Mahogany’s meaty midrange and fundamental focus take on another level of boldness and depth, especially in the lower midrange, with the spruce-top Grand Symphony 516ce. The use of Lutz spruce, a natural hybrid of Sitka and White spruce that resembles Adirondack spruce in its tonal output, bolsters the sonic horsepower, especially in tandem with Taylor’s Performance bracing, which is optimized for each body shape to bring out more volume and richness. Appointments include faux tortoise shell binding and pickguard, a rosette of faux tortoise shell framed by grained ivoroid, and a grained ivoroid Century fretboard inlay. Other playing features include a Florentine cutaway and Taylor’s natural-sounding Expression System 2 pickup and preamp.