Taylor 816 - Rosewood back and sides

A Bold Acoustic Guitar from Taylor

At Sweetwater, we're nuts about the Taylor 816. This gorgeous acoustic guitar combines premium tonewoods with masterful design and craftsmanship for a stunning instrument that's a joy to play. The 816 features a solid Sitka spruce top, Indian rosewood back and sides, a tropical American mahogany neck, and an ebony fretboard for amazingly rich tone and great looks. 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 Symphony design has to offer - powerful lows, crisp highs, and exceptional balance across the entire spectrum. Take it from Sweetwater - you'll love the Taylor 816.

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• Grand Symphony body style gives you balanced sound and incredible projection
• A richer, more vibrant voice than ever before thanks to customized bracing
• Exceptional tone, volume, and balance thanks to custom-tailored wood thickness

Taylor's Grand Symphony body style, featured on the 816, is a more modern take on the sleek Grand Auditorium shape, but with the waist moved up toward the neck. This gives the guitar a slightly larger lower bout, and gives you an excellent blend of power and projection, without losing the high-end definition that's a hallmark of the Grand Auditorium body style.

You'll notice that the Taylor 816 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 816 a "nice, cushy swell and long sustain, even with a delicate touch."

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 816, 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 816's Grand Symphony 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 also holds amazingly well, which means you're sure to get a lifetime of fantastic tone from the Taylor 816 acoustic guitar.

• A beautiful acoustic guitar with a timeless voice
• Great for a wide range of musical styles
• Grand Symphony body style gives you a balanced tone with extra punch and exceptional projection
• Sitka spruce top provides a light and expressive sound
• Indian rosewood back and sides gives you a rich, vibrant sound with exceptional projection
• Hardshell case included