Not the best pictures I woke up a little late and there was too much light so reflections were a challenge, but they are passable.
The guitar arrived in great shape sight unseen. Slightly dry, but otherwise in mint condition. It was strung with light strings which would explain why the previous owner possibly was not satisfied with it. With the lights on it tone was still very good compared to a GA, but not impressive based on its larger size.
My first impression was how small it feels in the hands. It does not feel like a jumbo or a large guitar from a handling standpoint IMHO and I am only 5'10". It feels like a more comfortable dread. With the light strings it sounded very much like a GA size hog with a little more oomph, but not much. I removed the strings, polished it, and replaced with the appropriate medium strings. That was when things got interesting. It is a cannon. The loudest and most balanced guitar I have laid my hands on. I have owned about 15 guitars nearly all on the higher end of the scale from both factory and boutique builders and this thing is just remarkable. It is balanced string to string, but sounds like it is plugged into an amp. Bass is deep, trebles sparkle. Strummed it seems to handle anything and it sounds like more than one instrument is in the mix. Fingerstyle is sounds amplified when it is not. Very responsive and loud. I have a feeling that this guitar is a single players dream, but probably would not work as well in a mix because it fills so much sonic space.
I spoke with someone about it being no longer available in the Taylor lineup and they told me that they had gotten a notice about Mahogany that supply is becoming constrained. That may explain why the GO is now only available in Rosewood, Maple, and Ovangkol outside of the BTO program.
Here are the pics. The top is very nicely bear clawed, and it was apparently left in the light for quite a while as the spruce top appears that it is far older than 3 years. The Mahogany in unique in figure, with a very nice flamed look. I would not consider it technically flamed, but the pattern is gorgeous and not the typical plain appearance that you usually see.
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