Taylor's new T5 is a hybrid--part electric and part acoustic guitar. It starts with the Taylor Grand Auditorium silhouette but has a carved, hollow body of Sapele with a custom voiced soundboard and a shortened electric-style neck (scale length of 24 7/8-inches) made of tropical American mahogany.

Both the T5 Standard and T5 Custom models have spruce tops for a strong, colorful voice with good sustain and stylized F-holes to enhance the resonance of the T5 body chamber.

Both Standard and Custom Models are available with beautiful Cherry, Honey, or Tobacco bursts and optional premium tops of flame maple. An optional figured Hawaiian koa top is available on Custom Models. The T5 Standard comes with chrome Taylor tuners and subtle "micro dot" fingerboard inlays while the T5 Custom has gold Taylor tuners and Taylor's Artist inlays.

The custom 5-way switch is for selecting five pure analog Taylor tones--from warm and woody acoustic sounds to real electric tones for lead and rhythm playing. The T5 features new electronics with a custom-designed Taylor rear pickup, another proprietary pickup in the neck joint, and a third pickup (body sensor) attached beneath the top for the acoustic tones. The T5 preamp/EQ includes controls for volume, resonance, and detail, and a 9-volt battery (with LED indicator) delivers approximately 40 hours of plugged-in performance.

For more information, contact Taylor Guitars in El Cajon, CA at 800-943-6782, or visit www.taylorguitars.com.