GAS: Taylor 2014 Koa Fall Limited - 324 or 326? EDIT Almost-NGD!

guitargeek62 · November 2014

Looks like I may be buying one of these after trying the 324-CE K yesterday in Denmark St! Rather stupidly though, I didn't try the 326-CE K they had next to it, and after reading up on them last night I'm wondering if it might be even more suited to my tastes as a hard-hitting player for mostly strumming, and a growing amount of fingerstyle.

Anything else I should consider before splashing out £1.5k for an all-solid Koa guitar? The only things I'd really have changed would be a slightly chunkier neck profile, and a gloss finish; neither are dealbreakers though!

richardhomer · November 2014

I love Taylor guitars. That looks lovely.

guitargeek62 · November 2014

Same here! I fell in love with a different Koa Taylor about 10 years ago, and have had a 214 before (now in the hands of @stickyfiddle I believe?). I'm getting a couple of callbacks tomorrow about the availability of the Grand-Symphony sized 326, but if I can't find one that ticks the boxes then I'll likely "settle" on the 324ce-k as above anyway - it sounded great to me, and (from what I'm reading about Koa) should warm up more as it matures and fill in the bass nicely.

stickyfiddle · November 2014

Yup, 214 still in my possession, though hasn't seen much action since the Dove arrived..! Lovely guitar though.

IME Taylors are pretty much always very nice, though never spectacular. Not saying don't buy at all (when would I ever?!) but I'd definitely want to play it for a good period in store before spending that size of wedge. Trying acoustics is great fun

guitargeek62 · November 2014

I'm heading back over after work tomorrow to check out the 326ce (assuming it's still in stock!), it looks like it could be a bit hard to find though without buying outright - I'm aiming to chuck it on a 0% 12mth plan to make it easier to justify this side of xmas!

richardhomer · November 2014

I'm a great fan of the '14' series Taylors - and even more so the '12' (Grand Audtorium and Grand Concert, iirc).

The spruce/Sapele 300s punch well above their weight (they are the cheapest solid wood models) and the cedar/mahogany 500s are exceptional. The cedar adds real warmth to the signature Taylor clarity, without loosing it all together.

I think they have to be approached a bit like (say) a Lowden - in other words, don't try to bench-mark their sound against a Martin - treat them as having their own 'thing' going on.

They suffer a bit like PRS, in that they are 'guilty' of not having been around when many classic acoustic albums were recorded. To be fair, they have appeared on lots of more recent albums (Mary Chapin Carpenter's 'Come on Come on', Suzanne Vega, etc) and Gilmour used a 712ce on his 'In Concert' DVD - notably on the acoustic version of 'Shine On'.

I've owned a Martin D28 for over 20 years but I'd love a 512ce to go with it, when money allows.

guitargeek62 · November 2014

I couldn't wait any longer - popped back in this afternoon to Rose Morris and tried the larger 326 first for about 20 minutes, followed by the 324 straight away. I instantly noticed how much less bass the 324 had vs the 326, and it was quieter too - I'm definitely getting the GS now!

CHRISB50 · November 2014

What is going on with the fretboard of the guitar in the picture in the OP? Around the 20th fret and beyond, treble side.

guitargeek62 · November 2014

Just a bit of figure in the Ebony, nothing to worry about - it's rarely uniform colouring as we'd like to think, especially with the newer lumber.

richardhomer · November 2014

guitargeek62;408253" said:
Just a bit of figure in the Ebony, nothing to worry about - it's rarely uniform colouring as we'd like to think, especially with the newer lumber.

In fact Taylor are trying to educate us to accept ebony with streaks in it, rather than the pure black stuff.

IIRC, the pure black stuff represents only about 10% of the ebony which is cut - so 90% of it went to waste - yet apart from its appearance, is just as good.

I'd far rather have a streaked ebony board on a lower price guitar than a substitute such as Richlite.

guitargeek62 · November 2014

Yep, I was reading up on their co-owned Ebony mill in Cameroon - interesting stuff! I'm more than happy to support sustainable resources - particularly when these things take so long to grow anyway.

I'm actually quite fond of the streaky Ebony, and if I'd liked the 324 over the 326 then I'd have ordered the one in the pic above already!

RaymondLin · November 2014

My T5s has hints of the figure in it, I think it's pretty. The ebony on my Gs mini actually is more uniform funnily enough.

guitargeek62 · December 2014

GAS Update - Minor change of plans again - something came up last month that delayed this, but I popped into Rose Morris again today to see if they were still in stock. The 326 was sold (

), but the smaller 324 was there still. I had another strum on it for a while and was sold all over again so I've put a deposit down and will pick it up around the New Year.