Taylor Academy 12-N Nylon String Review

My go to

This guitar is great. It has become my go to for practice of classical and jazz as well as the one I pick up for all round noodling. The feel is perfect. Places without stress. Highly recommend.

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Great augment to steel string acoustic guitar

Been playing guitar for 3 years. Own a nice steel string acoustic-electric but it's obviously harder on fingers playing it fingerstlyle than when strumming. Also Taylor 12-N is perfect for smaller hands because nut is narrower than most nylon string guitars. The tone is terrific. The body size is narrow because it's built along Taylor's Grand Concert models, plus a shorter fret… read more board makes is easier to play for someone with shorter arms as well. An added feature is the arm rest which is only available on much more expensive Taylor guitars. Having said all that, it's just a fun guitar to pick up and play anytime I hear a tune that sounds like one which I would like to play myself and just noodle around with it until I get it. The Taylor neck used for this also is more comfortable than a traditional nylon string flat back neck. My hard goes around it easily. Taylor recommends the Academy 12-N for beginners and I'm not that far away from one. But in combination with my steel string guitar this allows me to play great strumming songs as well as comfortable fingerstyle songs. I was very happy with the time it took to get it in my hands from the time I ordered it online. It came very well packaged. I checked the tuning with a Peterson strobe clip on it al, strings were near perfect. The guitar was free of cosmetic flaws and everything looked good Taylor's Andy Powers is right. It even smells good!

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Pleasantly Surprised in Surprise

I travel often to a place called Surprise Arizona to visit my son. I don't like traveling with my Taylor 814eN so I thought I would buy and leave a guitar in Arizona just to have something to play. Please keep in mind I have been very spoiled by the 814 nylon so I was not expecting the joy this Academy 12-N would bring. Not only will I have something to play here in Surprise… read more but I will always be looking forward to visiting this sweet little guitar. I brought my tool kit and adjusted the truss rod a bit to bring the action down a little. Bam! So nice to play!

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Sweet nylon and great value

I use the Academy 12-n when I want a more intimate accompaniment. It is easy to play and has a sweet sound. This hit me even more when a friend played it. Maybe this is true of many guitars, but this one sounds gorgeous a few feet in front. In addition, it is light as a feather and even smells great--like fresh sawn pine. I wish I had gotten the electronic version, but alas!

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Amazingly Valuable Classical Guitar

I purchased this guitar back in March of this year, and up until then, I had always had an interest in classical guitars - because they're just, fun - but never wanted to drop a lot of money on one, and never found one in the $400-$600 range that I liked or trusted enough. At least, not until I got to try this guitar in person, and I was instantly in love: it's neck profile is far… read more more comfortable than any others at this price point that I've tried, it's construction is solid from the slotted headstock to the comfortable body armrest, it's made from quality tonewoods such as lutz spruce, west African Ebony, Tusq nut & saddle, has very nice tuners for the price, and it sounds very nice and plays effortlessly due to these appointments and construction. In other words, the quality shows in the sound and playability. This guitar gives you so much more than you can ask for at this price in terms of a nice sounding and comfortable-playing guitar that you can trust will last forever as long as you treat it right. Also, it's a nice looking guitar for how simple the design is compared to its more extravagant and higher priced siblings; a testament to Taylor's ability to always make a beautiful guitar, no matter the price. The "Academy Series" by context suggests these guitars are for beginners, but is far from the truth, as they're good enough for anyone at any level, period. I've been playing for around 10 years, and I find this guitar to be of high enough quality to keep forever; I honestly can't see myself ever getting rid of this guitar. If you've been playing for 20 or 30 years or more, I can almost guarantee you won't disagree. I do plan on purchasing a hard case for it. The gig bag is handy, and built well, but the guitar is awfully loose in the vertical direction once inside, and I feel that this guitar deserves a bit better than that. Other than that, I have zero complaints about the guitar and it has exceeded my expectations in every way. I've played many expensive, 4-figure priced Taylors, and always find myself impressed and mesmerized, and it's so nice and relieving to know that you can pick up a Taylor at the lower end of the price spectrum and still get blown away by high quality sound, construction, and beauty. Hats off to Taylor on this guitar, and the whole Academy Series in general. I don't just highly recommend this guitar for beginners, I highly recommend for anyone. I'd give it 6 stars if I could.

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