Are you a Taylor fan? If so, hold on tight because 2026 is going to usher in a whole new generation of Taylor guitars! We’re talking a whole revamp of certain models, a new pickup system, brand new bracing and more!
Without further ado, let’s get into it!
Action Control Neck
The Action Control Neck is a pretty innovative bit of thinking! The idea behind it was to make neck adjustments and repairs as simple as possible, and a preview I saw of it back in June definitely displayed that. With only one tool, you can adjust neck angle, straightness and bow/backbow, meaning that things like adjusting the action are now a job of a couple of seconds.
The new Taylor Grand Auditorium models all feature this neck style, and I expect it’ll roll out to at least the majority of Taylor models in the near future. We’ll see!
Claria Pickup System
This one was a surprise, to be honest! As creators of one of the best pre-installed acoustic pickup systems on the planet (the Expression System), it’s worth trusting Taylor this!
The new Claria pickup system is based on an undersaddle piezo system, and has a control panel that’s mounted inside the soundhole: no ‘three dots’ on the side of the guitar body! In addition to volume and tone, there’s a mid-countour control, and I expect this’ll be useful in dialling out any stray wolf notes during live performances.
New Bracing
Taylor have brought a few new ideas to the world of guitar bracing over the years. Their V-Class bracing is considered by many to be their best, and this new style doesn’t seek to change this so much as offer a variation. The new Scalloped V-Class bracing aims to offer ‘richness and low end’ according to Taylor, and to me, this sounds like a direct way to get the very best from that Grand Auditorium body, which brings us to this…
Taylor Next Generation Grand Auditorium Models
All of this innovation needs to go somewhere, right? Taylor are starting by releasing a redrawn squadron of their famous Grand Auditorium model. This is by far Taylor’s most successful shape, and the changes that I described above all appear on these. I’d venture a guess that these new features are probably (time will tell) idiomatic to what the rest of 2026 will look like in regard to the rest of Taylor’s output.
So, we have a series of new Grand Auditoriums. Here’s a brief glance:
314ce - solid spruce and sapele, with what Taylor call a ‘woody midrange’.
414ce - the first solid spruce and rosewood model. This is definitely going to be both versatile and popular!
814ce - the latest edition of Taylor’s flagship guitar, this model is made with the classic spruce and rosewood combo, in addition to all of the new appointments.
There are also some Builder’s Edition guitars being released, including one made with Sinker redwood and Honduran rosewood. Keep an eye out for these!
New Gold Label Guitars
That’s not all! We’ll be seeing some beautiful new Taylor Gold Label guitars coming our way soon, and it looks like they are going to mainly be a set of stunning square shouldered dreadnoughts!
Bringing that same ethos of ‘throwback warmth and signature Taylor playing comfort’, these three dreadnoughts are the following:
510e - torrefied spruce and mahogany, with fanned V-class bracing. ‘Old School’, according to Taylor
710e - spruce and Indian rosewood. Harmonically rich, with a deep body
810e - spruce and Honduran rosewood, with an open, deep voice.
There’s also a lovely new 917e Grand Pacific Dreadnought, made with no less a top than torrefied Adirondack spruce! This is guaranteed to sound exceptional, and Taylor have made claims about the levels of projection and headroom you’ll hear. If the existing Gold Series guitars are anything to go by, these will be special indeed!
Keep ‘Em Peeled
This is only the start of Taylor’s 2026 plans. We’ll get all of the news as it comes in, as well as hands-on testing of the Next Generation guitars and more! So keep an eye out over here and we’ll make sure you’re informed about all of the most exciting news from Taylor!
