Taylor Guitars have a reputation for making some of the finest examples of contemporary acoustic guitars to date. Their tone, projection and playability is exceptional. In this example, their flagship model 814ce, they have gone one step further by constructing the back and sides out of stunning Brazilian rosewood, making it a truly rare and exotic instrument.
Many years ago it became more or less a universal truth that Brazilian rosewood was the ultimate tone wood for the back and sides of acoustic guitars. This led to some of the finest acoustic guitars ever made being manufactured through the first half of the 20th century with this magical tone wood. Unfortunately, this lead to its depletion, and in the mid 1960s a ban was placed on the use of Brazilian rosewood. As of today, the only legal way of producing or even importing a guitar with this exotic material is with a CITES Pre - Convention Certificate, which verifies that the wood in question was acquired before the species was listed. Needless to say, a contemporary guitar made using Brazilian rosewood is exceptionally rare. For this Taylor, the uncompromising standards of design, construction and tone woods make this a highly desirable instrument.
It is immediately obvious you have something special in your hands upon playing this guitar. From the first note the tone is even and clear, with warm mids, supportive low end and articulate top end detail. The tone is less “scooped” than many dreadnoughts and provides a fullness of tone which supports single notes and finger style playing. The neck has a very slight chunkiness to it. Not thick by any means, but enough heft for a comfortable grip with larger hands. At 44.6mm nut width, the fretboard is wide enough to articulate complicated chord shapes with ease. The rock maple binding, abalone rosette and inlays with West African ebony fretboard and bridge and hide glue construction further compliment the exceptional materials and craftsmanship featured on this guitar.
The 814ce received substantial changes by master guitar designer Andy Powers in 2014. These changes included a drastically thinner nitro finish to improve wood resonance, upgraded performance bracing with angled back bracing for enhanced projection and frequency response, and the new ES-2 pickup system - a robust piezo platform with versatile tone shaping options. Instead of sitting under the saddle, like most piezo systems, the ES-2 has three adjustable piezo elements which pick up vibrations off the bridge plate. As a result, the string resonance through the saddle is not compromised by having an under saddle pickup, and the piezo elements can be fine tuned for optimal contact pressure and string volume balance.
The only marks on this guitar are two small dents on the top of the guitar just below the bridge. They are both of approximately 1mm indentation and have no structural impact on the instrument.
This Taylor 814ce with Brazilian Rosewood back and sides is truly a thing of beauty and ready to provide inspiration and joy to its new owner.
Brand: Taylor Model: 814ce Year: 2015 Country: USA Case: OHSC Serial: 1106XXXXXX Colour (Body): Natural Colour (Neck): Natural Finish Type: Nitro Body Material: Sitka Spruce Top with Brazilian Rosewood back and sides Neck Material: Mahogany Fretboard Material: Ebony Scale Length: 25.5” Fret Number: 20 Neck Radius: 15” Action: 1.9mm at 12th fret Neck Profile: Med/Wide C Nut Width: 44.5mm 12th Fret Width: 54.6mm 1st Fret Depth: 21.6mm 12th Fret Depth: 22.2mm Pickups: ES-2 Electronics: Original Knobs: Original Pickguard: Rosewood Hardware: Chrome Mods, repairs: N/A Weight: 2.09kg
