Taylor Guitars | Next Generation Grand Auditorium
Fender Highways Series Event Featuring Julia Rizik
Join us at Chicago Music Exchange on Thursday, November 30, for a special Fender event introducing the new Highway Series guitars and featuring Fender artist Julia Rizik in CME’s Lincoln Avenue showroom!
In addition to a demonstration of the new series, guests will receive Fender-branded swag. Guests will also be invited to record themselves playing a Highway Series guitar to enter an exclusive raffle!
The Next Evolution of Taylor’s Flagship Body Style is Now Available at CME!
In 1994, Taylor Guitars introduced the Grand Auditorium, designed to be the most versatile acoustic guitar body shape in the Taylor lineup! Offering a full bass, strong midrange presence, and an open top end, it balanced the entire tonal spectrum to become the player’s choice across all playing styles.
Now for 2026, Taylor has brought the Grand Auditorium shape back into the spotlight with the next generation of their flagship body style! With tweaks that enhance each guitar’s richness, playability, and on-stage performance, these guitars prove that the time is now to capture the Taylor Guitar for YOU at Chicago Music Exchange!
Brace Yourself for a Richer Tone!
Each Next Generation Grand Auditorium features Taylor’s new Scalloped V-Class bracing! By making the bracing lighter in strategic spots, the top moves more freely, resulting in a warmer voice that makes chords bloom with harmonic richness. This is without sacrificing the expanded projection power that made Taylor’s V-Class bracing popular when it was first introduced in 2018.
Easier Action Adjustments, Now at Your Fingertips!
Taylor has long been about player-friendly innovations, and the Action Control Neck is the next step in their musical development! First, the long-tenon neck joint strengthens the heel and maximizes the contact between neck and body for maximum warmth and sustain. The neck also features a shimless action control, with a single bolt in the soundhole controlling the action of the guitar. This allows for on-the-fly adjustments to the string height. You don’t even have to remove the strings to dial in your most comfortable action!
Plug In, Play, Sound Great!
Designed to deliver a consistent plug-and-play acoustic tone in any setting, and to offer up the same level of versatility for all players no matter their style, the new Claria Pickup System was developed with extensive input from touring artists and live sound engineers! Claria unlocks a vast array of powerful acoustic tones with a volume, tone, and mid contour knob within the soundhole. The mid contour knob completely changes the guitar’s signal, going from lo-fi warmth to the ultimate in acoustic punch with a simple turn!
Taylor Guitars built themselves into an acoustic guitar juggernaut by finding thoughtful ways to push the envelope forward, and by listening to players who wanted more from the pre-existing acoustic guitar options. The Next Generation of Grand Auditoriums are launching Taylor into their newest iteration of innovation, all in the name of giving players their absolute best! To be among the first players to get your hands on the Next Generation of Grand Auditoriums from Taylor Guitars, call us today at
SHOP TAYLOR GUITARS
Related Posts
Heritage H-530 Hollow-body Guitars
Joel can’t get enough of Heritage Guitars Inc. Heritage electric guitars are handmade in Kalamazoo, MI, at the old Gibson factory. Designed for pure tone and maximum natural resonance, their double-cut H-530 features scatter-wound Lollar P90s with Alnico 5 bar magnets on the neck and bridge, premium hardware, and a laminate maple rim set.
Read more
Gretsch Nick 13 Tiger Army Jet Only Available at Chicago Music Exchange
The Tiger Army frontman unveils his new limited edition signature Jet–available only at Chicago Music Exchange!
Read more
Vintage Vibes: 1945 Sunburst Gibson "Banner" J-45
Carl Kammin, one of our Acoustic Guitar Specialists, explains the magic behind this wartime, banner-era J-45. Due to the wide-reaching demands of the war effort, most of the 9,000 handmade guitars produced at the Gibson factory during this period were made by the “Kalamazoo Gals,” a nearly all-female workforce using whatever parts and tonewoods were on-hand and not under military restrictions.
Read more