Taylor’s Delectable 12-fret Koa Grand Concert
The Taylor K22ce 12-fret Grand Concert V-Class acoustic-electric guitar delivers all the sonic benefits of solid Hawaiian koa — a very special tonewood, and a Taylor specialty. Run some single notes, strum a chord; savor the strong attack, crisp articulation, and voluptuous bloom — a sound forged by Taylor’s revolutionary V-Class bracing and amplified flawlessly by the onboard Expression System 2 electronics. As your eyes drink in this instrument’s understated elegance, your hands savor its flawless playability and your ears revel in its rich, organic tone. Taylor’s K22ce 12-fret Grand Concert V-Class is a feast for the senses.
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Ideal for fingerstyle and tracking
For fingerstyle and tracking, Sweetwater’s guitar gurus favor Taylor’s Grand Concert body style, which gives you clarity and balanced tone that lend itself to layering with other instruments in thicker arrangements where a larger-bodied acoustic would take up too much sonic real estate. The 12-fret neck join gives this instrument an easy, relaxed handfeel, while the shifted bridge location dials up midrange assertiveness. This guitar’s smaller Grand Concert body and tapered waist not only make it a great studio and stage guitar, but its short scale and lighter string tension also make it easier to play — perfect for younger players with small hands. It also makes for a more efficient design; the smaller body is inherently stronger, which enables it to be more lightly braced, making it easier to set the strings in motion.
Taylor Master Luthier Andy PowersV-Class bracing: a sonic revelation
Bracing is the internal framework of an acoustic guitar that helps shape its sound. Although X-bracing has been standard in acoustic guitars for over a century, it creates an innate conflict between two key elements of a guitar’s sound: volume and sustain. The guitar’s top (its soundboard) contributes to both. The flexibility of the top generates volume (projection), while its stiffness generates sustain. And with X-braced guitar tops, here’s where the trade-off comes in: when something is made stiffer, its flexibility is reduced (and vice versa). V-Class bracing changes all that.
With Taylor’s V-Class bracing, an acoustic guitar top can be both stiff and flexible — for more volume and sustain. V-Class bracing provides stiffness parallel to the strings for more rigidity and hence sustain. Flexibility on either side generates the air movement necessary for robust projection. It’s the best of both worlds. This groundbreaking innovation also improves intonation — not only producing notes that are louder and with longer sustain, but are also more in tune with each other. V-Class bracing boosts volume evenly across the tonal spectrum, increases sustain, and improves the natural intonation of the instrument by creating a more synergistic response from the soundboard. This fosters a more harmonious relationship between the notes you play, helping chords to ring out in cohesive splendor. Pick up a Taylor with V-Class bracing and experience it for yourself.
The sonic magic of koa
For this instrument’s top, sides and back, Taylor uses a very special solid tropical hardwood sourced from Hawaiian plantations above 5,000 feet. Koa’s sonic alchemy combines the focused midrange of mahogany with the snappy high end of maple. Sweetwater tip: Due to the wood’s density, koa guitars tend to start out sounding a bit bright; it’s similar to maple in this regard. But the more you play your koa guitar, the more the tone opens up, expanding the midrange and rewarding you with sweeter, richer, more resonant sonority. Oftentimes, guitarists unfamiliar with the tonewood purchase a koa guitar for its stunning visuals, don’t play it enough to allow the wood to warm up, and mistakenly conclude that it’s too bright. Fine koa guitars like the Taylor K22ce deserve to be played every day! With that said, koa’s inherent brightness is ideal for finger pickers with a meatier touch and for studio layering where you need an acoustic guitar that cuts through the track.
Cutting-edge Taylor Expression System 2 electronics
If you play plugged in, then you’re going to love the Taylor Expression System 2 (ES2) electronics built into your K22ce 12-fret. The key to this fantastic system is the 3-section proprietary pickup located behind the saddle. Because of where it’s positioned and how it’s integrated into the guitar’s saddle, the ES2 pickup provides you with remarkably clear and accurate sound. In addition to a master volume control, a pair of tone controls lets you tweak your highs and lows to get the sound you need, and a discreet polarity switch offers vital onboard feedback suppression.
Taylor K22ce 12-fret Grand Concert V-Class Acoustic-electric Guitar Features:
- Solid Hawaiian koa top, back, and sides; gloss finish
- Maple body binding, koa purfling
- Abalone/mother-of-pearl trim inlay
- V-Class top bracing
- Tropical mahogany neck, Standard profile, satin finish
- West African ebony fingerboard, 15" radius, maple Spring Vine inlay
- 24.875" scale length, 20 frets
- Taylor ES2 electronics
- West African ebony bridge, pins; Micarta saddle
- 1.75" bone nut
- Taylor slotted tuners
- Dual-action truss rod, headstock access
