Taylor's Limited Edition Grand Symphony Guitar features Hawaiian koa back and sides and cocobolo binding that make for a double dose of killer aesthetic appeal. This acoustic electric also features a Venetian cutaway, cocobolo mini-wedge and binding, abalone-edged Sitka top, and Adirondack bracing for a sweet and powerful voice. This beauty is also loaded with upscale appointments: a cocobolo backstrap, delicate pinstripe binding along the fretboard and headstock, gold Gotoh tuners, a bone nut and saddle, and peghead and bridge inlays.Although Bob Taylor s first original acoustic design since the Grand Auditorium recently notched its second birthday, many guitar players are still discovering Taylor s boldest acoustic sound for the first time. The reaction has become fairly predictable: love at first strum. As with the GA, Bob had a fresh sound in mind that he felt he could deliver through a new shape. The challenge was to create a bolder flavor of Taylor s signature tone without sacrificing balance or crimping the clarity. The deeper, fuller, louder GS boasts a rich, piano-like bass; girthy midrange; and thicker trebles. The extra horsepower invites aggressive strumming and picking, and even if some tradition-bound bluegrassers might initially resist embracing a non-dreadnought shape, the sound has converted many serious flatpickers and flat-out floored scads of acoustic lovers across a full spectrum of musical styles. The power of the Taylor GS is balanced by clear articulation and responsiveness to a lighter attack that welcomes fingerpicking, yielding a broad swath of dynamic range. Within that range, a rich, nuanced topography of expression is waiting to be explored. The depth of tone conveys a sense of instant maturity among players who are attuned to the ways a guitar tends to open up after an initial period of being played. What I loved most about the GS, Acoustic Guitar magazine s Teja Gerken wrote in a review of the Taylor GS guitar, was its openness and the complexity of its fundamental tones- both of which belie its young age. With cutaway and 12-string models now available, the GS acoustic electric is equipped for virtually every application.