Taylor 414ce Grand Auditorium - Cutaway, Electronics, Natural Reviews

This is the greatest guitar I've ever owned. Fit and finish were impeccable. The physical balance of these instruments is legendary; they are just built to sit right against you, and the neck feels flawless to my medium-sized hands. The bound fingerboard is a nice touch, and the Ovangkol I got was highly figured. Just gorgeous. I've played out with the Taylor expression system for about three years now and get excellent feedback from fans and sound engineers about how it sounds FOH. I have since bought two other guitars from another manufacturer, one OM and one dreadnaught...and now the Taylor rarely leaves it's climate-controlled case (well, once a week). See, it bridges between a small box and big box sound well; but it doesn't really do either as well as a dedicated guitar, even guitars costing less, in my opinion. My other guitars are solid spruce topped with solid Mahogany backs and sides, and maybe I'm just more of a Mahogany guy. But I reach for the Taylor less than I used to, just because it sounds...a little thinner to my ear. It's apples and oranges, so I guess until I try a mahogany/spruce Taylor I can't read too much into this. So the reason I'm writing the review is this: if you can only afford one nice guitar, don't hesitate to make it the Taylor 414ce. If you could buy more than one, you may want to keep listening and searching. I recommend this guitar to others all the time.

A year ago I would've never dreamed of buying a guitar online...but desperate times call for desperate measures. I was scheduled for an acoustic radio tour when my main stay acoustic developed a nasty fret buzz immediately before the tour commenced. With no time to have repairs made, my back was against the wall. Sweetwater to the rescue! I ordered a Taylor 414ce Grand Auditorium late Tuesday night and it arrived Thursday afternoon and was being played live on the air Friday morning! Not only was the guitar very reasonably priced, but the Sweetwater techs had it set up so well with the standard 55-point check, that I can honestly say, it's the best playing guitar I own! I will never again fear buying a guitar online (as long as it's from Sweetwater!) Thank you Mac Hatton and the Sweetwater crew for pulling my hind end out of the fire!

Having wanted a Taylor guitar for some time, I finally made the move! After considerable research, I decided on a 414ce, which I considered a mid-range Taylor: my goal was to buy the best Taylor I could get for what I could afford. I must admit I was hesitant to purchase a $2000 guitar without playing it first, but where I live, the availability of quality guitars is challenging. A buddy of mine suggested Sweetwater, as they were easy to work with and had a great interest free promotion. I checked it out and contacted my sales agent. My Sweetwater sales agent did a great job of making me feel comfortable with the idea of purchasing over the internet: assuring me if I wasn't happy I would be well taken care of. And the ability to view my guitar from different angles, and compare it with others of the same model, made me feel like I had a hand in selecting an instrument that was personal to me. I have to say that the experience of receiving my guitar was really great! I ordered the guitar one morning, and the next day it was at my door! It came in impeccable shape. I restrained from playing it till it acclimated, but thoroughly examined it. It was cool to see the same identifying marks and patterns in the wood I had seen online. When I finally played it I knew I'd made the right choice. The beauty, tone and volume of the sound, the ease of play, and the quality of the finish and workmanship, all assured me I had purchased a quality instrument that would give me years of enjoyment. It may sound funny, but it really felt like "my" guitar, something which had been made just for me. I've had the guitar for several weeks now, and am still getting to know her better every day. And to make it even sweeter, shortly after I received the guitar, I had the opportunity to visit the factory in El Cajon, where my beauty was "born". What a great experience! Taking the tour allowed me to see first hand the quality and attention to detail that = Taylor. It was cool thinking that just a few months ago my guitar had moved down the same lines, and passed through the same hands, until it ended up in mine! I must admit I bought my share of Taylor gear (why not!). And met lots of other happy Taylor owners and players. And and as a special bonus, I spent about two hours after the tour playing numerous Taylors on display. Played all sorts of styles and models, but my favorites were the E3 and E5 hollow body electrics. Nobody around here stocks them, so I'd never played one. Wow! I know what just moved to the top of my "wish list"! My biggest problem: do I want the T3 or the T5?!?! Oh well, I'll pass the time playing my 414 while I make up my mind! Anyway, do I love my new Taylor? I think you can tell the answer is HE!! Ya!!!!

Right out of the box (after 2 agonizing hours to let it acclimate from the cold UPS truck). this guitar played like a dream. I only had to tweek the tune up a little to get it singing great. This has a fantastic sound and I will enjoy this guitar for years to come.

To start of I'd like to comment on Sweetwater by saying they are an excellent company and I was very happy with the service I received. I originally bought a Martin Gpcpa4 Sapele original. The guitar sounded fine and looked great. But I wasn't totally satisfied, especially with the dry acoustic sound of it. Anyway after extensive research I decided to return it and look into taylor. My sales engineer Alan really helped me find the right guitar and I have to say I am very happy with this guitar. The balance is almost perfect, just enough bass real nice treble, a little lacking in the mid-range but It really doesn't matte to me. The guitar is really loud un-plugged and plugged in the ES does fine for me(I play guitar In church) cuts through nice and really is a joy to play. Go ahead and buy one!

The Taylor 414ce is amazing. I’ve been playing the guitar for a little over a year now and had a standard fender acoustic. I got this guitar for Christmas and fell in love right away. It’s easy to play and easy on your fingers. The sound is very full and rich and will fill most rooms with a beautiful sound. The customer service with Sweetwater is also amazing so buy this guitar here!

Wow, what a fantastic guitar! I purchased mine back in August and it's a wonderful instrument. It sounds great, plays great, and just...is great!

The guitar is very comfortable and just sounds "full." Excellent instrument at all price points!

I have had mine for a while now. Ordered it from Sweetwater and specified I had been playing on electrics for over 30 years. Was still playing my first acoustic. I had never purchased a guitar sight un-seen or un-played but took a leap of faith. When I received my 414ce and played it for the first time, I was completely blown away. The tone and the setup exceeded my expectations.

The Sound! It sounds like a real guitar, nothing "want to be" about it. The sound is so full. I don't know what else to say.

This guitar exceeded my expectations. I have a high end Martin and I was looking for something as more of a knock-around guitar. But frankly, I haven't pulled the Martin out since I got my hands on the 414CE. I am using this to lead worship at my church, and I am just loving the sound, the versatility, and the playability.

I've had this guitar for 2 weeks now. I mainly use it for recording. What a beautifully clean and crisp sound. Love it

Sounds and plays better than higher end guitars.Not as much of the extra cosmetic trim offered by the competition for the same money, but a wonderful sounding guitar with better sound than competetors.Also phrosper bronze strings bring this model to life. I love mine it is the best I have ever played.

I got this the other day from sweet water. they gave me a good deal and it got to my house in 3 days...the sound is real great the mids and highs are very bright unpluged...pluged in the es system is awesome. i do like a lil more outta the lows but its new im sure after a lil while it will get a little more bass to it...great for picking and light struming. Im a taylor guy always have been and always will be. this is my third taylor i have a 110 and a 315ce and i have to say i thnk this might be the last guitar i'll need (for a while any way).. oh and the wood look so awesome just as every talor 400 and up it gives it a very bright sound....and buy it from sweet water there great...

I have been playing professionally for 31 years, and I also own a very nice project studio. I also own a Martin HD 35 Herringbone, which is a lovely instrument, but I find myself playing my Taylor 414ce as my primary guitar for recording, and live shows most of the time.. I played the most expensive Taylor I could find in Guitar Center the other day and besides all the beautiful trim, and inlays,, and such, it sounded no better than my 414ce, and it was a chillingly beautiful sounding Guitar.
Now, I have own a Gibson J-160, a Guild, a Alverez Yari, A Takamine and a Tacoma, and several other in between, but there is nothing like my Taylor 414ce, and my Martin D 35. The two best guitars I have owned and recorded with in over 30 years. I would pay twice the price for a 414ce. It is well worth it!

A supprisingly poor effort from Taylor. The sound is bloated and sluggish. Definitely not the money

I've owned my 414 for about a year and I continue to be amazed at the sound it generates. Clean and crisp- but not harsh; pleasant to the ear bone. The Expression System can be very tricky; be careful going through a system as opposed to a regular amp. The guitar can be tough to balance through a system; have the soundboard guru keep the volume tacked to no more than 1/2 way while adjusting the sound on the Expression System. If balanced properly, you'll be brought to tears over the amazing sound of amplified ovankol. I'm hooked!!

This is a wonderful Acoustic. The notes are very articulated and even, records very well, and good for finger picking and strumming alike. The onboard expression system really is fantastic, I am amazed at how natural the pickup sound is in the studio, really sounds like a mic'd guitar rather then a farty pickup. Live, it may not be the best as sometimes a bright and tinny guitar sound, sounds like its cutting through better, but combining 2 mics with the onboard expression system yeilds such a wonderful recorded sound. It doesn't have a really big bottom end though, so just keep that in mind, but its nice and even.