First of all, the new body shape. I had heard the talk of a redesigned jumbo and pretty much yawned past it -- I'm not a huge fan of the jumbo shape or sound (from any guitar maker) so I was hoping they'd maybe make the revoiced deep-body dreadnought standard across the board or something. Even when they announced the new model, I was on the fence -- the stock photos made the guitar look a little chubby and I was unsure if this was just a different flavor of the GS or what. But after hearing and seeing video reviews (particularly the Acoustic Letter reviews) and getting first-hand accounts from people on the forum, I'm pretty much convinced.
Lost in the Grand Orchestra hype is the fact that Taylor made a great move by consolidating their lineup and going back to the three-digit model system for nearly all their guitars. The acoustic series was great, and I appreciated the fact that it started out of a commitment to pure acoustic guitars at the Grand Symphony launch, but it was just too messy and unnecessary in the long run. The beauty about going to the numbered system is it actually puts some "upgraded" appointments (inlays, etc) at a very close price point, and those who want a bare-bones acoustic guitar (like myself in most instances) can go through the BTO system for a lot less than they might think.
On that note, I was happy to see (a) the Grand Orchestra debut without a cutaway and (b) a lot of the photos from NAMM showing non-cutaway models. I was worried with the consolidation of the Taylor lineup that they'd finally go all cutaway/electronics, but I'm glad that's not the case just yet.
I was planning on saving up for a 12-fret GC this year, which then went to being excited about and planning on a 12-fret 712 as a standard model and then to being just as excited -- if not more -- about the new Grand Orchestra guitar.
The only thing Taylor can do that will impress me more at this point is some kind of deal on buying two guitars, because I think I need it!
