• Straight Shooter for the Modern Player with some Interesting Uses

  
  As reviewed by Daniel Kong on 9/3/2012

  I've owned this guitar for a few months now and I must say I am impressed. The sound is bright and clear. As a player you may find that the guitar sounds a little soft at times but it actually has pretty decent projection. Anyone in front of you will be impressed by how loud it can sound. That being said the Grand Auditorium is still a small body guitar shape that will be outclassed in terms of loudness by a dreadnought or say Taylor's Grand Symphony body shape. Bass response is also somewhat lacking but given the right acoustic conditions (ie where you are playing), the guitar won't sound overly trebly. When strumming you may also find that the guitar sounds a bit tinny, as with many Taylors. This usually isn't a problem but the sound is very apparent when recorded. Then again many people actually like this bright sound so it really comes down to personal preferences. The guitar excels when you strum open chords in standard tuning, producing a great big sound that will appeal to many modern players with tastes for pop music. However the guitar doesn't do that well strumming-wise when tuned to dropped and alternate tunings, with the bass strings tending to buzz rather easily or produce buzz when certain frets are fretted. However after much playing the guitar has broken in and has started to manage these tunings a lot better. I can now pull of some aggressive acoustic Modest Mouse riffs. The deep rumbling styles of acoustic Radiohead (watch their live @ le resevoir tape) also sound incredibly good. In fact the occasional buzz actually adds to the sound, making the guitar sound very raw and dirty in a good way. In these styles the bass is sufficiently expressed while the excellent mid to treble projection of the 314ce adds an extra dimension to the sound and makes the guitar sound fuller. For me, I found that the guitar really opens up with fingerstyle due to its excellent mid range response. Sun Kil Moon-inspired tunes sound like a dream on this guitar, producing an elegant sparkle that is rich and enticing. Here the alternate tunings really come alive and it becomes very apparent that the 314ce has a delicate, more subtle side to it that when tapped, will give you a wide sonic palette that perhaps you did not expect. When it comes to construction, Taylor produces some of the nicest playing guitars on the market. The neck is absolutely fantastic and its NT Neck design comes in handy when you need to make adjustments, adjustments that you will not need to make yourself given that Taylor gives you a lifetime warranty that covers repairs. The expression system is amazing, you won't hear any of that clunky piezo sound. Looks-wise the guitar is very clean and simple and the spruce ages beautifully. Sapele by nature doesn't produce very expressive wood patterns but it still looks (and smells) good. I consider myself pretty lucky as the back of my guitar had two beautiful book-matched pieces of Sapele that had two symmetrical "eyes" in the wood. My suggestion is to look at every available piece if you want a nice 314. Bear in mind that these are just cosmetic features. For the price it is a decent deal if you're buying a guitar in the States. I live overseas and I payed much more for mine from a local retailer. It makes much more financial sense to buy a 314 in the States than in where I live where I probably could have gone for some other options. Explore your options. In any case I found that the 314 for one outclasses the lower end of the Martin Performing Artist series line, at least their similar auditorium size Spruce/Sapele model.

  5 of 5 people found this review helpful.
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• beats martin gpcpa4

  
  As reviewed by Alex Barcic on 11/12/2012

  This Taylor is amazing. It beats it's competitor the martin gpcpa4 by far. The neck is a bit slimmer than the martin, so its easier to play on. Also, it feels like a guitar over one grand. The martin felt cheap, the expression system is also better than Martin's Fishman analog system. Overall, a great acoustic guitar.

  2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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• Sweet sounding guitar

  
  As reviewed by John Juliano on 12/31/2012

  I have an old Ovation 6 string for over 30 years and decided to upgrade to a higher end guitar I was going to spend $600.00 to $800.00 on a guitar but the guitars in that range would not have been an upgrade, they looked nice but played and sounded poor. The sales person then handed me the Taylor 314ce and I fell in love and then looked at the price, choked a little but it was too late. The guitar played smoothly and sounded great whether playing it softly and really jamming. Guitar center also fine tuned it before I bought the guitar and it was even better. It is a great sounding and a great playing guitar, I am defiantly not disappointed.

  1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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