Help! GAS Attack!

[liko]

 

I've been looking for an AE with a good plugged-in sound (Martins sound pretty good unplugged, but their electronics leave MUCH to be desired), and since I already have a beater dread I was looking for something in a 000 or Grand Concert. I picked this Taylor 114CE off the wall and it's got a rich, deep voice unplugged, comfortable to hold, pretty easy to play for an acoustic, good neck, quality tuners, solid spruce top, good vibes .

 

Then I plugged it in... :love: It doesn't have a lot of tricks, like a comparably-priced Parkwood I A/Bed it against (which had three-band parametric EQ, mic/pickup blend, notch, etc etc etc), but what it does, it does oh so well. Volume, treble and bass in three nondescript knobs on the upper bout are all I needed to match its unplugged sound perfectly, just more of it. The pickup is very dynamic, the tone is just as full as the unamped instrument through its entire range, and it sounds like I've miked the guitar instead of having thrown nylons on it and run it through a synthesizer. I think I've found the acoustic that will last me the next 20 years.

 

There's just one problem; I can't afford it . Yes, it's "only" $800. Yes, it's marketed as a "beginner's" or "backup" guitar. That's still a lot of money. Help me resist until I can afford it without having to subsist on ramen noodles for the next year.

[missedmyexit]

Check the used market to see if you can find one in your price range.

[Guitarplay]

that guitar looks really nice, I like the tortoise pick guard, it really complements that beautiful finish, not to mention that cutawat-- its perfect for those solos. I also like the shape of the bridge, it really flows elegantly with the contour of the body. I have heard nothing but good things about this guitar. Oh, wait, you have GAS? Ah, you will forget what i just said *waves hand across face and all is forgotten

[RizinRico]

and whats wrong with Ramen noodles when you have your true love to noodle around with whenever you choose. cant you could live on love?

[Samilyn]

I'm not a big fan of Taylor, but that is indeed a nice looking git. If it's what you want, plays and sounds just as you like, then go for it.

[OldGuitarPlayer]

I have had a Taylor 114 no pickup model for over a year now and I love it! They certainly defy the "Taylor brightness" mojo and really have a nice even balanced tone especially with a set of PB strings on it. I also love the playabilty and volume of mine...to me they are not "beginner" guitars. I have had no problems with mine at all and the neck has remained perfect without need for adjustments and I use .013-.056 strings on it! Overall I'd have to say they are sturdy and well built instruments

[masterbuilt]

I almost bought a 214, but, I opted for a Masterbilt. Too many guitars and other instruments anyway...

[kwakatak]

Ah yes, the siren's song of the Taylor Grand Auditorium. That particular model started me on my last major GAS attack, but the price had me looking around and I ended up with a slightly smaller Larrivee OM-03R. I don't regret it at all.

 

BTW - $800 though? That's gotta be a used guitar, and even then that's damned low. IIRC the lowly 314 (no CE) goes for $1000 on the used market - or was it new? Regardless, I'd take a closer look at it and see if you Beauty is not a Beast.

[bigald18]

Ramen noodles taste pretty good! Buy the Taylor! You only live once, so enjoy it.

 

bigald18

[Krash]

Just buy it! Worry about how to pay for it later.

 

It's the American way.

[Broadus]

Ah yes, the siren's song of the Taylor Grand Auditorium. That particular model started me on my last major GAS attack, but the price had me looking around and I ended up with a slightly smaller Larrivee OM-03R. I don't regret it at all. BTW - $800 though? That's gotta be a used guitar, and even then that's damned low. IIRC the lowly 314 (no CE) goes for $1000 on the used market - or was it new? Regardless, I'd take a closer look at it and see if you Beauty is not a Beast.

 

Neil, that's what Musician's Friend sells it for, and their guitar prices are not really all that outstanding as far as my bit of comparing has shown.

 

I was looking seriously at a Taylor GA3 (used to be called a "314" but is the 314ce without the "c" and "e." I found it online from a highly-regarded dealer for under $850. Of course, I ended up with the Larrivee L-03R with a Baggs iBeam active system installed. Neil, I wonder how many folks start GASing for a Taylor and end up with a Larrivee. Some may have gone the other way, too.

 

Liko, check with Jim at Guitar Rodeo. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at his price.

 

Best,

Bill

[Broadus]

Just buy it! Worry about how to pay for it later. It's the American way.

 

With tongue firmly planted in cheek.

 

Bill

[Krash]

Hey, that's how the government works, isn't it?

[kwakatak]

I was looking seriously at a Taylor GA3 (used to be called a "314" but is the 314ce without the "c" and "e." I found it online from a highly-regarded dealer for under $850. Of course, I ended up with the Larrivee L-03R with a Baggs iBeam active system installed. Neil, I wonder how many folks start GASing for a Taylor and end up with a Larrivee. Some may have gone the other way, too.

 

Well, once upon a time Larrivees were cheaper and Taylors sounded different. Now prices have gone up on Larrivees and Taylors have been "revoiced" changing the equation slightly. I personally still give the nod to Larrivee but Taylors are beginning to grow on me. I'm not likely to buy one though; I'm going the other direction and leaning toward a Martin.

[Broadus]

So many good brands and models available today. I enjoy the sound of every well-made guitar I've heard.

 

I'll be surprised if I don't take another close look at a Martin OM-21 one day.

 

Bill

[plurabelle]

i highly recomend this guitar. ive been scrambling trying to figure out how to come up with $1200 to buy a used 414ce WITH KOA BACK AND SIDES if you find a good deal on a good taylor i say go for it!!

[happy-man]

My #1 is a Taylor 110. I was looking for a guitar around $500 when I got it. I got mine new on eBay for $460 including shipping. The 100-200 series is unlike Taylor's other guitars - and I very much like them. If something ever happened to my 110, I would immediately be looking for a used 110,114,210 or 214. If you are patient, and can handle the eBay risk, there are deals that come along. If not - save up!

 

Scott O

[larry50]

[guit30]

Agree, the new loend Taylors are better, That Taylor 114ce at the top for $799 is the right price with a gig bag, I would just get a 114, $599

JIm

[liko]

 

Agree, the new loend Taylors are better, That Taylor 114ce at the top for $799 is the right price with a gig bag, I would just get a 114, $599 JIm

 

 

Yeah, well I probably would too, but if I get a new guitar at all it'll be to plug in for added support (I have bad experiences with guitar mikes unless I'm sitting). I have not yet found a guitar less than this where the unplugged sound, build quality, balance (Martin CX anyone? They actually weren't too bad till they started using Formica for the body), or pickup sound is seriously lacking. Now, I've heard of L'Arrivee, but have not had the chance to sample. Breedlove's pretty good (they have a $400 MIK dread that absolutely blows away everything within $100), but by the time you get to AEs you're spending as much as I would for the Taylor anyway. Parkwood, again, not terrible, but a good AE will be comparably priced; in fact, Parkwood's cutaway GC is $100 more than the 114CE. Martin doesn't start comparing to the Taylor when plugged in until you're at the $1200 mark IMO, and their comparably-priced AEs sound quite thin plugged in compared to the 114.

[Samilyn]

Very pretty git, but Taylors are just too bright for me. Have played a few and have been underwhelmed. Always walked away from them thinking "meh"

[liko]

 

Very pretty git, but Taylors are just too bright for me. Have played a few and have been underwhelmed. Always walked away from them thinking "meh"

 

 

I was surprised; this one's pretty deep. It has a slightly bulged back, and of course it's a Grand, so there's a lot of resonating space there. As far as output, it made a bigger sound than anything else in the room, and a lot of that was a pretty deep fundamental. You might want to give them a second look; others here have said the newer and lower-end Taylors (Taylor doesn't make a "cheap" guitar with the possible exception of the Big Baby) have a different, deeper voicing.

[NEWYORK]

1. Taylors are too bright a sounding guitar hence their reputation as being ostensibly for the tonally impaired.

 

2. It has a cutaway which means that you are breaking from a long standing

tradition of guitars with a proud lineage in favour of a gimmicky fad.

 

3. You will inevitably be seduced to an electric guitar before long and hence the dark side will have claimed another for it's own.

[guit30]

I found a local store,that a friend of mine goes to, with a brand new 03 214, which means that it is all solid wood, I asked him to check the price for me, he can get good prices, he has bought 8 electrics there this year

Jim

[liko]

1. Taylors are too bright a sounding guitar hence their reputation as being ostensibly for the tonally impaired. 2. It has a cutaway which means that you are breaking from a long standing tradition of guitars with a proud lineage in favour of a gimmicky fad. 3. You will inevitably be seduced to an electric guitar before long and hence the dark side will have claimed another for it's own.

 

1. Which is of course why they have production guitars costing $6k, which no "tonally impaired" person would ever be able to afford. Surely one's ear would develop a taste for "real" guitar tone before they have the means to spend on such a monstrosity. Apparently you have not yet read that I compared this $800 guitar to everything else within $100 and many more expensive models, and it has more substance and fundamental tone than Martins costing double. Taylor is breaking out of the mold, at least in a few of their models.

 

2. Which is of course why this "gimmicky fad" has only been around for, oh, about twice as long as I've been alive They do make a non-cutaway version (114e) but there's nothing wrong with the cutaway; I'd probably pay more to not have it because the store would need to special-order it.

 

3. Oh, I've already been well-indoctrinated in the dark side; I started out playing electric bass , and I have an SG and a Strat in addition to the acoustic I already have. What I want is to leave those at home when I play my church gigs; I've gotten a lot of compliments when I use my Strat, but many of them are kind of backhanded: "When I watched you pick up that electric guitar I thought I was going to be blown out of the church, but it was actually very nice" Though I do have an acoustic, it's a laminate-top cardboard box that I got for free with 10 sets of strings, and I have had bad experiences miking an acoustic; you basically can't move at all. That's why I'm so excited about this Taylor; not only does it have a nice DEEP sound unplugged, it retains its tone through an amp which I have not been able to do with any other make yet.