Taylor 214CE Review

Though Taylor Guitars only came to be in 1974, this company has quickly risen to the top of the ranks of acoustic guitar manufacturers. Taylor acoustic guitars are known for their often-bright, airy sound, and the brand is a favorite among professionals and hobby players alike.

However, if you're like many players, Taylor's flagship acoustic guitar models may be too expensive. The good news is that, as instrument-making technologies have grown, it's become possible to purchase a quality instrument for a reasonably low price.

In particular, Taylor's 214CE is a reasonably affordable guitar that still sounds like a professional-grade guitar. With an easy-to-play grand auditorium body, Taylor's legendary Expression System 2 electronics, and a beautiful spruce and koa tonewood configuration, it's a guitar that you can be proud to play.

Thie review is designed to give you a thorough overview of this guitar to help you decide whether it's the right choice for you. We'll go through essential product specifications, look at some buyer reviews, and evaluate a few alternatives.

Things To Consider Before Buying An Entry-Level Acoustic-Electric Guitar

If you're someone who only plays the acoustic guitar at home, you might not need an instrument with electronics. However, if you play live at all, purchasing an instrument with quality electronics is a good idea.

That said, you want the quality of your electronics to be about the same as the guitar's overall build quality. If you have a world-class instrument with cheap electronics, your live sound won't do the instrument justice. Excellent electronics will make a guitar sound natural when playing live, but if your guitar's natural sound is not good, it still won't sound amazing plugged in.

The bottom line is to remember still to pay attention to bracing style, tonewoods used, and other features you would look for in an all-acoustic guitar. Electronics are an essential part of the picture, but to get great live sound, you'll need a quality instrument that sounds good on its own.

Even in more affordably-priced models like this one, Taylor takes great pains to ensure that each instrument has excellent tone, playability, and build quality. These are some of the most critical features of the 214CE.

Tonewoods

People who love the bright, focused tone of koa may be drawn to the 214CE. However, according to Taylor Guitars founder Bob Taylor, all Taylor laminates fundamentally sound the same.

The sound is caused as the majority of the laminate material is made up of paper-thin wood pressed together. Only the outermost layer is made of koa. It gives the guitar a distinctive, beautiful look without adding a lot to the cost.

This Taylor does have a solid wood top, and this is the most important when it comes to tone. It's possible to have a guitar that's partially made of laminate that still plays well, and Taylors have a good enough build quality that laminate back and sides don't detract from the tone.

The top is made of solid Sitka spruce. The wood has an impressive dynamic range, and its strength means it can be cut very thin. The cut lets the soundboard move quickly, which creates a more nuanced tone.

The 214CE has a Sapele neck and ebony fingerboard, which offer you both stunning good looks and the classic playability that Taylors are known for.

Body Style

The 214CE is a grand auditorium guitar, a medium body shape that is the most popular one Taylor offers. It places a slight emphasis on midrange frequencies, but its versatility makes it a good fit for most styles of music.

Taylor states that this style is suitable for just about everyone, with the notable exception of those who strum or pick aggressively.

The grand auditorium body shape is smaller and easier to handle than a larger-bodied instrument like a dreadnought. It has a Venetian cutaway, which makes accessing frets further down the neck much easier.

Bracing

Taylor is a company known for innovation, and some of that innovation comes in the form of unique bracing patterns. The 214CE doesn't have Taylor's most advanced bracing, but it utilizes Standard II forward-shifted bracing.

The Standard II forward-shifted bracing means that the "x" at the centre of the brace is moved closer to the soundhole. The bracing is usually only used on larger guitars, but on a grand auditorium, it gives the lower bout of the instrument more space to move.

Space translates to better bass response. Since the bass response is generally fuller in massive guitars, this bracing choice may help to fill out the tone of the 214CE. If you want to hear how the bracing helps accentuate the bass end in a way that enhances your tone, check out this video demo.

Electronics

We mentioned earlier that an excellent quality instrument needs quality electronics, and this model delivers. It has Taylor's Expression System 2. This system is uniquely placed behind the saddle of the guitar. Unlike under-saddle pickups, this one isn't compressed by string tension, so it responds much more naturally.

It has three pickup sensors for accurate amplification, and it responds well to even very dynamic playing. The ES2 system also comes with an onboard preamp with a three-band EQ. The ES2 system helps you dial in just the right tone for a given stage.

More: Choosing the Best Taylor Guitar

When making any instrument purchase (and especially when buying a guitar as high-value as the 214CE), it's generally a good idea to see what other buyers think of a given instrument. We've gathered a few reviews from around the web to help you decide whether this guitar is the right one for you.

The above detailed Taylor 214CE review is especially useful because it compares this guitar to a somewhat similar Taylor instrument. It points out that, even with layered backs and sides, the tonal characteristics of the woods used in the Taylor 214CE matter.

This review is useful because it evaluates the guitar's value for the price. While a guitar that sells for a little under $1,000 may be too expensive for some. The Taylor 214CE is nonetheless an excellent instrument for the price.

This is a valuable review because it's written by someone who has played the instrument for 15 years. This buyer's Taylor 214CE review confirms what many buyers typically think--that the 214CE is an excellent stepping stone from a cheaper instrument as you continue your guitar journey.