Also known as Taylor’s flagship acoustic-electric, the abalone-adorned, spruce and rosewood 814ce has change into a contemporary traditional, the supreme instance of a grand auditorium cutaway for a lot of guitarists. Apparently, it solely not too long ago acquired the Builder’s Version remedy that grasp luthier Andy Powers has utilized to fashions just like the 324ce and 816ce lately. 

However that’s not the true shock in regards to the new 814ce Builder’s Version. Fairly, what would possibly catch some Taylor lovers off guard is that the guitar’s prime is made not of the customary two items, however 4—the primary time that the corporate has completed this with spruce—a commendable transfer given dwindling tonewood provides. 

I auditioned the Builder’s Version and located the construct high quality and supplies to be top-notch, the playability wonderful from the primary fret to the twentieth, and the sound compact within the low finish, wealthy within the mids, and clean and velvety—moderately than Taylor’s typical vibrant and coppery—within the treble voice. 

The Design and Construct

Powers’ technique for the soundboard building is a type of doubled book-match—4 items, moderately than the one cut up pair, sliced from the identical chunk of Adirondack spruce and joined with traditional mirroring to retain the wooden’s distinctive I-beam grain. It’s value noting that Adirondack spruce (aka pink spruce), utilized in many classic steel-string guitars, is prized for its stiffness and headroom, however Taylor and different giant makers much more generally construct with the Sitka selection that’s a lot simpler to supply today. 

The 814ce Builder’s Version has different notable new options, together with a beveled Venetian cutaway (echoing the armrest’s contour), vintage gold Gotoh 510 tuning machines, and a tastefully refined Kona edgeburst end on the again and sides—all of which make for a putting variation on the traditional mannequin. These are the type of upgrades that, whereas including roughly $500 to the common 814ce’s $4,000 sticker worth, are sometimes seen on boutique devices within the five-figure vary. Not surprisingly coming from Taylor, the brand new design is meticulously realized. With its completely dressed frets; spot-on neck reduction; wonderful motion with zero obvious buzzing; and cushty, clean joints and edges in each a part of the instrument, the construct high quality on the evaluate mannequin is just unimpeachable. 

Really feel and Sonics

The neck carve on the 814ce Builder’s Version is stunningly playable, with a wonderfully gentle satin end for clean fretting-hand crusing. The 1-3/4–inch Tusq nut helps a string spacing broad sufficient for greater arms, and a really comfy 15-inch fretboard radius makes bluegrass and acoustic rock single-note runs a breeze and helps you retain these open strings ringing as you carry open shapes up the neck. 

Certainly, it’s properly up the neck, previous the 14th-fret neck joint, the place the mannequin’s clean cutaway and heel actually repay. Not solely are single notes and double-stops easy to stress, however triads and tetrachords are instantly much more inside grasp than you’ll discover on a standard cutaway. 

Whereas I didn’t have the common 814ce, with its two-piece Sitka spruce prime, at hand for comparability, the Builder’s Version might lack a little bit of the maintain and heat one associates with Sitka. I might have preferred to listen to a bit extra increase proper out of the field, however to be honest, Adirondack is mostly thought to take a bit longer to open up and attain its full sonic potential. 

Maybe by advantage of its smallish physique, I discovered the check mannequin’s sound a bit bottom-light and compact for full-throated strumming within the nation, bluegrass, and folks idioms. That mentioned, the guitar appears to tip its hat to the mellower Grand Pacific launched a number of years in the past, in addition to different newer V-Class-braced guitars which have intentionally moved away from that attribute ’90s Taylor zing and people pleasing higher partials. This makes the brand new 814ce a effective fingerpicker’s guitar, with a clean prime finish and sculpted midrange that begs for a thumbpick method. With its centered tonal vary, the instrument is good for steel-string takes on bossa nova accompaniment, British fingerstyle, and jazz comping, and I beloved its huge, spherical midrange for ripping single-note traces and double-stops.

Outfitted with Taylor’s well-voiced Expression System 2 electronics, the guitar is clearly designed to be gig-ready, and its tonal traits change considerably if you plug right into a effective acoustic amp like a VHT True Acoustic 60. The low finish pops much more, and its compactness means you’re much less more likely to need to fight woofy suggestions and notes “driving” if you maintain them. The guitar additionally has a sultry high-midrange that boasts a delightful smoothness, making it much less seemingly that you just’ll must invoke your preamp/DI’s notch filter. 

The Verdict

The 814ce Builder’s Version performs remarkably, even stunningly properly. It’s constructed with premium woods and top-flight {hardware} and appointments, and has a well-sculpted midrange that ought to sit very properly in any dwell nation, Americana, or rock combine. However maybe most essential, Taylor Guitars has lengthy prized innovation and sustainability, and the 814ce Builder’s Version carries these priorities proudly, maybe even pointing the best way to the way forward for the steel-string acoustic guitar and its building.

SPECS 

BODY Grand auditorium dimension; four-piece Adirondack spruce prime with V-Class bracing; Indian rosewood again and sides; beveled cutaway; West African ebony bridge with Micarta saddle; ebony bridge pins with abalone dots; rosewood pickguard; abalone rosette; gloss end

NECK Neo-tropical mahogany with scarf joint; 25-1/2″ scale size; 1-3/4″ Tusq nut; West African Crelicam ebony fretboard; mother-of-pearl inlays; 20 frets; vintage gold Gotoh 510 tuners (21:1 ratio); satin end

OTHER Taylor ES2 electronics; D’Addario XS coated phosphor bronze strings (.012–.053); deluxe hardshell case; out there left-handed

MADE IN United States

PRICE $4,499 avenue

taylorguitars.com

This text initially appeared within the March/April 2024 subject of Acoustic Guitar journal.