In recent times, good-quality acacia koa—an unforgettably stunning wooden that grows solely within the Hawaiian Islands—has develop into more durable for luthiers to supply. However because of Taylor Guitars’ koa reforestation efforts on the Huge Island of Hawaii, the corporate has managed to construct a inventory of this prized tone wood. With entry to visually gorgeous, straight-grained units, Taylor is including all-koa guitars to its common 700 sequence. The brand new 724ce and its barely smaller, grand live performance–sized 722ce sibling are constructed with dramatically coloured koa; ultra-thin, open-pore matte finishes; and stylish appointments. I checked out the 724ce and should say that Taylor has knocked it out of the park with this koa magnificence.

Stunning Inside and Out

With intense coloring starting from gentle khaki sapwood to darkish chocolate brown streaks, the koa used on the overview guitar is gorgeous sufficient to cease you in your tracks. However, as anybody who’s ever performed an all-koa guitar can let you know, koa is greater than only a visible feast. It’s an distinctive tonewood able to a novel presence and timbre that may actually spotlight your music.

Some tone fiends describe all-koa guitars as sounding half mahogany and half maple, with a number of midrange heat and wealthy tones that mature with taking part in. This definitely rings true for the 724ce, which possesses a candy, heat voice with snappy and clean highs which might be extra refined than most different koa guitars I’ve performed—extra on that in a bit.

From the stained maple pickguard to the physique’s Indian rosewood binding and ebony truss-rod cowl and headplate, pure supplies and textures abound on the 724ce. The guitar’s gentle end provides to the instrument’s natural, woody really feel. The headstock and fretboard debut Taylor’s new mother-of-pearl fountain inlay, and a paua shell rosette lends a Pacific Island vibe.

The 724ce incorporates a 16-inch-wide Grand Auditorium physique, certainly one of Taylor’s signature guitar shapes. Its proportions make for an all-purpose instrument that hits a candy spot for strummers and fingerstyle gamers alike. The Grand Auditorium is pretty light-weight and really snug to cradle whereas sitting or standing (a button put in on the treble facet of the neck heel makes it strap-ready). Its gently sloped Venetian cutaway is a pretty strategy to make room on the greater frets. Contained in the physique is Taylor’s signature V-Class bracing (see “Taylor Rolls the Cube—Once more” within the Might 2018 difficulty of AG).

The 25-1/2-inch-scale mahogany neck is traditional Taylor: slim, glossy, and completely playable. It’s capped with a West African ebony fingerboard, responsibly sourced, like all of Taylor’s ebony, from the corporate’s mill in Cameroon. A black Tusq nut matches the ebony, and at 1-3/4 inches broad, the neck’s proportions have a well-known and comfy really feel. The fretwork is ideal, a testimony to an attentive setup and correctly seasoned wooden, with no unevenness or sharp fret ends to cope with, even throughout a late summer time dry spell in Northern California. And, in the long term, it’s good figuring out that if the guitar ever wants a neck reset, Taylor’s genius neck-attachment-and-shim scheme will make that restore fast and inexpensive.

Sweetly Voiced

It’s inconceivable to say if it’s because of the proprietary bracing, meticulous building, physique form, or fastidiously chosen woods, however the 724ce’s sound is extra balanced to my ears than another koa guitar I’ve performed. With a formidable midrange and a decent low finish that’s by no means mushy or boomy, it has the attribute heat and sweetness that comes with a hardwood-topped instrument. The guitar’s general tone is crisp and dry, with a wealthy midrange that appears to attach the bass and treble notes right into a single sound. There’s distinctive low-end readability, which is very good for flat picked bass observe runs in normal tuning or fingerpicked elements in open tunings.

However the treble vary is the place the 724ce appears notably particular, from chords to single notes. The place many koa guitars can sound just a little brittle and zingy on the excessive finish, the guitar’s higher strings ring with a lacy high-end sweetness and a quick, fast response that can also be clean and refined. To make a visible analogy, the 724ce’s treble response is shiny and heat like an Edison bulb, in comparison with the harshness of a nook retailer’s LED lights that another koa guitars challenge.

One thing concerning the sound of this guitar saved sending me in several musical instructions. I jumped from strumming Nineteen Seventies soft-rock classics to slack-key fingerpicking in open G and D minor. Although I didn’t have any gigs throughout my time with the 724ce to check its amplified tone in a real-world setting, I plugged it in and confirmed that Taylor’s Expression System 2 electronics package deal is nearly as good as I remembered. It’s correct, responsive, and able to delivering textured tones at excessive quantity—which is all you’ll be able to ever ask for in a pickup.

A Particular Deal with

For those who’re a fingerpicker who needs a responsive guitar that not solely feels nice however delivers a really balanced tone, it’s value searching for out the Taylor 724ce. It’s an exceptionally snug instrument with an easy-playing neck, a resonant really feel whether or not fingerpicked or flatpicked, and a form that doesn’t ask you to achieve or stretch to get into place. At $3,499, the 724ce is a reasonably costly guitar, however from its balanced sound to its stunning woods, it gives a lot in return. Proper from the primary strum, it’s a joyful, rich-sounding instrument, however it’s a particular deal with figuring out that the sound will get even richer because the koa will get performed increasingly.

Specs 

BODY Grand Auditorium form with Venetian cutaway; stable koa high, again, and sides; V-Class bracing; maple and black maple purfling with Indian rosewood binding; paua shell and Indian rosewood rosette; dark-stained figured maple pickguard; water-based matte end

NECK 25-1/2″-scale tropical mahogany neck with scarf neck joint; 1-3/4″ black Tusq nut; 20-fret ebony fingerboard with 15″ radius and shell/mother-of-pearl fountain inlay; Taylor 18:1 sealed tuners with polished bronze end; water-based matte end

OTHER Taylor Expression System 2 electronics; Elixir Phosphor Bronze gentle gauge strings (.012–.053); brown hardshell case; restricted lifetime guarantee; obtainable left-handed

PRICE $3,499 road

MADE IN United States

taylorguitars.com

Store for this guitar with Sweetwater, Amazon, or Reverb.