Taylor K14ce Builder's Edition Review

Exceeded all expectations

I've bought and returned 5 guitars this year until this one. Its truly one of a kind. I swear by Taylor, this is my third and the most high end of the three. I love them all for different reasons but you can tell this is the one I spent the most money on. Its only been a few weeks and by playing daily the tone had already started to settle in nicely and I know it will only get better… read more over time. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely. P.S. Bart is always helpful and a great dude.

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Amazing intonation!

I've had this my K14ce for about 2 years now. Hands down the most comfortable, warmest guitar I've ever played. It can be in the case for a month and come out perfectly in tune every single time. I have a Taylor shop look after it and they're quite happy with it as am I. If all of my guitars are lost to a hurricane, flood, tornado, etc...this will be the one I save! My only worry… read more is my wife figuring out what the Sweetwater stickers mean!!!

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Impeccable!

Hands down the Best Acoustic I have ever played. I've owned a few Taylor's and I wondered if this price was really worth the upgrade from a 500 and 600 series. I can't find anything negative to say, it's perfect, almost too perfect. All my others, I have to say, now, feel like I am 'fighting' to play them in comparison. The feel, the sustain, the intonation,and the tone are all… read more just flawless. The ES2 is a bit different than the old Fishman systems on my older models but it sounds Great plugged in as well. Sweetwater is the ONLY company I would have trusted with this purchase and they had it to me in 2 days, as usual, and wrapped up nice. Oh forgot to mention the visuals, It's Gorgeous! The builders at Taylor take pride in what they are doing and it shows. The wood, finish and embellishments are just STUNNING!!

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Ten months now...

I'd never spent that much money on a guitar before without playing it first. Heck, I'd never spent that much on any guitar, period. Where I live, one would have to drive about ten hours to have a chance to play one. So, I read the reviews on the Sweetwater site and thought all these guitar players can't be wrong. I also talked to Manny from one of the Taylor groups and he said sometimes… read more the KOA wood sound at first takes some time to get use to, but as she ages, she opens up and is nothing short of fantastic. Just another tool for your arsenal, he said. So a little over ten months ago I ordered one. She is beautiful but after playing her I really wasn't a big fan of the KOA wood. I like it but, nothing beats Spruce wood I thought. But now... this guitar has opened up and it now blows me away. The notes are so sweet and rich at times it almost makes you cry. Many thank to Kenneth Lindsey from Sweetwater who has help me for the last couple of years and kudos to the Sweetwater team. Haven't found any better helpers out there.

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Different but stunning in its own right

Most of what follows has already been said by various posters, but perhaps this will be useful to pull some of the threads together. I've owned about 40 guitars in my lifetime, from most of the best manufacturers. As acoustics go, this is the most beautiful. Flawless craftsmanship. Gorgeous to look at from every angle and side, extraordinary and beautiful tonewoods, sumptuous and… read more original appointments, and a sublime satin finish. It is simultaneously understated and arresting to view. I confess that it has taken me some time to fall in love with the sound. My preferred acoustic for the past five years has been a Guild D55, which is a big, booming rosewood/spruce dreadnought. I have some OOOs and OMs, but I gravitate to the Guild. The tone in this Taylor is quite different, most notably the absence of deep, airy, and penetrating bass registers. So if you've been raised on dreadnoughts, be prepared for a significant departure. I started to fall in love when I began to crane my ear closer to the soundhole as I played, particularly on single note runs. Struck by the otherworldly sustain and overtones, I began taking the guitar into my tile bathroom where more sound would be reflected back to me. Sounds odd but it really showcased the physics and harmonics at work. Since then, I've started listening differently, and I now hear things I didn't at the beginning of ownership. That has been a unique experience for me, as most guitars seem to follow a somewhat traditional sound profile. As others have noted, it's not a guitar for everyone, and so a good test drive, preferably in a quiet room, is in order before purchase. As the one low-star rating here on Sweetwater complains, it's not going to hold its own in a multi-guitar ensemble (without amplification). Were I going to jam with friends, with some acoustic favorites from the Allman Brothers, the Dead, and CSN, I'd probably still take the dreadnought. But I'm going to hang onto this guitar, and treasure its uniqueness. Bravo, Taylor.

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