Bob Taylor’s first original acoustic design since the Grand Auditorium delivers our boldest acoustic sound. The reaction among players has become fairly predictable: love at first strum. The sound was so well-received, in fact, that the GS inspired a renewed focus on the pure acoustic voicing of every Taylor shape, culminating with the introduction in 2007 of a pure acoustic line of noncutaway guitars.

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 floored scads of acoustic lovers across a full spectrum of musical styles.

The power of the 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.

With a look somewhere between a GA and a “mini”Jumbo, the GS sound is almost entirely driven by shape, not bracing. The waist is wider than a GA by 3/8 of an inch, the lower bout bigger and rounder, and the shoulders slightly more sloped.

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 GS, “was its openness and the complexity of its fundamental tones — both of which belie its young age.”

Dave Hunter in Guitar Player found the GS to have a voice to be reckoned with.

“The GS couches an airy midrange between its low-end oomph and high-end shimmer that together frame a very appealing, musical voice,” he assessed after his test-drive. “Bass runs explode with a ballsy, round pop, and there’s a tight, quick response that keeps up with speedy picking. This guitar also doesn’t yield easily to compression when you whack it hard.”

With cutaway and 12-string models available, the GS is equipped for virtually every application. If you want a guitar that yields a robust low end, strong volume when strumming or flatpicking, and responsive clarity with a light attack, try a GS.