Taylor Guitars 414CE GA4

This Taylor has Ovankol back and sides with a Sitka spruce top. The top is a gloss finish while the back and sides are satin. I believe this is a shortscale fretboard. This is a brand new 2007 taylor. It has the standard Taylor electronics.

I went on a three week journey looking for the perfect acoustic guitar for me. I focused mostly on three brands. Taylor, Breedlove and Martin. I wanted an American made guitar. I wanted something professional quality.

I started playing Taylor's and loved the sound. I made the mistake of playing a 914 and really liked it. It was too much money. But I got the taste for higher end stuff.

I played some Breedlove's. I liked those too. I did some research and thought the "American made" C25 was a good price performance option. So I bought one. After playing it at home I decided it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. The Breedlove's have a clean, sort of glassy tone that is very nice and unique. But at the same time they seem a little dead. Something about the truss sytem they use makes them resonate differently from other guitars. They are nice. Just not for me. Also I found out the C25 isn't really made in America. The parts are made in another country. They are asymbled and finished here.

I tried some Martin's. I played a Jumbo that I really liked. Martins play really well. They are fun to jam on. You can go off on leads. You can strum them to your hearts content and play them loud. You can also finger pick them. I almost bought the Jumbo. But the store I was at had a no return policy. So I decided to think about it and ended up buying something else at a place with a better return policy (Guitar Center). It's a good thing though. I noticed the drawback to Martins later. They don't have the great intonation of the Taylor's. It's almost impossible to get them perfectly in tune. One chord sounds great. But another sounds slightly off. Thats pretty much how most run of the mill acoustics are. Martins have the best boogie factor, the best playability and the best bass.

So I went back to the Taylors. I decided to splurge and get a 614. A beutiful guitar. It had just come in and I knew it wouldn't be in the store long. Flame maple back and sides with Alaskan spruce top. It had a beutifull shimmery sound. Nice inlays on the fretboard and around the soundhole. But after playing it at home for about an hour, I realized it just wasn't for me. The high end Taylor's are too sensative. You can't play them hard at all. It you strike the strings too hard, it sort of sounds like someone dropped a piano. They are stictly for finger style players. If you want to strum them or get a little boogie or rock on... Forget about it!

Then I played the 414CE AE GE. This guitar was perfect for me. It had the wonderfull Taylor intonation. When it's in tune it sounds perfect everywhere. It stays in tune. It has the Taylor ring and sparkle but witout being too over the top. I believe this is a short scale guitar because it plays as good or better than a Martin. The Ovankol back and sides with the Sitka top are the perfect combination. I can just sit here and play this guitar. It relaxes me with the tone and the perfect sounding chords. You can hit this guitar hard if you like. It doesn't protest like it's bigger brothers. It plays leads well. It suits alot of different styles of play including finger style. I really think this is the sweet spot in the Taylor line. The only drawback is you don't get the fretboard and soundhole inlays. It would be nice to have those touches. But it would probably cost another grand. So I'm happy with it the way it is. It still looks very nice.

I want to give props to Guitar Center for thier return policy. I made it a point to buy my guitar there because I figured they saved me money. Theres nothing worse than paying alot of money for something and finding out it wasn't what you thought. Then you can't take it back and are forced to live with it or take a big loss selling it on Ebay. GC will get more of my buisiness. No afiliation by the way.

First rate. No complaints.

I can't really say. I have only had it a few days. But I'm sure it will hold up fine. It apears to be made very well. From what I understand there is a Taylor repair man in my area if I ever need one.

I haven't had to deal with them as of yet.

Price performance was perfect for me. The Breedlove (cough) "American made" C25 was about $1600 with case. A comparible Martin was about $1600. I got this Taylor 414 for $1700 with a case. It really beats the other by a pretty good margin. I naever thought I would call a $1700 guitar a good value. But it is.