Epic gas - taylor 314

mrleon83

So today I played about 15 acoustic guitars from a £400 faith upto a £3000 taylor and now I'm gassing for a taylor 314ce... I did try a larrivee which resonated like crazy but couldn't get along with the body size, I was told that it's because the woods are pre aged, any truth in this? Wondering if the taylor would open up in the same way?

bluechargeboy

I chose Larrivee over all others because of this resonant wonderfulness, it sounded like a Vulcan bomber attack compared to Taylor, Martin, Gibson, Guild, et al.

Larrivee know their wood, but then again so do Taylor. Was the Larrivee a dreadnought? I always wanted a 314ce but when I played one it didn't have the required oomph.

richardhomer

Although the 300 Series are the cheapest all-solid wood guitars Taylor make - and the cheapest US built models - to my ears they are among their best sounding. They have a lovely balance and lack the very bright high-end which some of the rosewood back and sides models exhibit, without loosing their signature clarity.

I have played a new one against one a few years old and the older one definitely had opened up - assuming that they would have sounded very similar when new.

The only Taylor wood combination which I prefer, is a cedar top, with mahogany back and sides (500). They have less headroom but respond beautifully to finger-picking. If you're a strummer, you probably would be better off with a 314.

I have a real admiration for Taylor. Their guitars are very consistent, always play well and - assuming you are not looking to replicate a Martin or Gibson tonally - sound good.

thisisguitar

I'm a fan of Taylor acoustics… but I'd recommend trying out Lowden if you are in the £3k price range.

mrleon83

@bluechargeboy yes the larrivee was a dreadnaught, I could feel the whole guitar vibrating it truly did feel incredibly organic, a very nice guitar...

@richardhomer that's cool to hear that the taylor's open up, i'm hoping when I get one I'll keep hold it of it for a long time - i've had my current yamaha for 10 years,  so I'm hoping the taylor will improve with age! 

mrleon83

@thisisguitar definitely  not in the £3k range... more £1.5k max...

thermionic

My Taylor 310 opened up a bit after a couple of years - the bottom two strings came alive. I suspect ditching Elixirs for D'Addarios at around the same time was also a factor.

thisisguitar

In that case I'm with you on the 314ce. Only reason I bought a 214ce over the 314ce was because I'd hope to have a Lowden further down the line anyway… seemed sensible to keep the extra money towards one.

guitargeek62

I'm picking up my 324ce this weekend, it's the all-Koa fall limited model though so slightly different in tone but an absolute gem. I haven't spent this much on a guitar in about 5 years so I'm a little excited, hope you manage to sort one out for you too!

mrleon83

nice, I'm hoping to pick up a used one, but if one doesn't come up in the next couple of weeks might have to buy a new one ....

RaymondLin

There was a 324 in the classifeld.

mrleon83

ah can't find it , but may have found a 414...

RaymondLin

It is actually a 314ce

 

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/6040/

He has withdrawn it for now. 

randomhandclaps

thermionic said:

My Taylor 310 opened up a bit after a couple of years - the bottom two strings came alive. I suspect ditching Elixirs for D'Addarios at around the same time was also a factor.

For me, putting Elixirs on a Taylor is the equivalent of shoving a gas mask on Elizabeth Fraser and asking her to belt out Song To The Siren.