Soon after the T5 hit the market in 2005, the music industry press
nominated it for Electric Guitar of the Year. And Acoustic Guitar of the
Year. Which pretty much sums it all up: the T5 is an electric/acoustic
that defines the hybrid category. Today, the versatile T5 is the
top-selling semi-hollow body guitar and the only one that uses
all-magnetic pickups for both its electric and acoustic tones. That
means real acoustic tones, real electric tones, and everything in
between. The exotic Koa wood top says it all on the T5-X.
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- 6-String T5 Thinline
- Ovangkol top
- Sapele back and sides
- Ornate diamond inlays
- Ebony fretboard and bridge
- Bone nut and saddle
- Adjustable truss rode
- Three magnetic pickups
- 5-way pickup switching
- Strung with Elixir Medium Gauge NANOWEB coated strings
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The T5 body has f-holes and the slight arch in the top with an acoustic tone more akin to a flattop style of sound.
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Taylor's T5 Body
Three-plus decades of acoustic expertise informed the way Taylor
shaped the hollow body hybrid T5. You can hear the tonal character
before you even plug it in. The T5 features a fully hollow body and an
active soundboard with a compound radius. The top is a flat piece of
wood braced into an arch to capture the acoustic resonance. The f-holes
in the top were specially designed and voiced to further enhance the
resonance of the body chamber, and to allow the top to breathe in
relation to the player¹s dynamic attack.
Despite the f-holes
and the slight arch in the top, the T5 is not an archtop guitar. Its
acoustic tone is more akin to a flattop style of sound, as opposed to a
carved top instrument like a violin, viola, archtop guitar, or mandolin.
Electronics
Thanks to its humbucking pickups and proprietary body sensor, the T5-X
produces a versatile range of pure analog tones from strumming acoustic
to crunchy electric and everything in between. A hidden neck humbucker,
a visible bridge humbucker, and a body sensor mounted to the inside
surface of the top take advantage of the latest technology, utilizing
Samarium Cobalt magnets and humbucking coils. The body sensor reads the
movement of the top, adding even more warmth to your acoustic tone.
Features two active preamp/EQ tone controls and a volume control.
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5-way switch gives a range from acoustic tones to thick lead tones.
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With
5-way switching, the T5-X gives a wide range from acoustic-like tones
all the way to thick lead tones. Position 1 is where you'll find the
most acoustic-like tones, and is a great position for solos and a good
place to experiment with the tone controls. Position 3 will go from
"spanky" and clean, all the way to "full-tilt crunch." In position 4 you
might find it reminiscent of a '50s hollowbody with a slight scoop.
While position 5 creates a full and bright sound that's great for thick
lead tones.
In addition to the 5-way switch, two active
preamp/EQ tone controls and a volume control — incorporating the same
soft-touch rollers as those used on the ES--allow for a wide range of
additional tone-shaping within each switch position. Located on the
soundboard near the upper left shoulder of the guitar are the Volume
(set apart from the other two controls), Bass (the middle control), and
Treble (closest to the fretboard).
A Bright Sparkle
The
top is made from ovangkol, an attractive hardwood indigenous to
tropical West Africa. Usually, its coloration runs from yellow-brown to a
mottled olive-brown to dark brown, and it features stripes that run
from gray to almost black. When it has significant purple coloration,
however, ovangkols variegation and grain pattern closely resemble East
Indian rosewood. It also shares some tonal characteristics with
rosewood, but boasts the livelier "sparkle" found in such medium-density
hardwoods as mahogany, walnut, and koa.
The back and sides
are made from the mahogany-like sapele wood, which has gained a legion
of fans ever since Taylor introduced it in 1998. As a tonewood, it's
denser and harder than mahogany, so it has a crisper, clearer, brighter,
"pop"-ier sound than its more familiar counterpart. Loud and robust,
with a lovely ribboned grain, sapele has been used by Spanish guitar
makers for many years. A maple top adds a bit more sizzle, creating a
slightly brighter tone overall.
Humbucking
pickups and proprietary body sensor produce a versatile range of pure
analog tones from strumming acoustic to crunchy electric and everything
in between.
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The T-Lock employs a neck joint and a precisely milled pocket spacer to dial-in the perfect neck angle.
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Straight Necks Matter
Taylor's innovative T-Lock neck joint brings their trademark
consistency and comfort into the electric player's hands. The Taylor NT
neck in 1999 added another major breakthrough in neck design that
remains a benchmark for setting an accurate neck angle. It would go on
to inspire the single-bolt T-Lock neck design used on the T5-X, and now
being applied to the solid body. Like the NT neck, The T-Lock employs a
neck joint and a precisely milled pocket spacer to dial-in the perfect
neck angle. As the neck bolt is tightened in place, it pulls the neck
both down and back toward the bridge for perfect alignment and
stability. It's simple to put on or take off to switch out spacers for
angle adjustment. And once in place, the fit is perfect, allowing no
side movement.
Construction
Taylor takes pride in
using the finest quality woods for their guitars, like ebony for every
fretboard they make. The tone woods were quartersawn and carefully
book-matched before being sorted, dried, and prepared by Bob Taylor and
his experienced team of luthiers. The T5-X inlay and binding work was
also done by hand, providing care and "touch" that no machine can give.
Taylor believes that precision matters, which is why they rely on laser
cutters and computer-aided milling machines to consistently hit minute
tolerances that were impossible a decade ago.
Balance and Bracing
A balanced tone is critical to a quality recorded sound. Guitars that
are too heavily weighted towards a particular end of the tonal spectrum
(too "bassy," for example) tend to be tougher to record. While the
Dreadnought shape has more volume or bass than other shapes, the overall
balance on the T5-X is not compromised.
Tuners
Precise, gleaming tuners add appealing form to an important function,
while the type of strings used can alter the feel and the tone of your
guitar. Taylor pays careful attention to both, using tuners and strings
that are optimized for the T5-X guitar. Together, they are among the
keys to an easy-playing, incredible-sounding Taylor.