Taylor Academy 10 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar

The most traditional of guitar shapes, Bob Taylor has evolved the Taylor Dreadnought over time to honor its enduring sonic heritage yet also refine the look and sound into a more modern package. The Taylor Dreadnought still boasts that powerful dreadnought tone that old school pickers expect, with deep lows and crisp highs, but with a voice that, like every Taylor, is more evenly balanced across the entire tonal spectrum. Perhaps more than any other shape, the Dreadnought remains linked with roots music like bluegrass and folk, in part because of its traditional role in defining those sounds. Pickers and strummers with an aggressive attack will love Taylor's Dreadnought’s blend of power and articulation, which allows for clear lead lines and crisp, driving rhythms.

Taylor’s refined take on the classic Dreadnought shape produces a robust voice with low-end power, a snappy midrange, and strong, clear treble notes, retaining the essence of the balanced Taylor sound. The guitar will appeal to flatpickers and lovers of traditional guitar shapes and tones.

A traditional shape for flatpickers, refined for the modern era.

Dreadnought Body Specifications: Body Width: 16" / Body Depth: 4 5/8" / Body Length: 20"

Taylor's layered wood construction features three wood layers: a middle core of poplar with a thinner layer on each side. Layered walnut’s rich brown hues lend a pleasing aesthetic warmth to the guitars that showcase it.

Sound: Taylor uses layered woods for the back and sides of some of Taylor's guitars for their blend of sound quality, durability, and affordability. Layered wood construction also enables Taylor to preserve tonewood resources. Although layered wood guitars won’t yield quite the same level of tonal complexity as an all-solid guitar, all are paired with a solid wood top to produce a rich, responsive voice that will continue to improve with time and extended play. Layered walnut provides a strong backbone for Taylor's 100 Series, adding subtle touches of high-end sparkle together with midrange presence. An outer layer of walnut is overlaid onto a poplar core (with a layer of sapele on the other side). The layering process also allows Taylor to bend an arch into the back for extra strength and produces a durable that travels well.

By far the most popular and common wood used for acoustic guitar tops, spruce has a long heritage in the music world. In typical Taylor style, Taylor developed their signature recipe for a process called “torrefaction” to make spruce sound even richer and more sophisticated, adding a new dimension to this much-loved wood.

Torrefaction is a process in which spruce tops (before being added to guitar bodies) are roasted in ovens typically used for drying out wood so that it can be worked. The roasting process lends the wood a slightly darker visual hue while also altering its structure slightly to give it new sonic traits. In particular, torrefied spruce tops tend to sound warmer and sweeter, giving them a played-in quality you would expect from a much older piece of wood. While torrefaction cannot replicate the effects of decades of age and play, it does provide a touch of extra sonic depth without losing spruce’s trademark clarity, articulation or volume.

Origin: Canada and Alaska

Goes Well With: Virtually all musical genres and playing styles.

Taylor respects guitar players who know what they want—and what they don’t. Most Taylor models that come standard with acoustic electronics can be ordered without them. Just contact your local Taylor dealer and they’ll make it happen. The good news is that if you ever change your mind, Taylor's Service department can install a pickup. Taylor will say that if you’re on the fence about it, or think you don’t need one right now, it’s nice to have—you never know when you might want to do some home recording or play that open mic night and cross it off your bucket list.

General

• Number of Strings: 6 String
• Orientation: Right Handed
• Cutaway: Non-cutaway
• Color: Natural
• Electronics: None
• Case/Bag: Gig Bag

Body

• Top Wood: Torrefied Spruce
• Back/Side Wood: Layered Walnut
• Rosette: Baltic Birch Marquetry 3 Ring
• Back Configuration: Layered, 2-Piece
• Body Binding: None
• Armrest: Beveled Walnut
• Top Finish: Matte
• Back/Side Finish: Matte

Neck

• Neck Wood: Hard Rock Maple
• Fretboard Wood: Eucalyptus
• Neck Profile: Standard Carve
• Fretboard Inlay: Faux Pearl 4mm Dots
• Fretboard Binding: None
• Neck Finish: Matte

Peghead

• Nut Width: 1-11/16"
• Peghead Veneer Wood: Copafera
• Scale Length: 24-7/8"
• Peghead Inlay: None
• Peghead Type: Paddle
• Peghead Binding: None
• Peghead Finish: Matte

Other

• Bridge: Eucalyptus
• Nut & Saddle: White NuBone Nut, White Micarta Saddle
• Bridge Pins: Black ABS Plastic
• Strings: D'Addario XS Coated Phosphor Bronze Light (.012 - .053)
• Pickguard: Tortoise
• Tuners: Die-cast Chrome with Chrome Buttons
• Strap Pin: Chrome
• End Pin: Nickel