Taylor 814Bce
Limited Edition Grand Auditorium-Sized Acoustic-Electric
by Emile Menasché
October 19, 2000
Summing it Up
Top-quality guitars are expected from Taylor, but that doesn't mean we should take them for granted. The 814Bce Limited Edition has it all: great sound, versatile electronics, almost effortless playability, and understated yet elegant looks. At US $3,936 it ain't cheap, but this example of peak execution of great design is a value at any price.
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Let's start with the bad news: The 814Bce will put a hole in your pocketbook. If you're not prepared to pony up three-plus grand, my advice is to avoid this guitar at all costs -- just a few moments with the instrument will have you cooking your budget like a congressman. The 814Bce is simply that good.
Like most Taylor series, the 800 (rosewood) line includes six instruments, including cutaway and non-cutaway Dreadnoughts, a non-cutaway version of the 814, a Jumbo, and the small, cutaway and non-cutaway Grand Concert. The cutaway Grand Auditorium size has always been one of my favorites because of its versatility -- it responds to a light touch but can handle a moderately heavy one. Plus, it is comfortable to hold, and allows excellent access to the upper frets. My only quibble with the test model was the position of the strap button, which sometimes hit my lower thumb when I reached for the high notes.
Construction
The Limited Edition mates an Engelmann spruce top to Brazilian rosewood back and sides and a mahogany bolt-on neck. A distinctive custom inlay on the back, along with the diamond-shaped pearl inlay and abalone rosette, add tasteful visual highlights without making the guitar seem like a fancy "show pony."
More important than looks, this combination of woods produces a vibrant, dynamic, and balanced sound. If you think other Taylors sound a little bright, you may find this model's more traditional tone to your liking. But the sustain, projection, and abundance of overtones are all Taylor: The 814Bce fills the room, and notes hang in the air in a way that especially enhances fingerstyle and single-note playing. The 814Bce's big, open sound belies the fact that this is a cutaway instrument -- I never found myself wishing for "missing" tone.
The playing surface lets you take full advantage of the sound. The neck's dimensions are wide enough for comfortable string separation but never taxing on the hands. Its shape -- and the velvet-smooth fretwork -- demonstrate that instruments of this caliber can actually help you play better. The combination of fast action, excellent sustain, and complex tone makes this guitar a standout platform for lead playing -- you can play fast and hard, and expressive techniques like sliding, bending, and harmonics work beautifully. It's like having a whole extra dimension of sound to work with.
Electronics
The Fishman Prefix Onboard Blender preamp is a hybrid system that combines a bridge-mounted Acoustic Matrix piezo pickup with an internal mini-microphone. The sound is much more natural than that of a piezo alone -- close to that of well-placed outboard microphones, but without the hassle. You can control the balance between the pickup and the mic to get an impressive array of tonal colors.
A three-band EQ (plus feedback-killing notch filter and phase switch) completes the package. The semi-parametric "contour" band lets you boost and cut selected frequencies between 250Hz to 10kHz. I especially liked the way the high band let me dial in detail without making the sound shrill. No guitar-mounted pickup system will capture the full dimension of the 814's room-filling overtones, but the Prefix does an exceptional job of translating its core tone. This is an ideal system for live performance.
Sonic Preview
These examples were recorded direct to disk without outboard EQ or compression. For flavor, we added some outboard reverb.
Vital Stats
| Price: |
US $3,936 (Taylor hardshell case included) |
| Back and Sides: |
Brazilian Rosewood |
| Top: |
Englemann Spruce |
| Neck: |
Mahogany |
| Fingerboard: |
Ebony; 25.25"-scale |
| Frets |
20 |
| Bridge: |
Ebony with Tusq saddle |
| Nut: |
Tusq |
| Hardware: |
Gold-plated Grover machines |
| Fishman Prefix Preamp: |
FishmanAcoustic Matrix pickup and preamp-mounted internal microphone |
| Controls: |
Volume
Blend
EQ: Bass, Contour (semi-parametric EQ), Treble
Notch filter; phase switch |
| Power: 9v battery |
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| Contact: |
www.taylorguitars.com
(619) 258-6957 |
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