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

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.

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.

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!

Smooth, creamy sound from an acoustic. This is the perfect guitar for melodic play. The notes tell a story, great vibrato.

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

My new Taylor 812eN is by far the best Crossover Nylon guitar I have owned. I have been searching a long time for this style of guitar that accomplishes the follow criteria I have failed to obtain in other Name Brands and Models.
First is a Concert size body that reproduces the beautiful full range sound that I associated with nylon string guitars that I have heard on recordings. I'm sure these guitars have been heavy manipulated during the recording process. I know because I have tried them out.
Second, up until now I have not found a Nylon string guitar that when amplified with it's own onboard electronics even comes close to reproducing the guitar original sound. Usually these add on system leave you with an unwanted sound that is usually described as a "Brittle Quacking" sound that is very difficult to adjust out using only your amp. Not a problem with the Taylor Nylon Expression System. Just plug and play for the natural sound the guitar produces unplugged.
So for me this guitar gives me another quality choice when it comes time to put down my steel string guitars and get a whole new vibe going in my music.
Peace

I was looking for a small body guitar with nylon strings. Many on-line sites were confusing or contradictory. Sweetwater's site, and on-line assistance were great. I know exactly what guitar I was buying, and that it was actually in stock. It arrived as promised, and as expected.

Simply put....a fantastic guitar. I have augmented it with a Tonewood amp and now it's all I want to play.

The Sweetwater folks are AWESOME. My sales clerk workd in a discount for me on top of free shipping. I just paid taxes. The guitar was very well packaged and mad a safe arrival. It only took a few days to hit my front porch. Thanks Sweetwater. First time customer, now lifetime customer

I purchased this instrument because my hands are exhibiting the wear of 50+ plus years of playing. I mostly play Martin flat tops and Gibson arch tops. I didn't use picks for years and then began using them a few years back after having both of my thumbs surgically repaired. It sort of threw a monkey wrench into my style of playing which was mostly finger style. A few years ago I began playing ukulele and discovered I could play finger style on the nylon strings without being too sore the next day. I started to think about picking up a nylon stringed guitar. I had not owned one in over 40 years. After extensive research I bought the Taylor, sight unseen. I went back and forth between the 812 and 814. I'm glad I went with the smaller one. It's the same size as a Martin 000, just a bit thicker. That size is perfect in terms of tonal balance. The neck is not too thick and works well for one used to the instruments mentioned above. My hands are average size at best. I do find using my left thumb to hit a bass note on the low E isn't as easy is it is on a 0000-28 or one of the arch tops. But overall the Taylor plays smooth. It has great tone when played acoustic. It sounds good plugged into a Bose L-1 PA System, but a bit tinny through an AER 60. I'm hedging on reviewing the electronics because I'm still fiddling with the guitar and the sound gear to learn all the options. This is an excellent guitar. I have a collection that includes instruments by Martin, Gibson, Heritage, Fender, Mosrite, and Kaneli'a. I've never owned a Taylor and, quite truthfully, wasn't interested in the Martin 000-C because it's made for the less expensive market and does not have a glossy finish. Martin does not offer any nylon stringed instruments above that level so I looked elsewhere in order to find a higher quality instrument and found it. I am 100% satisfied with this guitar. I wasn't too thrilled having to make such a purchase over the internet. However, these instruments are not easy to find. Even in the SF Bay Area. Working with Sweetwater was a breeze. My personal representative was Stuart. He contacted me by phone after I placed the order and we made a nice connection. The guitar came when they said it would, it was properly set-up, and was ready to tune up and play. No problems at all and I'm quite sure they'd fix any if there were.

I was very impressed with the 812ce-N's timbre and paper-light weight.
With my standard-size man hands, though, the 47.6mm nut forces the strings too close to the edge, and this results in my pushing the low E string right off the fretboard as I play.
Also, rather than a cut-out, I would rather see a model with 17 frets above the body. I find that the cut-out actually somewhat restricts access to the 16th and 17th fret, rather than helping - it might as well not be there.
Almost the best part of this instrument is the hard case - I've never seen a more perfect fit!

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__

Let me start off by saying that this guitar sounds amazing. You won't be disappointed with the sound. Unfortunately, the folks there at Taylor are not paying close attention to the little details in quality. This particular guitar I'm reviewing is actually a replacement I was sent from Sweetwater but I'm not going to get into that now. The customer service at Sweetwater is gold. Anyway, the guitar I have on hand has some serious finish issues on the top of the guitar. There are lines running across the top of the guitar that are almost invisible to see but once you reflect some light on the guitar they are clearly visible. It wouldn't do me any good if I try to capture it with my camera as it is something only the human eye can see. The lines almost look like dents on the satin finish. This may not sound like a big deal to most people but when you're paying $3,499 for guitar, you better be paying attention to these things. Also, one of the screws on the truss rod cover is completely loose. It will fall if shaken. Folks I wanted to give this guitar a 5 star review for the sound alone but the quality in the finish of the guitar has to be just as good as the sound. If you manage to get your hands on one of these guitars without any quality issues, you're gonna love it!