Members Babel2 Posted February 21, 2006 Members Share Posted February 21, 2006 I'm thinking about ordering a taylor 414 CE limited edition (rosewood) I live in a rural area and theres no way I can drop down the road and try it out I play a lot of styles and am mostly an electric player. I play my accoustic with a heavy pick but also fingerpick etc Styles are rootsy blues (john Lee Hooker, Black keys), folk, jazz and pop. A cross between Hendrix, Jack Johnson, John lee hooker, Chilli peppers and Joe pass is a reasonable description. Tried a Taylor 310ce and 314ce recently and liked them a lot but they didn't quite push me over the edge. I probably would have gone the 310 of those two but I still liked the 314. Always thought I'd get a dreadnought butapparently the rosewood will give this model more bass than the 314 I tried. I certainly want a lively top end and not too boomy but I also want a full, smooth sound. Going to do a lot of recording with it (with nice mics) Any advice - is it a good idea/ bad idea etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DenverDave Posted February 21, 2006 Members Share Posted February 21, 2006 I you are really after the rootsy blues tone, steer away from Taylors - that is not what they do well. This is not a slam on Taylors, but for that tone you will do much better looking at a Martin, Gibson, or Guild. Many of the style you named are bass heavy styles, and Taylors are not bass heavy guitars - even the rosewood models. That is not their design... I'm not sure what budget you have for the guitar, but I would seriously investigate what Martin or Gibson has in the same price range. For what you are after I think you will be happier elsewhere. Taylors do pop, folk and jazz pretty well. But they are more smooth sounding - for blues and roots stuff you need a bit more grit and grind - more Martin - ish tones. And the Martin/Gibsons do all of the above... Please note - I own none of the above brands, so i have no axe to grind...just my 2 cents worth..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jackwr Posted February 21, 2006 Members Share Posted February 21, 2006 Can't always trust sound clips but Larrivee makes a great guitar, and there are links to some clips on that forum. My 00 got a lot of sound for a small body. It's very balanced.www.larriveeforum.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Babel2 Posted February 21, 2006 Author Members Share Posted February 21, 2006 Thanks DenverDave. I have to say every time I have played a Taylor I have liked it. I once had a chance to try a martin along side Taylors and prefered the Taylor. Might just have been the wrong model but thats still the impression I got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Babel2 Posted February 22, 2006 Author Members Share Posted February 22, 2006 One shop has offered me a great deal on the Taylor 414 CE ltd edition thats pretty much too good to pass up. I know that everyone says these guitars are not very good when you lay into them but I am soo tempted to go there anyway. the x14s I have tried certainly didn't repel me when I strummed them. I used to go for a deep warm tone but 6 years ago I deliberately bought a very crappy, nasally sounding Ibanez acc (I was teaching in a high school and didn't want to be heartbroken if something happened to it). 6 years later teaching privately on this guitar day in day out and my perception of tone leans towards sparkly high end and clarity over mellowness. I did some recording with a friend's old Maton (I'm Australian). Lovely guitar to play and jam on!! - but way too woofy to record well. Also on the rootsy note - while I'm into these styles a lot I'm happy to go with my own personal sound with them. I'm pretty sure the choice comes down to a Taylor x10 or x14 guitar. I'd ideally go with the 410CE ldt ed but through a different shop it will cost me $700 more than the 414 ltd ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Andrewrg Posted February 22, 2006 Members Share Posted February 22, 2006 I had a 314 for a while and it was a spectacular sounding guitar for a"low end"model.What made me part with it was the irritating swishy noise the satin back and sides made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Babel2 Posted February 22, 2006 Author Members Share Posted February 22, 2006 Originally posted by Andrewrg I had a 314 for a while and it was a spectacular sounding guitar for a"low end"model.What made me part with it was the irritating swishy noise the satin back and sides made. Would you say it had a 'shallow' tone when it came to strumming out pop songs? Thats my biggest fear with the 414 compared to the dreadnought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Andrewrg Posted February 22, 2006 Members Share Posted February 22, 2006 Not at all,I found it very forgiving and harmonically rich.Admittedly it wont have the volume or"punch"of a dread,but for laid-back,not too aggressive strumming,it worked just fine.It really came into its own played fingerstyle and was very happy with open tunings. For strumming,I found that using a fairly skinny pick brought out the best tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Babel2 Posted February 22, 2006 Author Members Share Posted February 22, 2006 It really came into its own played fingerstyle and was very happy with open tunings.For strumming,I found that using a fairly skinny pick brought out the best tone. Unfortunately I'm hooked on heavy picks (1.4 -2 mm) and 'skanking' is a big part of my playing. I wonder how the 414 will cope with me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Andrewrg Posted February 22, 2006 Members Share Posted February 22, 2006 Originally posted by Babel2 Unfortunately I'm hooked on heavy picks (1.4 -2 mm) and 'skanking' is a big part of my playing. I wonder how the 414 will cope with me? Seems like you would be happiest with a dread-loads of headroom when you dig in and no chance of"overdriving"it.The 314 didnt like fat picks-its tone wasnt robust enough to cope-hence my use of skinny picks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HOOMER Posted February 22, 2006 Members Share Posted February 22, 2006 If your looking to predominately record, electronics can make up alot for less money....Im not sugggesting to buy a chunker... get a decent guitar set up properly, and your recordings will be just fine.....if you like heavey low end, that may be one thing...highs another.....find one that does all ok..and tweak it in the studio..........just a thought... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members studyscoot Posted February 22, 2006 Members Share Posted February 22, 2006 Babel, I imagine Taylors are very scarce out of the states, so hopefully a little advice is helpful to you. From your responses thus far, it looks like you know and like the sound of taylors, with the main question revolving around the best body style you should get for the sound that you are trying to achieve. I own a couple of taylors, and my advice based on what you have already stated is to go with the standard ovangkol on the 414, as opposed to the rosewood on the limited. Suprisingly, the bass response in the ovangkol is similar to what you would get in rosewood, if not even a meatier sound. I've played several limited 414s with rosewood, and they didn't impress me as much as the ovangkol did. The standard model will also be less expensive. Also, if you are looking for the most headroom in this guitar, get the non-cutaway model without ES. The added body gives a little more sound in my opinion. There should also be more of these standard models available, and if not, they should be much easier to order. Also, if you get one that was made after 2/1 of this year, it will have forward-shifted bracing that gives it a more balanced sound. The 414 is very much unlike the 314 in terms of sound. The mahogany on the 314 model is the lower grade stuff, and it usually shows through in the sound when compared to higher taylor models. The 414 is a much more complex sounding instrument in my view. I would also stay away from the ES, as you don't live near a taylor dealer and the failure rates are quite high on this system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members studyscoot Posted February 22, 2006 Members Share Posted February 22, 2006 Sorry, I forgot to add that the 14 body style is the way to go with Taylors. The taylor dreds don't really have much more bass response and seem to me to be a little off balance. Some are nice though, but the 14 body style is where Taylor really hits the mark. If you're still considering both, go for the 14. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DonK Posted February 22, 2006 Members Share Posted February 22, 2006 I'm on my third 414 (because I like them so much), and my current one is a 414ce Ltd. w/ rosewood sides and back, spruce top, ebony fingerboard and bridge. My previous two had sapele backs and sides. The new 414 doesn't have the bound fingerboard the prevoius two had, which I miss. Other than that, it's a good looking guitar that plays like a dream. It will hold its own under heavy strumming with the stock light strings. I use a heavy 2mm Wegen mandolin pick (when I use one on acoustic; I play with just fingers 60% of the time.). I had a Taylor 410ce Ltd with imbuia back and sides, spruce top. It was definitely louder than the 414, but was voiced similarly. The 414 is definitely not a bluegrass machine, but neither is the 410, at least not compared to a dreadnought Martin. For whatever reason, I find that Taylor auditorium models in a given line (say the 4 series for example) sound remarkably similar to dreadnoughts from the same line, though not as loud. I don't find this to be the case with Martin's. I owned a 000-28 and D-28 simultaneously, and they sounded very different. The 000-28 was not much of a strummer, but was awesome for fingerpicking blues and country. Hope you find the Taylor you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Babel2 Posted February 22, 2006 Author Members Share Posted February 22, 2006 Thanks everyone - I've gone and ordered the 414 ltd in the end I'll have to wait and see how it suits me. studyscoot and DonK make me feel a little better about the decision. Its making me consider my whole style a lot more closely than usual - I definitely like to lay into the strings a bit + love that sound.If all else fails I'll post the gtr back and probably end up getting a 310CE. Being an electric player and after having an accoustic without a cutaway for so long (especially when teaching) the cutaway is definately a priority for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t60 fan Posted February 22, 2006 Members Share Posted February 22, 2006 Let us know all about it when you get it. I'm sure you'll love it. As for the ES, mine works flawlessly and is so simple - 3 knobs. I looked at the 2004 414 CE L7, and I liked it very much. It just so happened that right beside it was the Blackwood that now sits in my bedroom, otherwise I might have bought the 414.Best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Babel2 Posted February 24, 2006 Author Members Share Posted February 24, 2006 So I currently have the 414 to try... Its an absolutely gorgeous guitar!! I love it but I've been recording it and comparing it to 2 other decent guitars I've recorded. The tone is beutiful - theres certainly pleanty of bass but its very loose when recorded. The only real problem is when I'm strumming it sounds too 'light'. It has a very shimmery sound which is nice but the articulation and percussiveness is mostly lost. It still sounds very good but I guess I need to go for the dreadnought. I'm thinking the 410ce over the 310 ... or should I try to find a 410 ltd ed Do many people agree with studyscoot obout ovangkol being the better choice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 58flame Posted February 24, 2006 Members Share Posted February 24, 2006 The 14 series aren't exactly "lay into it" kind of guitars. IMO, they are much more suited for fingerstyle. Blues to me is a much darker guitar like a J-45 or an AJ. But, evreybody's different, and you may find you dig the shimmer sound of a Taylor 14 body. Anyway, good luck with it, as Taylors are nice guitars that do their thing really well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Babel2 Posted February 24, 2006 Author Members Share Posted February 24, 2006 played a lot with mic placement and can get a great even tone recorded. still got to work out if I like its percussive sound when hit hard though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Babel2 Posted March 16, 2006 Author Members Share Posted March 16, 2006 So I sent the 414 back a while ago, bit the bullet and drove to the gold coast to try guitars. I was still pretty stupid about it - didn't give myself enough time to check out lots of stores etc. in one shop I tried a Taylor 310 - not too bad - not much body at all, a 410 ltd ed - better, and a 510. The 510 had infinitely more body but it had normal bronze type strings on it while the others had Elexirs. The 510 was the ultimate fat acc gtr sound to me but not quite my taste. went to another shop and tried a normal 410, a 410 ltd ed and a 510. this time the 510 had elixirs and wasn't very impressive at all. The 410 had gungy old bronze strings on it and had a LOT more punch and body than the 410 ltd ed. After A/Bing them for a while I got the guy to put Elixirs on the 410. Instantly they were like peas in a pod - very similar but the ltd ed had a more mellow bassey tone while the normal 410 had less bass but more presence. The first store had 1 mid range Martin that I couldn't stand at all!! No top end at all - just bass. the shop decided to put new strings on it but there was only a 1% improvement. The second store had a $4900 ($AU) Martin reduced from $6900. WOW!! thats the first Martin that I have really liked but damn!! Out of my price range so I didn't spend a lot of time with it (don't even know the model No.) - It had the top end of the Taylors, - very similar tonal range to the 410 ltd ed, but so much complexity. It was like tasting a very fine red wine. Also tried a couple of Cole Clarks and a nice Maton. Can't stand Cole Clarkes personally. The Maton was very nice but I ended up buying the 410 ltd edition. Definitely the best guitar I've heard in the pricerange (for my style). That Martin is the only thing putting a damper on the Taylor - now I've heard what the higher end of the market can sound like... Still the 410 is a very beautiful guitar. I think it will suit my needs more than the gorgeous martin anyway. I need a workhorse that I can use anywhere etc. Meant to try some guilds and Gibsons but didn't get the chance ... oh well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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