Taylor 814ce?

[SteinbergerHack]

I am looking at purchasing a used 814ce later today - a newer one with the V-bracing. The price seems OK for a used example, but I find myself wondering why someone might have let this instrument go. It sounds great and plays very nicely, and was my second choice after playing a couple of dozen instruments at multiple shops (the first choice is just too much $$$).

SO:

1) Any ideas why someone might buy this sort of instrument and then let it go after less than 2 years?

2) Is there anything that I should be wary of or give extra inspection to for this model? I didn't see any visible defects or damage, but want to know if these have any common defects or known problems to check for and/or avoid.

Thanks in advance!

[Chris Loeffler]

I have one. 🙂

 

My guess is the instrument was sold for the simple reason that it represented a sizable amount of cash to the owner at a time when they needed it.

 

With two little ones (and one big one), mine sits in a case and doesn't get played nearly as much as I'd like. I don't want it damaged, and when it comes time to play in any space but the studio I grab one of my beaters out of convenience. If I found myself in a tough spot, I could see looking at it as a quick way to get a meaningful financial infusion. 

 

I've also heard mention of people buying instruments from retailers at 0% interest terms and selling them immediately because it's a cheaper, longer term cash loan (even with the hit to value) than a high-interest credit card.

 

I'm not aware of any issues with the guitar you are speaking of, and think highly of Taylor's quality control (said as someone who was a guitar buyer for Musician's Friend in the late-00's".

[Idunno]

Sure. People who think a big name and expensive in a single sentence equate to quality in workmanship and sound are people who do not possess the playing and aural skills to judge a guitar. So, they weigh their decisions on forum-speak. And/Or,  they buy sight unseen with high hopes of bagging a trophy but get a hyena.

Look at the ads and notice all the used high end stuff out there that can be found in frequent forum discussions getting vaunted and lauded. People actually take that chatter seriously and buy based upon it. Much of it is simply parroted by people who, if I were a betting man, probably have never touched the stuff they hawk or even have the skills requisite to properly sampling such instruments. They just want to earn a place within the ranks of a forum camaraderie and pay the propaganda forward.  It's been that way since I started reading these various forums in the way back.That's where the hype meets its match in personal disappointment and good guitars are tossed, almost literally, onto the market at prices that fetch quick sales and the end of the suffering.

Then of course, there's the purchase that could not be afforded but went down anyway. The buyer has to sell for financial reasons and loses his shirt and pride.

[gitnoob]

I sell really good guitars all the time.   Why?   Because I have too many of them.

[SteinbergerHack]

Well, I pulled the trigger and got two guitars yesterday - the 814ce and an Ovation Standard Elite 12-string.  These should be nice additions to the collection, and I don't intend to let go of either of them any time soon!