Taylor Guitars 314-CE

I just bought an unused 314CE on E-Bay last month and got it from a LA. friend who never played it...It sounds so good. The smell of the woods was so fresh. The case was first class, and the expression system never ever has buzzed. The tuners are perfect a lot like Grover's. Came in from swimming and picked it up got water all over it and simply wiped it of, the satin finish is flawless. The sound is better than most guitars at 3 times the price. Never touched a Martin or Gibson that could touch it. Also it is very light meaning it's easy to move around. The only negative is I wish the action could be right next to the neck, it's a little higher than I like but that's cause I played a lot of electric before. I use a Fender "Frontman" 15R
just a tiny amp but the 'expression' system has no problem making it sound great! I have a Guild campground guitar which is not bad but no competition.

I play Blues,and a finger picking type style. A great low bass sound, of course the adjustment buttons make it what ever you want. I use a Fender 15R 'Frontman' It would work anywhere.

Not a good set-up when I got it action is a little higher than I like. Had a professional fix the bridge, a little better but want the action lower, otherwise it's very playable and I would give it [the action] 90%.

This Taylor is not a wimp...no babying this guitar it's tough. Solid as a rock!.

Taylor in my humble opinion makes the best reasonably priced guitars in the world! Very good customer service, these guys know what they are doing and they are American made.

Save your money check around...I bought my Taylor 314ce for 1/2 the price from on e-bay. It would have cost me twice that if I would have bought it from a dealer here in town.

Grand Concert (smaller but deep body, I guess,) Sitka Spruce top, African Mahogany back and sides, mahogany neck, ebony fretboard and bridge, Tayor tuners, etc. Expression system, bought it around 2004, came with a nice hard shell case.

Suits my style perfectly. I play with fingerpicks most of the time, Cotton picking, some bluesy stuff, lots of folk music, both traditional and modern and I sing a lot. This guitar has a really well balanced sound from bass to treble and everything in between. I use light gauge strings so it is very easy to play and still has good volume acoustically. Not the same as my Martins but different and very acceptable. I was a little disappointed in it when I first bought it, but then I was fitted for a hearing aid AND ALL OF MY GUITARS SUDDENLY SOUNDED WAY BETTER. If you are over 60 like me and/or have been subjected to a lot of loud noise or if hearing loss runs in your family, I highly recommend that you get your hearing checked. It makes a tremendous difference in how your instruments sound. There is nothing about this guitar that I don't like. I don't plug it in very often, but when I do, the sound is clear and the same as it sounds acoustically, just louder.

Every thing pm this guitar is perfect. They have fit and finish down to a perfect science at Taylor. Unlike some other more expensive guitars that I have bought in the last several years, I have never had to take this one back in for an action adjustment. I have some relatives who also play and we "jam" when there are family outings. They all love this guitar.

Yes to all. I would take some extra batteries if I were going to use it for something important. I am not sure how long those little batteries would last. I think I read that the newer ones use 9v batteries now. Maybe that was/is a problem. Not real important to me.

This instrument has never needed repair, just a minor neck tweak when it was brand new. However I have dealt with Taylor and also Elderly Instruments in East Lansing, Michigan where I bought it, with issues regarding other instruments. They are both very helpful and generous in their backup. I have visted the Taylor factory. Wonderful people in every respect. When I bought my Taylor 855 12 string I had some questions and wrote them a letter. Kurt Lustig called me personally and talked with me for about fifteen minutes. I am sure his time was more valuable than mine. I can't say enough good things about them.

Been playing for nearly 50 years. Have two Taylors, two Martins, a Manuel Rodrequez Model BC, Fender Tele, Danelectro Ho-Dad, two five string banjos, a nice uke, cheap mandolin, Trace-Acoustic amp, some recording stuff (Korg, Shure mics.) If it were stolen I would either buy another one or a higher grade one of the same shape. The thing I like best about it is the shape. It is the perfect size and shape for me, easy to play and very handy. I play it the most often of all my guitars. The Martins have a little richer sound in some ways, but every guitar is different. Like dogs. I love them all.
If I had my druthers, the top would be Adirondac Spruce and the body would be American (Honduras) mahogany. But then it would cost twice as much, and when I bought this I had just so much in my hobby fund.

Grand Auditorium, African Mahogany back and sides with a Sitka Spruce top. Taylor expresssion system provides nice tone. All solid woods. It's a 2005 California model. Came with a nice case, and strap.

I play percussive music, fingerpicking, and strumming. I was looking to play this right through a PA for stage performance, and for songwriting at home. It came with the Taylor Expression System. Played through a Marshall AS100R, it sounded absolutely wonderful, and hard to improve if you get the EQ right. It's quite bassy, and certainly has some meat behind it plugged in, and the Expression System appears to improve its tone. However, unplugged, it's a different story. This is not a guitar you want to buy if you are never performing live. I just felt the sound was very restrained, and had come to expect more from Taylor, one of the most reputable acoustic guitar brands. Just to make sure, I played 4 of these guitars, and felt the same about all of them. Unplugged, it's like a bullied child.

Action seemed perfect to me, and was a beautiful guitar to play. But whereas with some guitars you get a nice euphoric feeling when you are playing harmonious music, this one didn't seem to offer the same kind of feeling. It just didn't sing well for me. Hard to fault everything else though. It felt nice, but not quite nice enough. Electronics perfect.

Well, it's an acoustic, and it's a Taylor so you'd beter be careful with it, as is the case with all acoustic guitars. It has a pickguard to decrease the chance of wear from picking. As a gigging guitar, it's solid and I would very much depend on it. It's quality you'd expect from this company.

I've been playing 10 years, and I also have a Gibson Chet Atkins SST, and a Cole Clark FL1A. I have to say that the Cole Clark is around half the price, and is about double the quality, in my opinion. It appears that a large portion of the money you pay for this guitar goes into its looks and its brand name - both of which are beautiful in their own way. I like its electronics a lot. I don't think it hacks it as an unplugged instrument though. Unplugged, it has less sound than a Taylor 110. In fact, if the 110 had the expression system I would almost certainly pick it in preference to this one.

2 year update from date of purchase - Original Rating 8 .... currrent rating 8 .... Nothing has changed .... 3 button controls, very simple. Works great .... ebony frett board with Leaf style frett markers, Koa Rosette, Expression system, Plane blk binding, Spruce top ...

2 year update from date of purchase - Original Rating 9 .... currrent rating 9 ... Recent upgrade to the next revision of transducers. I originally had a hiss problem, with the new electronnics its allot better. This hiss is due to the single coil transducers under the top. It can be problematic to get rid when recording through a some recording systems like Fostex or Tascam systems. Over the last 2 years of light to moderate gigging I've play'd through most of the brand name sound boards, solid state amps, and some tube amps. Sounds great through anything. I'd like to see a Ballance adjust for the top transducers relitive to the neck ....Oh ya, Im a solo instrumental guitarist, I play most popular styles in my act stuff like Jazz, folk, classical. Latin/Flamanco, Country, Rock(Light). I play finger-style on this unit, but I have played afew flatpickin bluegrass tunes on it as well ..... I think its just as good as a Martin for that stuff to, but thats me

2 year update from date of purchase - Original Rating 7 .... currrent rating 8 ....... With the exception of a neck reset, that happened early in its life, and the recent upgraded electronics nothing has else has acted up. In fact the sound has mellowed abit, and it's maturing nicely. This is good, The top is aging gracefully and not sinking or bowing, and none of the binding is popping off. The machine heads are still tight, no slop ... The battery compartment scares me, if you leave your batteries in too long, they seem to leak, then you can't get them out. This almost happened to me, but i got them out with some begging and pleading. A buddy of mine with the same model guitar had to take it to the shop for a new battery compartment. Everything else has stood up great to 2 years of light to moderate gigging

2 year update from date of purchase - Original Rating 1 .... currrent rating 9..... I've been playing live about 2, sometimes 3 nights a week, and the odd recording tossed in ... I love it, It's been bumped in bars, the odd time, and none of the finish chipped off, or heads busted off .... It's never fed back on me, nor have i had any problems with the electronics in a live setting. All the sound tech's seem to love it, at least thats what they tell me ..... the strap never mysteriously popped off, the dials and machine heads are still tight. Which is good, 30% of my act uses open tunings. Tight machine heads are important to me. The case does a good job of protecting the guitar. At first there was some slop, but after abit of this and that its ok now. I depend on it. I would trust it to get me through the night without a back up, I do it all the time. But, just not for the super important gigs ;-) ....

2 year update from date of purchase - Original Rating 1 .... currrent rating 9 ...... Since I bought it new, It's under a life time non-transferable warranty ... So, all the work and parts have been free. The Music Store I purchased it from ..."Lauzons Music Center" in Ottawa, Canada now has a Taylor Tech .... So it no longer needs to go cross country for work. I really like this. I have never had a problem getting work done, and they've always answered even the most off the wall question honestly ... I've only dealt with the Mother company for registration info. All rework has gone through my local music store ... rework to date has been a neck reset, and all new electronics installed(upgrade)

2 year update from date of purchase - Original Rating 3 .... currrent rating 9 ....... Oh, you don't want to know how long I've played. But, Over the last two years of light to moderate gigging I've come to really rely on it. I don't take the wasburn back-up anymore. I like them so much that I now own another Taylor, one with the L.R. Baggs Hex system .... I find the Taylor sound to work best for me, and for what I do ... Even after some of the grief I initially went through, I really like this guitar. It has worked well for me in the gigging circuit. Due to the little hiss problem i don't care much for it for direct in recording. If it were stolen, I'd use the Ins. money for a higher end model, but I would deffinately replace it with another Taylor ... I've compared this unit to equal level Gibson, Fenders, Martins, Tak's, Laravee's, Guild, Ovation, Art Luthier .... and I like mine, I can't imagine playing anything else, for now anyway ...... I still think that little ballance adj would help to reduce some of the single coil hiss when trying to record would help, but that's me

Solid Wood guitar
Sitka Spruce top, Ovangkol Body, Indian Rosewood Neck
Taylor Expression System
Case, DVD, Balanced TRS cord (thumbs up taylor!)
Taylor turners
Volume, Treble, Bass controls, onboard preamp

Bright with a medium bass, great for medium strumming and arpegios

great action
finish is very nice, the wood looks amazing
everything was set very well

everything seems like its gonna hang in their with me for sure,
i use without a backup all the time, no sweat!

taylor support is awesome, lifelong warranty for as long as i own it

i freakin love this guitar, if it was ripped off i would cry my eyes out and kill the fool that took it, i dont let a lot of people touch it.

Recently purchased a Taylor 314CE with the "Expression System". The guitar features a solid spruce top and african mahogony side and back, with a gloss finish top and satin back and sides. The Expression System consists of a magnetic neck pickup and two sensor pickups mounted under the sound board, all operated by 2 AA batteries. It comes with a rather well constructed hard case.

I am a finger stylist in the lines of James Taylor, etc., so the bass and melody lines in my intricate picking style must remain clear..however, with the Taylor they do not. The guitar is extremely "noisy" unplugged..there seems to be some inherent musical distortion going on..not immediately noticable, but after settling in and playing it a few weeks it has gotten to the point of being extremely annoying. There apparently is some fluke with the AA batteries as Taylor requires them to be wrapped with a sticky note..I imagine that contributes greatly to a light "rattling" sound heard during strumming. Plugged in, the problems are magnified ten-fold, with added distortion to the point that it is literally unplayable through a sound system.

Action from the factory is adequate, although for a guitar in this price range I would think the action could be a little lower. Overall construction seems to be of good quality as to finish and fit.

Not sure if it will withstand live playing, as first it has to qualify to even be played live..mine is not..As to product longevity I'll never know as I am returning mine for a complete refund..and I'll never buy, nor recommend another Taylor again.

Contacted Taylor support and received no response. The store where I bought it only sells them and does not repair them. I will not pay shipping and insurance to return a $1500 guitar I purchased only weeks ago to Taylor for warranty work (as their warranty information implies). Shame on Taylor...they should be picking up the tab for shipping and repairs.

I have been playing guitar and other instruments for 30 years and have toured all over this country. I also own an Alvarez Artist F-60, an original 54 Tele, a 62 Strat re-issue, a 90 G&L ASAT, a PRS Santana, a Gibson Mastertone Banjo, a Regal Black Lightening Dobro, an original Fender Super amp, a Roland SR-9 synth, a home studio with both a Zoom hard disc recorder and Cubase software for my PC with too much outboard gear to even mention, my own small acoustic gig set up which includes, JBL Eons, a Mackie board and alesis verb. I wish I would have seen all the complaints about Taylor guitars in their forum before buying one. My general opinion is that there are far far better guitars for the money available. Forget about buying a Taylor unless you're just buying it to look at.

2006 Taylor 314 CE. Solid all the way around. Incredible pick up system. It is Grand Aud. size which is great for speed runs up and down the neck. Action is perfect

I have owned probably 30 guitars. Everything from junk Hondo's to some high end Tak's, Martins, etc., so I can confidently say I know what I am talking about when it comes to guitars. The combination of the perfect action, fast neck, and great sound make this a great guitar and a solid value. Great sound whether plugged in to an amp, a mixer, or played acoustically.

Wow. Taylor means business. This is a well put together axe. Action is perfect and set up from the factory was spot on. I have not concerns at all

It seems solid but I will refrain from rating until a few years from now

No need to contact them yet, but they certainly seem like a strong customer service company

If you can afford this guitar, and you need a high end guitar with a fantastic pick up system, you will have no regrets going with the 314CE. If you can afford more guitar, save your money and buy the 314CE.

See company site for detail.

Very nice. But head to head with the Martin JC 16 RGTE the Taylor didnt pack the volume, or depth of tone. You can really hear it. The Taylor electronics also pale in comparison to the Fishman mic/piezo blender that the JC 16 has. You can match the Martin if you move up to the pricier Taylor "14's". The Taylor Grand Auditoriums are almost exactly same size as Martin Jumbo.

Flawless. Except for satin back/sides.

Solid. But satin back sides will take a scratch or two.

Playing 30 years. Own Martin JC 16 RGTE. (recommend you at least try one). 65 Precision Bass. '84 Telecaster. '77 Takamini knock off of a Martin D-28. Again I'd say the Taylor is a really nice guitar. Many reasons to like it. However when head to head with the Martin, you just can't escape the tone/power unplugged. Then when you plug it in, the Fishman Premium blender just shoots it all to another level.

This is a 2002 model with the Fishan Prefix Plus Pre-amp. I initially bought a new 2004 model with the latest "Expression System" pre-amp at Guitar Center but found it to be not only noisy, but the B string sounded like 10db hotter than the rest of them. It was obnoxious. I returned it and sought out this older model. It was worth the hunt. This one is even, balanced and sweet.

Incredible unplugged. Strum a chord and just let it ring, and ring and ring. It's just a sweet musical sound, reasonant and woody. The 314 does not have all of the inlay flash and sparkle of the higher end Taylors, but it sounds great to me. Plugged in it is fantastic also. I upgraded from an Ovation LX which is supposed to be famous for that Ovation plugged in sound. The Taylor blows it away in all categories. The Fishman is excellent with a notch filter, sweepable mids and brilliance adjustments. You can custom the sound exactly to your liking and I have yet to experience any kind of feedback, somethine I was constantly plagued with on the Ovation,

Just flawless all around. This was a 3 year old guitar that could cosmetically put new ones to shame. The previous owner took very good care of it and it is as new in all respects.

3 years old and it still looks and performs like new, and better than the new ones with the ES system. Blechhhh!

No dealings. I hear they are excellent however.

Been playing about 35 years. I am the main guitarist in a praise and worship band. I also goof around with pop and country with a little classical thrown in to keep me cultured. If it were stolen, I'd find another one Pre Expression System. I recently stumbled across the Acoustic Guitar Forum, formerly the Taylor Guitar Forum and there were some threads discussing the problems with the ES system. Nothing but the Fishman for me.

2004, 314-CE, 30th Anaversary model, bought in the fall of 2004, only because my 30 year old Washburn does not have a pick up, and mic' ing it is a pain, with the same strings, the Wasburn sounds every bit as rich and nice as the Taylor,,,,, This Taylor, that I've got has the same features every other article mentions with a couple of cosmetic changes, very nice control location, good for on the fly adjustments, nice smooth cutaway. Very lite, much liter than my 70's Washburn D-28.

The guitar's case is sloppy, the machine heads, for the treble strings smack into the inside of the case as evidanced by the imprints in the plush liner ..... this occurs while it is being hand carried, allot of guitar cases have this problem ..... but, for the money i paid for this box, this should not be happening .....

Sounds great, pugged or un-plugged, to me this is important.... it must sound good unplugged as well as electrified ..... un-like some ..... everyones exhausted this section as well

a few problems, it's not perfect .... internal cables rattle,............. Taylor has already acknowleded that the battery compartment is a little too big and this can cause a rattle during a live performance as well(checkout the CD that comes with it) .... but this is cured with sticky memo tape .... the guitar was not set up at the factory, or it shifted during transit, i wonder if there getting shipped with out a proper burn-in period?? ... it needed minor truss rod adj..... no big deal. Before buying this one, i test drove three(3), CE-314, 30th Anaversary models, that day, at the store i bought this one from ....and i noticed allot of differance between the three guitars of the same model, i thought this odd. These are NOT hand built guitars, these ARE hand shoved into the big milling machine built guitars. Again, check the CD, lets be straight on this, there should be more consistancy then what i saw .... but, i eventually bought the one i liked ...

This is a bad one ..... this is were I fail the guitar, and ask myself "why did i buy this" again ,,,,, after 6 months .... it's back in the shop getting a neck re-install ..... i'm 44, .... i'm very gentle to all(i have a buinch) of my instruments. It's in my hands or, in it's humidified case. My house has two large humidifiers blowing away, and 2 temp/humidity meters as well. I did not neglect or abuse this instrument. Not only did the neck shift .... no one in Ottawa, capital of Canada, can re-set it .... that's right ................ I can have glued on necks removed here, and any guitar with a bolt on neck, re-set while i wait, Strat's, for instance, and strats., for that matter, i can do myself, inluding truss rod, Some Epiphones 12-string acoustics have easy bolt on necks as well .... oh well, it's been gone a week now, i have gigs today, and tommorro .... and no Taylor ... This sort of neck problem is also evidant in some models of Simon Patrick & ArtLuthier(Lasdo Corp. aka Godin). That's one reason i didn't buy one of them, stupid me. My 35 year old glued-on neck, washburn is still going strong ... supiour quality, rugedness and lasticity in the Washburn ... which is my back up, and i'll be using it in 6 hours from now .... and i know it will be ok, it has, long ago, proven it's self ..... This makes me wonder what sort of shape my Taylor will be in in 35 years .... i'd like to see that .... i don't beleive i will make it, and neither will the Taylor .... But i would not be surprised to see the Washburn still around .... I've played 120 year old Washburn Taterback Mandolin's .... Now that's reliability/Durability ....

i took it to the shop i bought it from, not the Taylor company .... so i don't know, the shop had to send it out of town .... we'll see .... i'm not happy right now with this thing bouncing around in the back of a truck to the opposite end of the province ...... It's only a bolt on neck, not the saturn moon probe

I've been playing for over 30 years, everything from Mozart and Beethoven to Metallica. I have a small little collection of guitars, and accessories. If it were lost or stolen, i would look at acoustic guitars from Spain..... If i'm gonna spend this amount of money again, i'm going to the guys who have been in the stringed instrument business for hundrreds of years, not just a few decades ... get my drift .... I would not play this one without my backup close at hand. I don't trust it, as i do my 30 year ole washburn D-28 flat top .... which now by the way, has a pick up in it .... At this point I'm thinking the Taylor should be re-assigened to the seldom seen back up position, rather then the prima dona ....sad, but true