So after a few months of playing the Taylor 814ce and getting used to the guitar I thought I would give a quick review.
I’ll be straight up with you guys, I am a Taylor fan and it’s no different with the Taylor 814ce. Some people find them to be too generic, but personally I love their sound. It’s crisp, clean and it does what you want it to do, no BS. I’ve owned several Taylors over the past 5 years or so, including the GC-4 and the Taylor 414. I’ve played the Taylor 814ce in numerous environments and have been more than happy overall.
The Taylor 814ce
This guitar is typical Taylor in every way. Sitka Spruce top, Rosewood back and sides, Ebony fret-board, nice construction overall but nothing too flashy… And that’s why I love Taylor guitars: They do what they’re supposed to do! The Taylor 814ce is well balanced throughout the register, is a dream to play and has a nice full-bodied sound. I keep trying to come up with a way to describe the Taylor acoustic sound, it’s not loud but it’s definitely not quiet either, present would probably be the best way to describe it. You know it’s there but it’s certainly not overbearing when playing with other instruments and is able to completely fill a room or a stage when played solo.
The cutaway is an excellent design feature of the Taylor 814ce as it is particularly suited for flat picking and solo lines. Being able to get up to those higher frets without having to do a finger dance over top of the sound board is an excellent feature no doubt!
Now while the Taylor 814ce shines as a purely acoustic instrument it absolutely explodes when plugged into an acoustic amp or PA system. The expression system is absolutely fantastic in it’s reproduction of pure acoustic sound and in my opinion is probably the best on the market today aside from the real high-end custom built stuff. Full on board control helps you take care of any volume or feedback issues when you’re on stage.
I use all my Taylor guitars with some form of acoustic amplification. You could use an electric guitar amp but sticking to an amp that has been designed with acoustic frequencies in mind is going to give you a much better sound. Currently I’m using a Fender Acoustasonic 30watt wedge but have also used and enjoyed gear from Crate and Behringer. Both of which do an excellent job of reproducing acoustic sound through speakers.
Some excellent acoustic guitar amps for the Taylor 814ce:
The Man Doyle Dykes on his Taylor
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Cheers! And enjoy your new Taylor 814ce!
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