Grand Pacific reports

[Violeiro]

I can't get the 317 to stay tuned. Also, some days I am feeling the guitar to sound a bit dry, really having to dig in, others very melodic.... Not sure what is happening..

I wonder if its new strings are getting accustomed to their new home with different temperatures and humidity than previously. Is it going out tune between playings or while you're playing it???

A few times while playing, mostly betei through out the day. But what is bugging me is that sometimes it sounds great, others I have to put it away and get another guitar cause I can't stand the dryness of the sound, dull...other times is beautiful.

[Marco Polo]

Hi Condition1,

Have you recently changed strings?  Maybe they are still stretching/settling in?  Maybe the music shop restrung the guitar incorrectly?

Humidity will definitely have an impact on sound quality (in addition to the structural integrity of a new solid-wood guitar).  I can hear when the guitar is > 60% as it sounds 'thuddy' and when it is dry, it sounds 'thin', maybe < 30%.

I would verify the humidity and stabilize between 45%-55%.  I would also change the strings to remove that variable from the equation.

Good luck, and congratulations on your recent purchase!

[Violeiro]

Hi Condition1,

Have you recently changed strings?  Maybe they are still stretching/settling in?  Maybe the music shop restrung the guitar incorrectly?

Humidity will definitely have an impact on sound quality (in addition to the structural integrity of a new solid-wood guitar).  I can hear when the guitar is > 60% as it sounds 'thuddy' and when it is dry, it sounds 'thin', maybe < 30%.

I would verify the humidity and stabilize between 45%-55%.  I would also change the strings to remove that variable from the equation.

Good luck, and congratulations on your recent purchase!

Hi, great feedback. thanks a bunch!

[Gabrielobrien]

This sounds like changing humidity to me. Where are you located at? Wood swells and shrinks due to changing humidity. In high humidity areas, the body swells, which will also cause the strings to get higher from the fingerboard, so notes will go sharp as you fret them.

I can't get the 317 to stay tuned. Also, some days I am feeling the guitar to sound a bit dry, really having to dig in, others very melodic.... Not sure what is happening..

I wonder if its new strings are getting accustomed to their new home with different temperatures and humidity than previously. Is it going out tune between playings or while you're playing it???

[boneuphtoner]

Although I'm going to the Road Show this weekend at Chuck Levin's, I knew I was probably not going to get much quiet time at the event, so once I knew that the Grand Pacifics in stock, I popped in this morning when I knew it would be quiet.  I Played 2 of the Grand Pacifics for the first time ever this morning - both a 317 and a 517.  I was very impressed.  Bigger sound than the Grand Auditoriums and it seems to be a very balanced, sweet dark sound, and the same can't be said for many other dreads I've played.  My new-to-me K16 LTD was noticeably louder in the mids and highs compared to the GPs.  Although the GPs have a darker sound the K16 has a more hi-fi sound. 

Of those two, I liked the 317 better, but in all fairness to the 517, it was buzzing like crazy and needed a truss rod adjustment at the very least - that was very distracting. 

[TaylorGirl]

I tried the 317 today at Elderly Instruments. Consider me impressed. Definitely different, but nice! I wish they had had a BE for me to try. If I were in the market for a dread-type (size).......but, I'm not. I think Taylor did well with the new Grand Pacific.

[boneuphtoner]

When I had the 317e in the shop today for a setup, they had both the 517 and 717 in the store and there was a quiet room available.  Oddly enough, my experience is the total opposite of the reports and reviews I've read online.  My 317 is the darkest, the 517 is the brightest, and the 717 is somewhere in the middle.  And they all sounded GREAT!  I would happily own all 3 if I could afford 'em!

[ClassicRock]

I was in Ft. Wayne last week and had an hour to kill so of course I made my way to SW’s acoustic room. Their Taylor display greatly exceeded their Martin display in quantity and quality. I demo’d the GP517 vs 717 (did not play the 317).

First impression is yup, the usual excellent Taylor fit and finish. Second is WOW! Where did this neck come from? My first thought was all the Vintage Martin guys whining about the standardization of the MLO/HPT would love this Taylor neck. Me? Not so much. I prefer the standard Taylor neck.

I played the 517 first and was kind of nonplussed. It’s a guitar, it plays and makes music but it didn’t impress me. However, things picked up dramatically with the 717. I have never heard such a profound difference between mahogany and rosewood in my life. The 717 was alive with the resonance, overtones and complexity one expects from rosewood. I thought I could own this guitar if I didn’t already possess great rosewood guitars.

Fortunately, I was called away before I could get the salesman to get the ladder to retrieve the gorgeous Redwood over Cocobolo PS14 up near the ceiling.

[gscratchutay]

I spent my father's day at my local dealer.  I got my first chance at a 317

It played nicely, but I've gotten so used to the 'sparkle' of my 310 and 456 that I can't abide by the 'boominess' of the 317
It earlier times, I might have considered it as a replacement for my '73 Guild D25M