Taylor 514CE Review

If you’re a guitarist looking for something different, the Taylor 514CE might be right for you. This Grand Auditorium acoustic-electric has a western red cedar top with tropical mahogany back and sides, offering warm midrange overtones. It’s also made with V-class bracing, which increases both resonance and sustain. It’s a high-end guitar, and it’s a departure from what you often see.

Things To Consider Before Buying An Acoustic-Electric Guitar

If you’re considering purchasing an acoustic-electric guitar (and especially if you’re thinking of purchasing a high-end one), it’s a good idea to ask yourself a few things:

• What tonewoods do you want? Whether you’d prefer cedar (a top wood among finger stylists) or want the brightness of spruce, it’s important to take your own preferences into account before buying.
• What bracing is best? While X bracing remains the most popular type of acoustic bracing around, Taylor guitars are sometimes made with C-class and V-class bracing. These bracing types often enhance the guitar’s sound, but some players prefer the sound of X bracing.
• What about electronics? Obviously, if you’re going to be performing, you want your guitar’s tone to be amplified faithfully. Cheap electronics can ruin performance.
• What about body shape? The shape of a guitar has a major impact on the sound. For instance, a Grand Auditorium acoustic-electric has a sound that’s somewhere between that of a concert and a dreadnaught acoustic.

But before we dive into our review, let’s look at some pros and cons.

Pros

• Revolutionary V class bracing design results in both impressive sustain and greater resonance.
• Western red cedar top with tropical mahogany back and sides offer midrange overtones and quick response.
• It includes Taylor’s Expression System 2 electronics for natural-sounding amplified acoustic tone whenever you need it.
• A West African ebony fingerboard with a striking Century fretboard inlay scheme and other quality appointments give it a high-end look.

Cons

• It’s fairly expensive, which may put it out of reach for some players.
• While its construction offers a powerful all-around response, some players might prefer a brighter tonewood configuration.

Now we’ll dig into some of the most important features of the 514CE.

Body Shape And Bracing

This guitar is a Grand Auditorium acoustic-electric, which is Taylor’s most popular body shape. (Here’s a video showing off this body shape.) 

The Grand Auditorium has a pinched waist and compact size, so it offers a big sound while still avoiding the boomy, sometimes-overpowering bass response that can happen with dreadnoughts. 

It’s also important to note that the 514CE features a Venetian cutaway for upper fretboard access. If you play all the way down the neck, this feature makes it a lot easier to do so.

And lastly, one of the most important features of the 514CE is its V class bracing. This is an innovation designed by Taylor as an improvement over traditional X bracing. V class bracing increases soundboard stiffness under the strings, which boosts sustain.

However, it allows for more soundboard movement on the sides of the strings, which increases resonance. While V class bracing might not be ideal for everyone, many guitarists love its sound.

Tonewoods And Sound Quality

While body shape and bracing have a significant impact on a guitar’s tone, the woods used to construct it are highly important, too.The 514CE is a little nontraditional in its tonewood selection. The top is solid western red cedar. Cedar offers warm midrange overtones, and it’s especially good for players with a lighter touch. 

Cedar is known for lending a warm clear quality to your playing, and it’s a little mellower than the more commonly-seen spruce top. If you want to learn more about cedar as a tonewood, check out this interesting video.

Cedar tends to pair well with the naturally dry focused voice of mahogany, and the 514CE’s tropical mahogany body is a good match. Mahogany is a versatile wood — it delivers a clear punch that strummers will like, and blues players will especially appreciate its midrange-heavy tone.

The tropical mahogany body has plenty of midrange lending a warm quality to your playing. The 514 CE is made of all solid woods, which creates a full, natural sound. To match the mahogany back and sides, the 514CE also has a mahogany neck, which rounds out the guitar’s warm tone.

Electronics

As with any acoustic-electric guitar, the electronics of the 514CE are an important consideration. Luckily, the 514CE comes with Taylor’s renowned Expression System 2. This system is a behind-the-saddle pickup with a low-profile onboard preamp — it’s made of three simple knobs (volume control and two-tone controls). This system is known for creating incredibly natural amplified tones.

If you want to learn more about Expression System 2 and how it works, check out this video from Taylor.

Finish And Appointments

The cedar cutaway Grand Auditorium guitar sounds great, but it’s also a visual treat. Appointments include faux tortoise ivoroid rosette with matching faux tortoiseshell binding. The Taylor nickel tuners have an excellent 17:1 ratio, and the stunning and highly playable West African ebony fingerboard has an inlay scheme in grained ivoroid wings. There’s a matching West African ebony bridge to match, and it contrasts beautifully with both cedar and tropical mahogany.

The black graphite nut and micarta saddle offer both great sustain and excellent tuning flexibility. And lastly, the cedar top is colored with a beautiful brown sugar stain finish. If you want to take a closer look at the 514CE and hear it for yourself, check out this video demo.

Before deciding whether the 514CE is right for you, you’ll probably want to compare it to some alternatives. Here are three other guitars you may want to consider:

Review