Taylor Gold Label 717e

Taylor expands its Gold Label series with the rosewood-and-spruce slope-shoulder Grand Pacific.

July 9, 2025

After more than 50 years in business, Taylor Guitars continues to evolve as a company and refresh its existing designs. The new Gold Label Grand Pacific models are a case in point. Originally introduced in 2019, the slope-shoulder Grand Pacific style replaced Taylor’s earlier dreadnought models, and it was the first Taylor designed from the ground up with V-Class bracing. Combining a vintage body shape with V-Class bracing makes for a powerful guitar with tonal clarity. After Andy Powers expanded Taylor’s offerings with the traditional-sounding Gold Label Super Auditoriums earlier this year, it made sense to try a similar approach with the Grand Pacifics. The resulting guitars are so impressive that the new Gold Label 517e and 717e are now replacing the earlier models. We had a chance to check out the 717e in the Peghead Nation studio, and in this video, I demo the guitar.

Like all Taylor Grand Pacifics, the Gold Label 717e uses a slope-shoulder body with a traditional outline. Unlike earlier GPs, the body depth on this model has been increased by ⅜ of an inch to a full 5 inches. While most current Taylor 700 series models are built with koa wood, the Gold Label 717e returns to the Indian rosewood and Sitka spruce combination that was long the standard for 700s. The guitar’s appointments are simple, with black-and-white binding and purfling, a black-and-white rosette, and basic dot position markers in the fingerboard. The guitar includes the Gold Label design features introduced earlier this year. These include the Fanned V-Class bracing with a pattern similar to the “fan” found on most classical guitars, the easily adjustable Action Control neck, and new peghead and pickguard shapes. Like the earlier Gold Label models, the guitar has a Honduran rosewood bridge paired with an ebony fingerboard, and it is equipped with an L.R. Baggs Element VTC pickup system. While the Super Auditorium-sized Gold Label 814s (with more exotic woods and more elaborate appointments) are priced in the mid-$4,000s, the Gold Label 717e is $2,799 — about the same cost as earlier 717s.

The Gold Label 717e is an incredibly friendly guitar to play. From the first strum, it’s evident that its character included rich overtones with a more traditional flattop voice than a typical V-Class Taylor. And while the instrument’s architecture is different from vintage-style slope-shoulders, it offers many of the qualities that the fundamental design is prized for. It has a lovely rhythm voice, it is versatile enough to be satisfying when played with a flatpick or fingerstyle, and single-note lines are rich and satisfying. The included L.R. Baggs system is perfect for the guitar: There are no holes for controls or battery compartments, and the Element VTC offers a warm, natural sound with a minimum of fuss when amplified.

The Gold Label 717e is an impressive guitar. Like the earlier Gold Label models, it introduces a somewhat more vintage/traditional tonality to the Taylor range, and the new neck joint makes the guitar easy to adjust. In addition to the naturally finished version we checked out, there are sunburst and blacktop options. Go check out one at your nearest Taylor dealer.