Taylor Academy 10 Walnut/Spruce Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar

Designed with newer guitar players in mind but appealing to experienced players as well, the Academy 10e combines the rich voice of the Dreadnought body shape with a comfortable feel that will encourage beginners to grow their skills.

A solid torrefied spruce top serves up plenty of volume and articulation with a splash of played-in sweetness, making this a musically versatile choice for players wanting a guitar with a broad sonic range. In this model, the slender Taylor neck features a slightly narrower nut width of 1-11/16", helping make chords and notes easier to hold, and the armrest takes some pressure off your strumming arm. The Academy 10e includes an ES-B pickup with a built-in digital tuner and a gig bag.

Taylor Academy 10 Walnut/Spruce Features

• Solid torrefied spruce top for projection and clarity
• Traditional Dreadnought shape with slighty shorter scale
• Slender neck and scaled-down body for comfort
• Armrest and light strings provide a relaxed feel
• Features onboard electronics with digital tuner

Rich Body

Like koa, walnut’s density and stiffness yield bright treble notes, but with a more present midrange that splits the difference between rosewood and mahogany. The bass tones initially produce a woody character that will grow richer with time and extended play.

Sound: Another beautiful hardwood, walnut has a similar density and stiffness to koa, with a similar tightness initially. Like koa, it tends to have a bright top end, but with a more present midrange, somewhere between mahogany and rosewood. Walnut also starts off a little deeper on the low end, initially giving it a slightly woodier sound than koa. The low end will continue to fill out after being played in.

Goes Well With: Players who like a blend of brightness, projection and warm overtones. A smaller-bodied walnut guitar with a cedar top would likely appeal to fingerstyle players, while flatpickers and strummers on a larger body with a spruce top will find ample horsepower, low end and crisp highs to support an aggressive attack.

ES-B Acoustic Electronics

This version of our ES-B electronics incorporates Taylor’s Expression System 2 piezo design elements and features a multifunctional onboard preamp with a built-in digital chromatic tuner and active tone-shaping EQ control. The preamp/tuner unit features an LED display for tuning and low battery indication, along with a Volume control and 3-band EQ.

The preamp/tuner is powered by a 9v battery. With an alkaline battery, battery life expectancy when using the preamp only is over 500 hours, and when using the tuner is over 50 hours. Plugging in the guitar will activate the battery. A low battery indicator on the LED display (located on the preamp circuit board) will light up when the battery reaches 4.5 volts.

Designed for a hard picking attack

Maintains overall tonal balance keeping the low end from getting "muddy"
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 our 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.

Taylor Academy 10 Walnut/Spruce Specs

• Top Wood: Sitka Spruce
• 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 Wood: Hard Rock Maple
• Fretboard Wood: West African Crelicam Ebony
• Neck Profile: Standard Carve
• Fretboard Inlay: Faux Pearl 4mm Dots
• Fretboard Binding: None
• Neck Finish: Matte
• Bridge: West African Crelicam Ebony
• Nut & Saddle: Nubone Nut, 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
• Number of Strings: 6 String
• Orientation: Right Handed
• Body Shape: Dreadnought
• Bracing System: X Bracing
• Cutaway: Non-cutaway
• Colour: Natural
• Electronics: ES-B