Taylor 914ce – Rosewood Back and Sides with V-class Bracing Taylor

Taylor’s 914ce V-Class Grand Auditorium Acoustic-Electric combines another Taylor innovation – V-Class bracing – with its most sophisticated and luxurious rosewood model. This finely calibrated instrument features impeccably rendered appointments that strike a balance between wood and abalone shell trim, with ebony binding and koa purfling framing colorful abalone. The contoured ebony armrest embodies the highest level of woodworking, enhances player comfort, and bolsters tonal output by reducing the damping effect one’s strumming arm might otherwise have on the top. Additional details include Taylor’s abalone/pearl Ascension fretboard inlay, West African ebony binding and beveled armrest, single-ring paua rosette with koa/ebony purfling, koa/pau edge trim (top, fretboard extension), koa purfling (top, back, sides, fretboard, peghead), premium Gotoh gold tuners, and Expression System 2 electronics. This 914ce V-Class Grand Auditorium ships in a Taylor deluxe hardshell case for optimal fit and protection.

Body Shape
A Taylor original, the Grand Auditorium helped establish the Taylor acoustic sound. The popular body style makes for a versatile guitar that yields ample volume in response to light fingerpicking, and reacts to medium strumming and flatpicking with a clear, balanced sound across the tonal spectrum. If you want a great all-purpose guitar, the GA is an excellent choice.

Tonewood Pairing
A guitar’s top is the primary filter and distributor of vibrating string energy through the guitar, which means it has a huge impact on its sound. Sitka Spruce is the most prevalent guitar top wood of the modern era. It blends stiffness and elasticity in just the right proportions which translates into broad dynamic range with crisp articulation. Solid Indian rosewood back and sides complement the Sitka top with sound that’s made it one of the most popular tonewoods ever. Rosewood produces the strongest bass response among the tonewoods commonly used for guitars, with a slightly scooped midrange. Rosewood’s sweeping frequency range – deep lows that assert a throaty growl with sparkling highs – rings out with bell-like, high-fidelity clarity. It yields a full-range acoustic voice with complex overtones and extended sustain. 

Electronics
Taylor’s ES2 is a revolutionary pickup design that delivers the latest in Taylor’s ongoing innovation in acoustic guitar amplification. The heart of the Expression System 2 is Taylor’s patented behind-the-saddle pickup, which features three uniquely positioned and individually calibrated pickup sensors. Because the pickup doesn’t sit under the saddle, the bottom of the saddle comes in full contact with the bridge, allowing all the nuance of the guitar’s tone to come through clearly whether playing acousticly or plugged-in. The location of the sensors enables a more dynamic range of acoustic sound to be captured than ever before while playing plugged-in. Together with Taylor’s custom-designed “professional audio”-grade preamp, this system produces exceptional amplified tone and responsiveness. On stage through a PA, plugged into your favorite acoustic amplifier, or direct into recording software, the Expression System 2 faithfully conveys the voice of your Taylor guitar. The Taylor Expression System 2 operates through a proprietary 9-volt battery compartment and easy-to-use volume, and active bass and treble controls.

Other 
Taylor’s V-Class bracing is a fundamental innovation in acoustic guitar design. It marks an important evolution beyond traditional X-bracing, introducing an entirely new platform for acoustic performance. It is essentially an “engine” that optimizes the response of an acoustic guitar in three key ways: by boosting volume, sustain, and by largely resolving the intonation issues that have long plagued acoustic guitars. V-Class bracing creates purer, more orderly notes that don’t cancel each other out or sound “off”. They have clearer, more consistent response, and the whole fretboard is brought into greater sonic alignment for a more musical playing/listening experience. Guitars with V-Class bracing are easier to tune; the pitch sounds purer and more solid, and electronic tuners can more easily locate notes for quick, precise tuning. Other benefits: harmonics ring more uniformly down the neck, notes are louder with more projection and sustain, and notes are more consistent, i.e., upper register notes don’t get choked out or swallowed. Fewer “sour” sonic qualities exist with chords; a more agreeable relationship is created between notes as they ripen, bloom and decay.

The Taylor Difference
What sets Taylor Guitars apart? Unmatched build quality, the most stable and playable necks, a vast array of tonal options, eco-conscious and ethically- sourced raw materials, and a lifetime of service and support.

Features

• V-Class bracing
• ES2 electronics with 2-band EQ and phase control
• Abalone/pearl Ascension fretboard inlay
• West African ebony binding and beveled armrest
• Single-ring paua rosette with koa/ebony purfling
• Koa/pau edge trim (top, fretboard extension)
• Koa purfling (top, back, sides, fretboard, peghead)

Specifications

Body

• Body type: Grand Auditorium
• Cutaway: Single
• Top wood: Solid Sitka spruce
• Back and sides: Solid Indian rosewood
• Bracing pattern: V-Class with relief rout
• Body finish: Gloss 3.5
• Orientation: Right handed

Neck

• Neck shape: Taylor Standard Profile
• Nut width: 1.75 in. (44.45 mm)
• Fingerboard: Genuine West African ebony
• Neck wood: Tropical mahogany with ebony backstrap
• Scale length: 25.5 in.
• Number of frets: 20
• Neck finish: Satin

Electronics

• Pickup/preamp: Yes
• Brand: Taylor
• Configuration: Behind-the-saddle transducer with Adjustable Sensors
• Preamp EQ: 2-band
• Feedback filter: Phase
• Tuner: No

Other

• Headstock overlay: West African ebony
• Tuning machines: Gotoh gold with gold buttons
• Bridge: West African ebony
• Saddle and nut: Black graphite nut, micarta “wave” saddle
• Number of strings: 6
• Special features: bracing
• Case: Deluxe hardshell case
• Accessories: None
• Country of origin: United States

Tech Specs

• String Type: Steel
• Number of Strings: 6
• Body Shape: Grand Auditorium
• Left-/Right-handed: Right-handed
• Color: Natural
• Finish: Thin Gloss
• Top Wood: AA Sitka Spruce
• Back & Sides Wood: AA Indian Rosewood
• Body Bracing: V-Class bracing
• Binding: Ebony
• Neck Wood: Tropical Mahogany
• Fingerboard Material: West African Ebony
• Fingerboard Inlay: Ascension
• Number of Frets: 20
• Scale Length: 25.5″
• Tuning Machines: Antique Gold Gotoh, 21:1 ratio
• Bridge Material: Ebony
• Nut/Saddle Material: Black Graphite/Micarta
• Nut Width: 1.75″
• Electronics: ES2
• Strings: Elixir Phosphor Bronze Light
• Case Included: Hardshell Case