Vera Deep Dive: Taylor Gold Label 517e

Table of Contents

• Specifications
  • Taylor Gold Label 517e Major Specs
• How's It Sound?
• Conclusions
• FAQs

The Taylor Grand Pacific slope-shoulder dreadnought arrived in 2019 as a welcome addition to the Taylor Guitars lineup. And with the Taylor Gold Label 517e, they've unleashed a different animal. We here at Vera Guitars love what they've created, and so do our customers; as of this writing, we've already sold two of them and have our third on the floor.

What makes the Gold Label version of the Grand Pacific as good as it is? Let's run it down.

Specifications

One thing which we must speak about in some length is the new body style debuted in the Gold Label 500- and 700-Series models: the Deep Grand Pacific.

As I've mentioned, Taylor devised the Grand Pacific as their contribution to the legacy of slope-shouldered dreadnoughts. Sloped dreads simply have a different tonal character compared to the traditional, square-shouldered dreadnoughts: Compared to the powerful, bass-heavy character of a squared dread, slope dreadnoughts typically sound warmer and drier, with more focus on a mellow midrange than dramatic lows and highs. That's why storied slopes like the Gibson J-45 have long been deemed the strummer's best friend.

For the Gold Label Collection, though, Taylor has further evolved the tried-and-true slope-shoulder silhouette with the exclusive Deep Grand Pacific body shape. In an inverse from the Gold Label Super Auditorium's modified shape, the body length and width remain the same (albeit with a wider waist), but they added three-eighths of an inch to the depth of the body; specifically, the Gold Label Grand Pacifics are 5" deep, whereas a standard Grand Pacific body measures 4-5/8".

This makes for quite a substantial modification, in more ways than one. I'm a rather big guy, and yet the added depth on the Gold Label Grand Pacific models can be a bit to handle. But the tonal difference far outweighs the occasional wrangling.

But enough said for now: Here are the major specifications for the Taylor Gold Label 517e.

Taylor Gold Label 517e Major Specs

• Body: Deep Grand Pacific
• Top: Torrefied Sitka Spruce 
• Back & Sides: Mahogany 
• Neck: Neo‑Tropical Mahogany
• Neck Profile: Taylor Standard Carve
• Scale Length: 25.5"
• Nut Width: 1.75"
• Fretboard: West African Crelicam Ebony
• Bracing: Fanned V‑Class
• Electronics: LR Baggs Element VTC
• Finish: Gloss (Natural or Sunburst)

Other features include a Honduran rosewood "Curve Wing" bridge, "Crest" inlays, white micarta saddle, Tusq nut and an exclusive Gold Label "British Cocoa" hardshell case.

One of the more surprising components of the Gold Label Collection has been the inclusion of the LR Baggs Element VTC under-saddle pickup in place of Taylor's own Expression System. While the Expression System is arguably the most formidable proprietary acoustic pickup, LR Baggs ranks among the gold standards in the industry, and the Element VTC specifically is one of their finest offerings. Soundhole controls allow you to easily dial in volume and tone, while an onboard compressor within the preamp automatically tames problematic low-end frequencies.

The Taylor Gold Label 517e reminds me of a richer Gibson J-45, with even more potential as a fingerpicker's delight: clear bass with rich midrange supporting sparkling treble.

All of these elements (no pun intended) combine to produce an extremely attractive, endlessly playable, well- and lightly built instrument with some of the best tone that's ever come out of El Cajon.

How's It Sound?

Without further ado, please allow me to nervously show you how this puppy sounds:

The torrefied Sitka top helps improve the guitar's dynamic response; though I can't point to the science herein, I've always felt that torrefaction especially opens up the upper midrange, where your pick attack lays, while pleasingly cleaning up the low end and softening highs. You hear all of that in the Taylor Gold Label 517e. Really, it reminds me of a richer Gibson J-45, with even more potential as a fingerpicker's delight: clear bass with rich midrange supporting sparkling treble.

My supposition that fingerpickers would fall for the Gold Label 517e is far from a prediction. One of our regulars came in and played a few fingerstyle passages on one, and it rang out with swirling, sustained overtones in a way I can't recall ever hearing in a slope-shouldered mahogany dreadnought.

The neck is as playable as you should expect from the best Taylors, with a smooth satiny finish. The traditional wider nut width accommodates fingerstyle players well, while the full scale length maintains snappy tension for the strummers among us. Taylor's Crelicam ebony fingerboard tops off the markers of quality and feels smooth under the fingers.

The Taylor Gold Label 517e remains a very well-balanced guitar across the frequency range, and it responds dynamically regardless of whether you're strumming or fingerpicking. As you'd expect from the deeper body and big top, it's got plenty of volume on tap, too, promoted by the torrefied top and special bracing in concert with the larger body. Plus, the LR Baggs Element VTC produces a high-fidelity, realistic amplified representation of the natural tone of the guitar itself.

An absolute gem of a hogback dread.

Conclusions

I've deemed the Taylor Gold Label 517e the J-45 Killer. Its performance as both a hard-slamming strummer and a delicate fingerpicker might make it the most versatile slope dread I've ever played.

The Gold Label 517e may seem less "refined" in some senses than ultra‑premium models like the 814ce, but offers something of a sweet spot between traditional depth and modern clarity. I, for one, have to hand it to Taylor for delivering on their marketing: Inspired by the past, built for today.

If you'd like to experience the Gold Label difference for yourself, come on down to Vera Guitars in Charlotte, NC, to see this beauty for yourself. Once you hear everything it has to offer — from foot-stomping, room-filling chords to gorgeous, interlacing overtones — you'll be hard-pressed to resist taking one home.