6-String | Sitka Spruce Top | Indian Rosewood Back and Sides | Neo-Tropical Mahogany Neck | West African Crelicam Ebony Fretboard | LR Baggs – Element VTC Electronics | Gold Label Hardshell Case British Cocoa
Combining a modified round-shoulder dreadnought body with a classic tonewood pairing, upgraded interior voicing and a revolutionary neck design, the Gold Label 717e promises an exciting next step in the growth of Taylor’s Gold Label Collection. This model boasts back and sides of solid Indian rosewood, a torrefied Sitka spruce top, and a fanned variant of Taylor’s V-Class bracing design, which all come together in a Grand Pacific body that’s a full five inches deep at the soundhole—3/8 deeper than the standard version of that body shape. That modification adds more low-end power and projection along with an exceptionally warm, round tone profile accented by rosewood’s signature blooming overtones and a dash of played-in sweetness thanks to the specially roasted top. Complementing that heritage sound is Taylor’s new long-tenon Action Control Neck™, which offers enhanced coupling between the neck and body to produce more low-end warmth plus unprecedented adjustability—simply turn the interior neck bolt through the soundhole to dial in the perfect action (string height) for your playing style.
Appointments include a Curve Wing bridge in Honduran rosewood with matching bridge pins, cream-colored binding and a matching single-ring rosette, Crest inlays, Taylor’s newly modified headstock shape, a firestripe pickguard, and a full-body gloss finish. It ships with LR Baggs Element VTC electronics and a deluxe hardshell case with a British Cocoa exterior.
- Deeper body yields exceptional warmth and power
- Torrefied spruce top adds aged-in sweetness and depth
- Indian rosewood back and sides generate lush overtones
- Action Control Neck offers unparalleled adjustability and comfort
- Includes LR Baggs electronics and hardshell case
FEATURES
Contemporary Design Meets Vintage Sound
The classic rosewood/spruce tonewood pairing combines with a deeper Grand Pacific body and Taylor’s Action Control Neck for a supremely warm tone matched by signature Taylor playability and adjustability.
Grand Pacific Body: Built on the sonic engine of V-Class bracing and inspired by classic acoustic guitar recordings, the Grand Pacific is a round-shoulder dreadnought that ushers in a new era of Taylor tone.
- Warm, seasoned sound with powerful low-end presence
- Clear bass range without muddiness
- Round notes that blend seamlessly into a harmonic whole
Released in 2019 following the successful launch of Taylor’s innovative bracing design, the Grand Pacific marks a departure from what many would consider the quintessential Taylor sound: bright individual notes that resonate separately, with plenty of high-end sparkle and and clarity.
The Grand Pacific boasts a dramatically different flavor of sound. Thanks to the contours of the shape (especially the wider waist) and the tone-shaping power of the V-Class architecture, notes are rounder and broader, overlapping to create a more blended sound with a warm, seasoned personality. The guitars also produce stunning power in the bass range, without the muddy, woofy characteristics that create sonic problems, making for a more musical, usable voice in virtually every application. Together with the other fundamental sonic improvements of V-Class—more volume and projection, longer sustain, cleaner intonation, and more tonal consistency from top to bottom—the Grand Pacific brings broader versatility to a dreadnought-style guitar, promising to satisfy players across many genres and musical styles.
With the launch of Taylor’s Gold Label Collection, the Grand Pacific body has been adapted to be 3/8-inch deeper than the standard version. This modification applies exclusively to Gold Label models featuring the Grand Pacific shape and contributes to the exceptionally warm, powerful, open response of those guitars.
Grand Pacific Body Specifications: Body Length: 20″ / Body Width: 16″ / Body Depth: 5″
Indian Rosewood Body Wood: Indian rosewood’s sweeping frequency range at both ends of the tonal spectrum has made it one of the most popular and musically rich tonewoods. Its deep lows can assert a throaty growl, while bright, sparkling treble notes ring out with bell-like, high-fidelity clarity.
Origin: India
Sound: One of the most popular and traditional guitar woods of all time, rosewood takes the basic sonic thumbprint of mahogany (which has a strong midrange) and expands it in both directions. Rosewood sounds deeper in the low end and brighter on the top end (one might describe the treble notes as zesty, sparkly or sizzly, with more articulation). If you look at its frequency range visually, rosewood would appear to be more scooped in the middle, yielding less midrange bloom than mahogany. Like mahogany, rosewood’s vintage heritage has helped firmly establish its acoustic legacy. It’s a great sound in part because Taylor knows that sound. In some music circles in which preserving the traditional sound helps bring a sense of authenticity to the music — certain strains of Americana, for example — rosewood has an iconic status. Also like mahogany, rosewood is a versatile tonewood, which has contributed to its popularity. One can fingerpick it, strum it and flatpick it. It’s very consistent, so players can usually rely on it to deliver.
Goes Well With: Most applications. If you like a guitar with fuller low end and brighter treble (bluegrassers, for instance), rosewood will do the trick. Its high-end sizzle and clear articulation will benefit players with “dark hands”. If you’re looking for a traditional acoustic sound, a rosewood Dreadnought or Grand Auditorium is right up your alley.
Long-Tenon Neck Joint: Taylor’s proprietary long-tenon design features a tenon that protrudes beyond the neck heel and extends deeper into a precision-routed pocket in the body’s neck block. This changes the wood coupling in a way that’s comparable to traditional guitar necks. The long tenon increases the stiffness of the heel, which translates into more low-end resonance and a deeper, warmer, more open sound.
Instant Action Control: The Action Control Neck refines the micro-adjustability of Taylor’s standard neck design with a new shimless design that allows a player to make easy, quick micro-adjustments to dial in the string height for any situation. You don’t have to remove the neck or even the strings.
Sitka Spruce Top Wood: As a guitar soundboard, or top, Sitka spruce is the tonewood standard of the modern era. It’s used on 85-90 percent of the guitars that Taylor makes. Its combination of strength and elasticity translates into a broad dynamic range, yielding crisp articulation and allowing for everything from aggressive strumming and flatpicking to fingerpicking. Sitka spruce is Bob Taylor’s personal favorite for an all-around great guitar.
Origin: Canada
Goes Well With: All styles of guitars and players.
LR Baggs – Element VTC: Taylor introduced the LR Baggs Element VTC acoustic pickup to Taylor’s lineup with the Legacy and Gold Label collections, a choice that reflects the old-heritage sound and classic design inspiration of those guitars.
An undersaddle pickup similar to Taylor’s proprietary ES2 electronics, the Element system utilizes an ultra-thin sensor that minimizes the effect of string pressure and vibration on its tonal output, instead detecting sound from the movement of the guitar’s top. This results in a clear, warm voice that channels exceptional detail while dialing down the treble-range edge that players often associate with acoustic electronics.
VTC—Volume, Tone, Compression—refers to a studio-standard method of mixing acoustic sound that delivers remarkable warmth, balance and accuracy, mirroring the subtle changes in dynamics that give each player their signature sound. The Element VTC pickup boasts an onboard low-frequency compressor tuned specifically to the natural texture of acoustic guitar tone.
The Element VTC pickup features volume and tone controls tucked neatly under the top edge of the soundhole, making them nearly invisible to audiences—an ideal placement for musicians who prefer to preserve the traditional look of all-acoustic guitars. It is powered by a traditional 9-volt battery and includes an input jack mounted within the guitar’s end pin.
LR Baggs Element VTC pickups are manufactured in California.
Gold Label Hardshell Case British Cocoa
SPECIFICATIONS
General
- Number of Strings: 6 String
- Orientation: Right Handed
- Body Shape: Grand Pacific
- Bracing System: Fanned V-Class with Tonal Route
- Color: Natural
- Electronics: LR Baggs – Element VTC
- Case/Bag: Gold Label Hardshell Case British Cocoa
Body
- Top Wood: Sitka Spruce
- Back/Side Wood: Indian Rosewood
- Rosette: Cream (.075″)/.032″ Black/Cream (.075″) Single Ring
- Back Configuration: 2-piece No Wedge
- Body Binding: Cream
- Armrest: None
- Top Finish: Gloss
- Back/Side Finish: Gloss
Neck
- Neck Wood: Neo-Tropical Mahogany
- Fretboard Wood: West African Crelicam Ebony
- Neck Profile: Standard Carve
- Fretboard Inlay: Cream Crest
- Fretboard Binding: West African Crelicam Ebony
- Neck Finish: Satin
Peghead
- Nut Width: 1-3/4″
- Peghead Veneer Wood: West African Crelicam Ebony
- Scale Length: 25-1/2″
- Peghead Inlay: Cream Crest
- Peghead Type: Paddle
- Peghead Binding: None
- Peghead Finish: Gloss
Other
- Bridge: Honduran Rosewood
- Nut & Saddle: White TUSQ Nut, White Micarta Saddle
- Bridge Pins: Indian Rosewood
- Strings: D’Addario XS Coated Phosphor Bronze Light (.012 – .053)
- Pickguard: Firestripe
- Tuners: Taylor Nickel with Nickel Buttons
- Strap Pin: Black
- End Pin: Bronze
