Taylor Academy 12e Nylon-string Acoustic-electric Guitar - Natural Reviews

I have played several ovations, Ibanez and Martin guitars, over 40 years! Every one has their own mojo. A producer friend of mine suggested I get a nylon guitar for accenting my recording tracks. I read a bit and decided I wanted to give Taylor a try. Played many - then tried some others, but went right back to the Taylors. They were all good and so bought it online. No issues with that - and I have bought another guitar on SweetWater and they are great. So the guitar is very easy to just pick up and play - very accessible for a variety of sounds and styles even without amplification.

Nylon playing is different than steel strings, but it is inspirational and you will come up with stuff you don't get anywhere else - that's the beauty of guitars. This Taylor gets played a lot. I now mostly write on it because it is so convenient and then I transfer to other guitars as needed for whatever the song needs. Sometimes I just stick with this one - it's that good.

Amazingly well balanced lows and highs. Love this guitar. Neck feels like an regular acoustic guitar, super comfortable to play. I use this for solo shows and with band always sounds great.

I spent about a year or so looking for a good nylon string under $1k and found it.
I had never bought a guitar before playing it. The only references I had were the Academy steel string version I had played in a local shop, and much more expensive nylon Taylors. This nylon string exceeded my expectations, beating out other brands in it's range up to 2x$. The only thing close was a used Kremona not made anymore that sold.
Acoustically this guitar has excellent projection and lively upper mids that sustain, but also solid in the lower notes. Other brands were lacking. Clear and rich upper harmonics that let you hear the texture of your finger technique.
I have the previous version electronics which sound very good and work without a problem unless I leave it turned on the battery dies, duh. I was also on the fence to buy w/out since I was planning on installing my own electronics if needed, but was not disappointed. Good pickup and enough EQ, anything drastic I can shape outboard, mixer/amp/pedal. The newer module looks like what I have seen in other brand guitars.
The space the other reviewer talks about under the fret tangs is less than the width of the tang which I don't feel at all while playing due to the good fretwork/woodwork, and is structurally better left unfilled. This allows for expansion/contraction of the wood, when if filled could push up/out on the frets. Look at any old guitar with cracked clearcoat here.
I generally don't like the feel of binding, especially on acoustics. I feel binding is a shortcut around good fretwork and woodworking, which this guitar has. The beveled edge is also very comfortable.

This is my first Taylor. I'm disappointed in the craftsmanship and very cheap components.

I don't think this guitar will hold up well.

Taylor missed the mark. First, I don't believe the electronics will hold up very long on this guitar, and for this reason, I'd recommend the less expensive standard version without the pickup. They recently "upgraded" the pickup controls on the side of the guitar. It now includes a 3-band EQ which is nice, however their is a tiny plastic toggle that you slide up and down to turn on and off the tuner. This part feels VERY CHEAP. Like it's about to break at any minute. I don't see this lasting very long. If and when this tiny plastic sliding switch breaks you'll either be left with no ability to use the tuner or if it breaks in the up position, you won't be able to use it electronically as it will be stuck in the tuner mode which mutes the line out.

I have no idea why Taylor approved this design. It boggles my mind.

Secondly, most manufacturers fill the holes under the frets on the side of the fretboard if they don't use binding. All (3) guitars of this model that I have seen in person have large gaps under the frets. Not sure how this will affect the guitar down the road, but it's lazy building at best. A little sawdust and glue (standard practice) would address this. As is, it looks unfinished. Unacceptable for a guitar at this price.

Inside the guitar, and can see gobs and gobs of glue. Poor guitar building.

It is a very comfortable guitar to play. However, I'd recommend the non-electric version. It's only a matter of time before the cheaply made switch breaks.

A few cents more and 15 minutes of time would have made this guitar excellent. I don't understand why Taylor decided to cut corners here.