Taylor Urban Ash Grand Theater ?

[mrjop1975]

I have a question that hopefully won't cause WWIII LOL, but I was curious if anyone out there has gotten or tried out the Urban Ash Taylor Grand Theater and what your thoughts/takeaways were about it. I have not had a chance to try one in person, but it is something I am contemplating getting the acoustic version of, as I do like a 24 or so inch scale length for my 6 string guitars with the limited hand spread I have with having shorter fingers.

[RalphH]

Oh this is bound to cause WWIII, but I'll give you my view

It's a nicely made guitar that's amazingly comfortable to play - the size, string tension and excellent taylor action come together to make an acoustic that's as nice to play as an electric. It is very no-frills looking; and has that almost raw wood unfinished look of the academy series (you'll know what I mean if you've held one of those).

But.... tone wise it is not for me. It basically sounded very much like a GS Mini. Not that that's a bad thing, but it is not the big guitar sound that Taylors marketing claims and not what I was looking for. I think the marketing department just got carried away. Even Andy Powers said all the C-bracing and stuff was to get a "somewhat balanced tone". For me it was thin and brittle and abrasive. Perhaps I was hoping for too much. I didn't expect it to sound like a D-28, but with all the "rich, full tone of a full-sized guitar", I'd hoped it get into OM territory. It really doesn't. I really, desperately wanted to like it, but in the end, I just couldn't.

You may love it, but if you do... a GS mini is not much different sounding at under 1/2 the price. For what it's worth, GS minis sounds fine with 12's on them and then the string tension is even lower. The shorter scale does get cramped more quickly with a capo though.

I'd advise you to try one alongside a GS mini and a grand pacific from the AD series (which is the same price and much more guitar for your money IMO) to help you decide. Powers got the idea for the scale length by turning down a 25.5 half a step and capoing it. My advice. Get the AD GP and do just that!