Sea Change

Guitarist gets the inside perspective on the Grand Pacific in Nashville with master luthier Andy Powers, who reveals “it’s like an entirely different thing than what we’re known for”

- Rob Laing

The last time Taylor invited us to the US to preview a top-secret new product, it ended up being the company’s groundbreaking V-Class bracing. So when we joined other select members of the world’s guitar press in Nashville in late September last year for another special event, we knew it was going to be something exceptional. Like its guitars, Taylor doesn’t do half measures when it comes to unveiling its new designs. And, as we found out, the choice of Nashville was significant.

Taylor introduced the Grand Pacific to us through a thoughtfully planned day in Music City that was far removed from any kind of corporate-feeling presentation and all about conveying the musicality of these instruments. It ended with us interviewing its designer, Andy Powers, back at the spectacular recording studio where we started out: Southern Ground, owned by musician Zac Brown. Taylor’s links with the unique warm and bohemian character of the world-class facility were literally under our feet, with flooring made from the company’s guitar wood. We spied the row of elegantly tooled Western-style hard cases as we walked into Studio A and already began to get a feel that Taylor master luthier, Andy, and marketing vice president, Tim O’Brien, were about to unveil something different for the company.

The Grand Pacific’s timing a year after the emergence of the V-Class is interesting, and, as Andy explains, it was actually the initial vehicle for his pioneering bracing.