-handed: Right-handed
  • Finish: Gloss, 3.5 mil
  • Top Wood: Sitka Spruce
  • Back & Sides Wood: Indian Rosewood
  • Binding: Pale Maple
  • Neck Wood: Tropical Mahogany
  • Radius: 20"
  • Fingerboard Material: Smoked Ebony
  • Fingerboard Inlay: Mother-of-Pearl Element
  • Number of Frets: 17
  • Scale Length: 25.5"
  • Tuning Machines: Taylor Slot Head Tuners
  • Bridge Material: Smoked Ebony
  • Nut/Saddle Material: Tusq Nut/Micarta Saddle
  • Nut Width: 1.875"
  • Electronics: Taylor Nylon Expression System
  • Strings: D'Addario Classical Extra Hard Tension
  • Case Included: Hardshell Case
  • Body Length: 19.5"
  • Body Width: 15"
  • Body Depth: 4.375"
  • Manufacturer Part Number: C801001303800077000

What Makes Our Sales Engineers Great?

Sweetwater Sales Engineers are a world-class team of experts dedicated to you. Hand selected from across the globe, each brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of music gear to provide you with unparalleled service completely free of charge. Friendly relationships, real trust, and the right gear are only a call or a click away!

Back to navigation

Customer Reviews

Write your review
Rated 5/5

Can’t beat a Taylor guitar

This is my second Taylor crossover nylon stringed guitar! They are beautifully made, easy to play and the sound is magnificent!
I switched to the 812ce-N Grand Concert 12 fret from the 714ce-N Grand Auditorium to suit my size better.
Love Taylor guitars!
Music background: I have played for years off and on. Started out strumming and singing lots of 60’s and 70’s songs, John Denver, Cat Stevens, John Prine and such. Then graduated to finger picking songs like Mississippi John Hurt and such along with a lot of ragtime stuff.
Rated 5/5

Exceeds expectations on all levels

This is a finely crafted instrument with impeccable quality. I am particularly pleased with the striations in the ebony fingerboard. Brent Leuthold helped me make this selection and made sure I got the exact guitar I wanted. I am very happy with all aspects of this guitar (playability, sound and beauty) including the purchase experience. I added a ToneWood amp for some extra magic. I still like my Academy 12e-Nylon for the campfire, but this 812ce-Nylon is a work of art and will stay in the studio! Thank you Sweetwater; I'll be back!

Bob
Rated 4/5

Cosmetic defect

Everything about my new Taylor 812 is fine except the fingerboard finish..!
It looks like it has splotches of wood stain along the B string…why even stain ebony?!
I think ebony is a beautiful dark wood; this is the first time I've ever bought a guitar of this caliber, ever..! And it came with a blotchy finish on the fingerboard…it sounds great though__
Music background: Semiprofessional
Rated 5/5

A true American Classical Guitar

This guitar sounds and looks beautiful. The combination of nylon strings and being a 12 fret guitar also makes it very comfortable and easy to play. I feel it competes with the best classical guitars because Taylor built it for this purpose from the ground up. The bracing, wood thickness, neck width, bridge location, even the glue are all specially designed to make this a truly unique guitar. Also, the electronics have been redesigned to accommodate the nylon strings, giving the guitar very good plugged-in tone. If you are a guitar player who wants to explore classical or Spanish nylon tones, this is the transition guitar for you. It's a true classical guitar with a neck width that is slightly wider than a steel string guitar, but narrower than a classical. It's much easier to play and finger pick.
Music background: Hobbyist
Rated 5/5

Nailed it!

Most reviews of this guitar focus on the opportunity for steel string players to "crossover" into the nylon string world.
I thought I would offer comment as someone crossing the other way, trying a Taylor coming from a nylon string classical guitar perspective.
I love the ring, especially in the high notes that a good classical style guitar provides without electronic amplification.
But I always wished for a cut-out to reach the 12-17th frets more gracefully as well as clearer note separation when strumming.
I worried, however that any guitar satisfying my wish list, might require the sacrifice of a nice, unamplified ring in the high notes.

Well, after eyeing the Taylor 812ce-N for several years, I finally decided to give the current design a try.

I unpacked it this morning and started playing. I didn't realize my mouth was open until a drop of drool landed on it:) (I was blown away).
The high notes ring out wonderfully.
It is an ergonomic dream. And big strums have the clarity and punch I've never had on a classical guitar.

As one of the nation's top Taylor Guitars dealers, Sweetwater receives regular on-site training from Bob, Andy, and the rest of the Taylor crew. We're also, many of us, Taylor players ourselves, and we're happy to steer you in the right direction once you're ready to make the leap. New to Taylor? Our Find Your Fit guide simplifies Taylor body shapes, woods, and series. Longtime player? Our Taylor Custom Shop, annual limited editions, and in-house mods offer a level of exclusivity you won't find in stores. Whatever your pleasure, Sweetwater's climate-controlled warehouse and 55-point Inspection ensure your Taylor guitar arrives ready to play just as the manufacturer intended.

Close Close $2,000 Pick Your PRS Giveaway -- input your email address below to enter or click here to learn more.

See giveaway details & rules or check out our past winners!

Success!

Your email, has been entered to win this giveaway. Good Luck!