DN5e Mahogany/Spruce Dreadnought Acoustic-Electric Guitar

The heralded Dreadnought is the most traditional of all acoustics. By definition, it™s a battleship of a guitar, and the models in Taylor's non-cutaway DN Series pay tribute to that legacy ” while also refining that potent sound. The 2012 DN5e Mahogany/Spruce Dreadnought Acoustic-Electric Guitar's robust bass and articulate mids dare you to dig in and challenge your flatpicking prowess. If you'e a mahogany-loving picker, you™ll want to take this DN5 for a spin.

Dreadnought (DN)
Body Width: 16" / Body Depth: 4 5/8" / Body Length: 20"
The potent tone flatpickers and strummers love.

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.

Tropical Mahogany
Origin: Central and South America

Mahogany is a good wood to anchor a discussion of tones, as a lot of other wood tones can be described in relation to it. Its essential sonic profile is well represented in the midrange frequencies. Acoustic guitars in general tend to live in the midrange portion of the sound spectrum, but mahogany in particular displays a lot of midrange character. That thick, present midrange sound is sometimes described in guitar circles as meaty, organic or even œchewy ” wherever a player digs in on the fretboard, they'e tapping into the core of the harmonic content of what a guitar produces. Those great midrange frequencies produce overtones that stack up and produce bloom, giving the sound extra girth. When one hears the resulting harmonics, the œchewy tone serves up a big mouthful of midrange. As a popular tonewood for many decades, mahogany has been used on scads of old school acoustic recordings, and that sonic heritage carries across various strains of roots music, from blues to folk to slack key.

Goes well with: A broad range of players and musical styles; people who like a well-balanced tone, nice dynamic range and a healthy serving of overtones. Blues and other rootsy players tend to respond well to mahogany™s midrange character. A smaller body mahogany guitar (GC or GA) might appeal to fingerstyle players, whereas more aggressive flatpickers might opt for a mahogany Dreadnought or GS. For versatility, a mahogany GA is a good bet. Because of mahogany™s midrange, a player with œdark hands will tend to sound darker on a mahogany guitar. A bright player will sound slightly less bright.


Expression System
Natural Sound Made Simple
People love the clear, full acoustic tone of their Taylors. Why should it be any different when they plug in? That™s why we spent several years developing the onboard acoustic pickup and preamp. Taylor™s ground-breaking Expression System (ES) was designed to naturally amplify the warm acoustic sound of your guitar.

The ES is an all-magnetic acoustic guitar pickup system that works like a microphone to produce a pure signal and a warm, natural acoustic sound. When you plug in, you'll hear the sound of your guitar, not the sound of the pickup. No complicated controls. No tone simulators. Just a clean amplified acoustic guitar sound supported by three simple controls ” volume, bass and treble.

Breakthrough Technology
Years of research brought Taylor to a simple realization: Nothing sounds as true and musical as a microphone. With that as a starting point, Taylor™s David Hosler led the team responsible for the Expression System's breakthrough technology. Utilizing a unique Dynamic Body Sensor mounted to the soundboard, a Dynamic String Sensor embedded beneath the fretboard, and a discrete preamp, the advanced ES technology is unlike any other guitar pickup system.

Integrated Design
The ES was designed in-house, alongside their acoustic guitars, which allowed Taylor to build the ES seamlessly into the design of the guitar, for an integrated pickup system unlike any other. From the design and location of the body and string sensors to the voicing of the preamp, the ES is fully optimized for the Taylor sound. The elegant design, including the non-intrusive control knobs, also preserves the aesthetic of a Taylor guitar.