Taylor GT 811e

[SoCalSurf]

I would pull the strings in a heartbeat if they could do custom models!

Maybe that would be my sassafras guitar!

[TaylorGirl]

I would pull the strings in a heartbeat if they could do custom models!

Maybe that would be my sassafras guitar!

I love the look of sassafras on Taylor guitars  .
As a side note, I had a dear friend and awesome luthier make me a custom curly sassafras-topped dulcimer. Very special.

[zeebow]

I would pull the strings in a heartbeat if they could do custom models!

Maybe that would be my sassafras guitar!

i think your phone autocorrected cocobolo

[tdavis]

Well, I finally found one of these in the "wild" at my local favorite music shop. I have to admit that they are absolutely beautiful in person...truly one of the most exquisite guitars I've ever had the pleasure of holding. I know I was critical of their calling this an 800-series guitar...but it absolutely is, without a doubt. It plays well, and has a great tone too. Yes...I was shocked at how enamored I was of it.

I definitely want one.

But, I definitely cannot justify $2999 for one. That's just a fact.

[boneuphtoner]

Spent a few minutes this afternoon trying this new beauty and the American dream version with urban ash today - my first experience with the new GT body size.  I compared them with the standard spruce/rosewood GS mini.  Just a few random thoughts:

- Wow the 811 is quite the looker - it is even better in person and the maple binding adds a wonderful touch of elegance
- The 811 had the most chime and was by far the most unique of the 3 - it seemed closer to an 812 than the GS mini
- The Urban ash seemed more in the GS mini side of things, but in a more refined package
- Based on my playing of mostly light fingerstyle, if I had to pick one of these with my tonal preferences, I would take the American Dream

Very cool new offerings overall- I can’t wait to try the koa GT and hopefully the hog will not be too far behind.

[Django]

I like a short scale, (24,9”), but for me it has more to do with my limited span than with string tension.  The difference in tension between a GC and a GT is approximately 6%.  Dropping the GC to extra light strings would be more effective.  The 1/32” difference in nut width changes the space between the strings by just over .006” per space, (a little more than the thickness of a human hair).  I already have an 812ce 12 fret, (X braced), so I won’t be running out to get an 811.  That said, if I didn’t already have the 812, I would probably be seeking the 811.  If they come out with a 521 I will probably be interested.

[Gabrielobrien]

Here's a slightly different, but very entertaining, take on the new Taylor GT 811e. https://youtu.be/rS3joPEEGPA

Did Taylor send out a memo to dealers telling them to overdo the advertising for these models? Hate to post two negative posts in a row, but I don't like to beat around the bush and seriously couldn't make it past 15 seconds of that video.

Taylor doesn't tell dealers what to do or say. They make their own content and neither show it to Taylor before its posted nor have any kind of script to follow beforehand. If they did I'm sure the audio would be recorded a lot better because most of it id kind of dreadful.

As to the cost, it takes roughly the same amount of wood to make a GT body as a GC body. They have the same body depth and the length and width is only slightly different. The GT is, if I remember) about 2" shorter. It has a slightly wider waist even. There's not some massive difference in materials cost that facilitates a far lower price. It's very slightly smaller than an 812 with a shorter scale length and slightly narrower nut. When people spent 10 years asking for a solid wood GS Mini with a wider nut, Andy Powers was building that very thing, but it never felt like a big enough improvement to warrant the cost of a US-made solid guitar. So he made it a little bigger to improve it and invented new bracing to milk more low end out of it. I have a GT Urban Ash and love it. I should be getting a GT 811e to make some content with as there's one available and look forward to playing them together.