Taylor 528e Grand Orchestra ES2 Acoustic-Electric Guitar Medium Brown Stain

The burly all-mahogany Grand Orchestra is a dynamic powerhouse that responds well to lively strumming. A brawny bass and potent mids support a rich depth of tone, while clear treble notes add to the full-spectrum sound. Appointments include a black pickguard, ivoroid binding and rosette, and a Century fretboard inlay. This model comes equipped with stage-ready Expression System 2 acoustic electronics. Includes case.Grand Orchestra (GO)Body Length: 20-5/8" / Body Width: 16-3/4" / Body Depth: 5"Taylor's biggest, most complex voice is also balanced and responsive.The newest shape to join the Taylor family unleashes the boldest, richest voice available in a Taylor guitar. Just as the Grand Symphony yields a deeper, more powerful voice than the Grand Auditorium, the Grand Orchestra stands out as a more robust alternative to the Grand Symphony. The GO shape features a slightly bigger footprint and a deeper body, which helps produce a potent low-end response. Under the hood, a new bracing scheme optimizes the movement of the soundboard to produce louder, more complex tone with incredible sustain. What separates the Grand Orchestra from other big-bodied guitars is how balanced the tone is from top to bottom, especially given its brawny bass. And unlike other big-body guitars that require an aggressive attack to get the top moving, the GO is responsive to a light touch, rewarding players who have a dynamic playing style. If you crave a guitar sound that's brimming with power and rich detail, the Grand Orchestra won't disappoint. From big cowboy chords to lush fingerstyle arrangements, the Grand Orchestra might be the most expressive and versatile big guitar you ever play.Tropical MahoganyOrigin: Central and South AmericaMahogany is a good wood to anchor a discussion of tones, as a lot of other wood tones can be described in relation to it. Its essential sonic profile is well represented in the midrange frequencies. Acoustic guitars in general tend to live in the midrange portion of the sound spectrum, but mahogany in particular displays a lot of midrange character. That thick, present midrange sound is sometimes described in guitar circles as meaty, organic or even "chewy" - wherever a player digs in on the fretboard, they're tapping into the core of the harmonic content of what a guitar produces. Those great midrange frequencies produce overtones that stack up and produce bloom, giving the sound extra girth. When one hears the resulting harmonics, the "chewy" tone serves up a big mouthful of midrange. As a popular tonewood for many decades, mahogany has been used on scads of old school acoustic recordings, and that sonic heritage carries across various strains of roots music, from blues to folk to slack key.Expression System 2The Taylor Expression System 2 (ES2) is a revolutionary pickup design that delivers the latest in Taylor's ongoing innovation in acoustic guitar amplification. The heart of the Expression System 2 is Taylor's proprietary behind-the-saddle pickup (patent pending), which features three uniquely positioned and individually calibrated pickup sensors. The location of the sensors enables a more dynamic range of acoustic sound to be captured than ever before. Together with Taylor's custom-designed "professional audio"-grade preamp, this system produces exceptional amplified tone and responsiveness. On stage through a PA, plugged into your favorite acoustic amplifier, or direct into recording software, the Expression System 2 faithfully conveys the voice of your Taylor guitar.Behind the ES2 Design: Rethinking the Piezo PickupFor decades, piezo-electric transducers have been positioned under the saddle of a guitar based on the long-held belief that the string and top vibration cause the saddle to "bounce" up and down. But Taylor's electronics team, led by developer David Hosler, discovered that the vertical movement is actually heavily restricted, and that the saddle gets "locked down" due to the string tension's downward pressure. That's why a traditional under-saddle pickup with piezo-electric crystals often responds with a sound often characterized as thin, brittle, brash or synthetic, especially with more aggressive playing.The saddle's natural range of movement as the guitar is being played is actually back and forth like a pendulum. That revelation led Taylor's design team to relocate the crystals from under the saddle to behind it. The new positioning enables the crystals to respond more naturally to the guitar's energy as it is transferred through the saddle. Three pickup sensors are installed behind the saddle, through the bridge, with three tiny Allen screws that calibrate the position of the sensors in relation to the saddle.Like the original Expression System, the ES2 features the same volume and tone control knobs. The preamp is similar but with a slightly different gain structure. As a result it will be about 25 percent hotter, which is more in line with other pickups. This makes it plug-and-play friendly both for artists and live sound mixers.

• Shape: Grand Orchestra
• Back/Side Wood: Tropical Mahogany
• Scale length: 25-1/2"
• Top Wood: Tropical Mahogany
• Body Length: 20-5/8"
• Electronics: Expression System 2
• Body Width: 16-3/4"
• Cutaway: None
• Body Depth: 5"
• Nut & Saddle: Tusq Nut/Micarta Saddle
• Neck Width: 1-3/4"
• Neck/Heel: Tropical Mahogany
• Bracing: Grand Orchestra Bracing
• Fretboard Wood: Ebony
• Fretboard Inlay: Century
• Headstock Overlay: Ebony
• Binding: Ivoroid
• Bridge Inlay: None
• Bridge Pins: Ebony
• Tuners: Taylor Nickel
• Truss Rod Cover: Ebony
• Back/Side Finish: Gloss
• Top Finish: Gloss
• Neck Finish: Satin
• Pickguard: Black
• Case: Taylor Deluxe Hardshell Brown
• Number of Frets: 20
• Armrest Binding: None
• Back Config: 2-piece No Wedge
• Backstrap Wood: None
• Backstrap Finish: None
• Brand of Strings: Elixir Phosphor Bronze Medium
• Buttons: Nickel
• Edge Trim: None
• Fingerboard Ext: None
• Fretboard Binding: Ivoroid
• Heel Cap Binding: Ivoroid
• Heel length: 3-7/8
• Peghead Finish: Satin
• Peghead Inlay: None
• Peghead Binding: Ivoroid
• Peghead Logo: Ivoroid
• Peghead Type: Standard
• Rosette Mat.: Ivoroid
• Rosette Size: Single Ring
• Stain/Sunburst: Medium Brown Stain
• Type of Neck Joint: Scarf
• Wedge: None

• Tropical mahogany body and top
• Tropical mahogany neck and heel
• Ebony fingerboard and distinctive appointments
• Taylor Expression 2 electronics
• Includes case