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Ben Harper is the kind of cat who can put a guitar together from scratch, so his input on a signature model carries extra gravitas. His Taylor Gold Label 512ce SE Grand Concert is the first new acoustic he’s endorsed in many moons, and this edition holds special promise.
Taylor introduced its transformative Gold Label design featuring fanned V-Class bracing in 2025 on select Super Auditoriums and Dreadnoughts to a chorus of rave reviews for its bountiful warm tone. I remember talking to Harper about his gig routine during the time frame when the Gold Label Collection was rolling out, and happened to mention how I felt that Taylor had a true breakthrough on its hands. He surprised me by saying that he was obsessed with a prototype Gold Label 510e, which is a dreadnought.
So it’s interesting that for his signature model he wound up going with the same wood combination of mahogany and spruce, but on a more compact Grand Concert. What’s also noteworthy is that it’s part of a suite of newfangled Grand Concerts featuring a slightly shorter scale length and a bit of increased body depth. The concept is that it would all add up to what Taylor describes as “a supremely comfortable, intimate feeling guitar to match its articulate, warm sound.”
I watched Harper and Taylor’s Andy Powers unveil his signature model at the NAMM Show at a duo performance they put on for a lucky little audience that was either in the know or happened to be hanging around the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus. Harper’s tone sounded amazing through the P.A., and he handed his guitar to me for a Quick Look after the set. It felt great in hand then, and I’m excited to have a review unit to put through thorough paces now.
A Burst of Sunshine
Harper’s signature model radiates with a sunny aesthetic. Its gorgeous top features a stunning golden-brown shaded edgeburst and fine glossy finish. Complementary cream pickguard and cream Crest inlays make it one of the warmest-looking, most inviting acoustics I’ve ever seen. The first thing I thought when I took it out of its distinctive British Cocoa Bronco case was that if this baby sounds like it looks, then it’s going to be a perfect day of picking and grinning on the back porch.
Warming Up to the New Grand Concert
Plucking and strumming in all sorts of ways, my first impression was that it delivered a nice blend of warmth and articulation as expected. There didn’t seem to be as much bass and power acoustically as I’d remembered hearing from the stage, and of course there was less than the larger Gold Label models I’d tried previously, which notably had chunkier-sounding rosewood back and sides. Players in search of that tone on a new Grand Concert might audition the 712e as well.
It’s somehow vintage in its mellow warmth, yet simultaneously quite contemporary in its precision. That’s the essence of the Gold Label design.”
Considering the Grand Concert’s somewhat compact shape there sure is a decent sense of sonic depth, perhaps a tad more than typical from being a 1/4″ deeper than a traditional Grand Concert, although that doesn’t transform this into some sort of boomer edition. It’s very balanced from low to high with a focus in the middle range.
Fanned V-Class bracing clearly sounds different on different body and wood types, and mahogany can sound very different from one guitar to another depending on the cut. In this case it sounds more refined and articulate than the fundamentally darker tones of some mahogany models, and surely a good deal of that is attributable to its torrefied spruce top.
I had a couple other guitars in similar sizes on hand for comparisons, and the Harper Grand Concert was, well, comparable. I didn’t find it to be bigger or louder, but it did feel silkier and sound smoother. It’s somehow vintage in its mellow warmth, yet simultaneously quite contemporary in its precision. That’s the essence of the Gold Label design.
Plug & Play
After plenty of acoustic auditioning, I remembered to plug the BH GL 512e into a Circa 74 and… That’s the sound I’d heard at the NAMM Show when Harper and Powers played onstage, and it completely belies the body size. Taylor’s new Claria acoustic pickup system packs a lot of power into its punchy-sounding preamp, which is capable of tonal transformation through amplification.
Roll back the Mid-Contour control to mellow it out, bring out the bass, and turn what is a natural fingerpicking instrument into more of a strummer, moving towards dreadnought territory. Push it forward and the pop-factor is off the charts. Fingerstyle passages come alive like Frampton in ’76. Every nuance of a bluesy finger bend becomes apparent.
Play With Me
The bottom line was that I couldn’t stop playing Harper’s Grand Concert. I’d put it down, and pick it right back up again. There’s something truly intimate about the way this Gold Label 512e feels — the neck in your hand, its body in your bosom. It’s very light, resonant and responsive. The short scale makes strings easy to bend. Harmonics leap forth with ease and bloom with fabulous sustain.
The Harper signature seems to get where you’re coming from and help you express that feeling. It’s very responsive to a light touch, so you can play with great delicacy.”
The Harper signature seems to get where you’re coming from and help you express that feeling. It’s very responsive to a light touch, so you can play with great delicacy. One of my favorite things to do was lower the tuning and fingerpick some string-snapping, old-timey blues with crazy string bends, harmonic flares and pick squeals à la Catfish Keith. The compact body and short scale length make it ideal for that kind of stuff.
Or you can play a happy song such as Harper’s “Steal My Kisses” and it bounces right along on your lap. Sometimes I’d wander aimlessly for a while staring off at the horizon or the television and almost forget it’s even there until a sequence of notes or a chord I’d never considered appeared out of thin air.
As always with all new Gold Label and Next Generation Taylors, I appreciate the precision flexibility of the Action Control Neck. Andy Powers says, “Simply turn the adjuster screw to dial in the string height after dialing in the neck relief with the truss rod.” I simply wish the groovy tool in the demo videos came with the guitar for those handy, on-the-fly adjustments that can be made right through the sound hole while the strings are still attached.
Express Yourself
Ben Harper is one of the most expressive performers on the planet. He’s always had a unique ability to get his point across with a whisper or a scream. It follows that his signature Taylor would possess that quality above all else. The Ben Harper Gold Label 512e Special Edition Grand Concert is one of the most expressive acoustics you’ll find, the kind that helps you develop your own signature voice on the instrument.
SPECIFICATIONS
Ben Harper Gold Label 512e SE
CONTACT taylorguitars.com
PRICE $2,999 street, British Cocoa Bronco deluxe hardshell case included
NUT WIDTH 1.75″, white Tusq
NECK Neo-tropical mahogany, standard carve, satin finish, cream Crest inlays
FRETBOARD Honduran rosewood, 24.875″ scale
FRETS 20
TUNERS Taylor polished bronze
BODY Solid mahogany back & sides, torrefied spruce top with fanned V-class bracing with tonal rout
BRIDGE Honduran rosewood with compensated white Micarta saddle
ELECTRONICS Claria pickup system with volume, tone and Mid-Contour controls mounted in sound hole
POWER 9V battery
FACTORY STRINGS D’Addario XS Coated Phosphor Bronze Light gauges .012 – .053
WEIGHT 4.2 lbs (as tested)
BUILT USA
PRO Beautiful, comfortable, light, resonate, very dynamically responsive. Surprisingly bold amplified tone perfect for live performance
CON I was hoping for a little more oomph acoustically, although the response to nuance is quite nice. Would be handy to include tool for adjusting the Action Control neck
