Taylor 814ce-N - Natural Sitka Spruce Reviews

More I play it , the better I like it. The tone gets better as I refine my technique,

I've been playing, casually, for over forty years, started playing classical and stayed with classical guitars up until a few years ago when I switched to mostly steel sting. I had a Taylor 414CE-R that I played almost exclusively for two years until my old classical guitar started calling me. Long story short, I prefer the feel and dynamic range of nylon strings over steel, however the neck profile and easy access to the higher frets make the Taylor far more enjoyable to play than my traditional, Spanish-made classical guitar. When I started playing the 814CE-N, I quickly decided that would be the only guitar for me until I finally shuffle off this mortal coil; I sold my 414CE-R and my Manuel Contreras and never looked back.
The guitar is, I would say, understated and very elegant with the lovely maple bindings off-setting the rosewood sides; this guitar is not flashy, even the inlays are very restrained, it is simplistic beauty. The feel of the guitar is amazing, being a nylon string it feels much lighter than a steel string and the Grand Auditorium body almost melts into your lap. The sound is very hard to describe, and of course highly subjective and player-centric. I play finger style with a fairly light touch, the guitar's responsiveness is amazing. From the player's side of the experience, it is pure joy to play. On a side note, the service from Sweetwater is amazing! I ordered this guitar on a Friday afternoon and had it in my hands Saturday morning! Plus, they threw in the usual small bag of candy. Special shout out to my sales engineer, Cassie, great to work with.

First a shout out to Dustin Keesbury. Always available to guide me through all the products I buy from Sweetwater. I have owned this 814ceN for several months now and have literally become addicted to it. I had been working toward compleat finger style picking for a few years on my Taylor 416ce and wanted to move to a nylon. I have not hardly set it down. It hasn't been back in its case since I got it. Ditto everything thing else you see in the other ratings here. I will add that the Bose PA systems are a perfect match for reproducing their beautiful tone. Thanks again Dustin for your help with that. I will be calling soon as I have my eye on the new Taylor 814ce as well!

Lifting up the case lid for the first time I beheld a beautiful work of craftsmanship. The luthiers at Taylor sure know how to form a guitar to perfection. Cradled perfectly in it's red felt case I had to slowly ease it straight out. Beautiful finish, solid construction, masterfully made. Well, the real test was yet to be had. I pulled up a stool and readied the guitar for it's first (by me anyway) play - "Misty" in Eb. Right off I could tell I now owned an amazing guitar. The bass response went through my chest and the high end melody rang out pitch perfect, and oh so smooth. It was just what I wanted. The intonation at the upper registers are amazing. Remember this is a nylon string instrument and those who play traditional classical guitars know all to well that challenge. As you can tell I am very pleased with my Taylor 814cw-N. As of this writing I now have a good 80 hours on it and am enjoying it very much. Looking forward to 1000 hours and beyond. Time to put it back in the case for now (I love how it just squeaks in there...). Thanks also to Kevin at Sweetwater and the Sweetwater team for the guitar inspection, hassle free purchase and delivery.

Just received my guitar today, it's absolutely the smoothest classical I've ever played. Arrived in flawless condition thanks to the team at Sweetwater.
Couldn't be happier with my decision to stick with Taylor.
Thanks again to Dan Werkhoven for making sure everything went smoothly with this purchase.

I just purchased my second guitar from Sweetwater
and I was another excellent experience.

Ryan Sloan is the representative I work with and
I enjoy talking with him

I would definitely recommend to anyone to work
with Sweetwater and Ryan Sloan.

With acoustic guitars, my main focus is on the overall sound quality of the instrument. This guitar exceeded all of my expectations. It has a very rich and full tone, excellent for fingerstyle. And I am very happy with the service from Sweetwater.

I"ve been playing an ns-64 for 10 years and I"ve loved it. I didn"t think Taylor could make another nylon string that I"d like as much. I was wrong the 814ce-n as truly an amazing guitar. Looks, sound and playability are nothing short of perfection for my uses.

As always, Sweetwater"s service matches Taylor"s quality. Special thanks to Philip for getting me the guitar so fast and the many years of extraordinary help and gear advice. It is very much appreciated.

I have never written a review before, but after owning this model guitar for two years, I have something to say. I am a finger stylist. As described in other reviews, the 1 7/8" nut makes the instrument smooth and silky. The sustain and the tone is simply lush. I did not like the strings it came with and after experimentation, I chose Savarez 520J extremely high tension strings. I own a few guitars and this one has been inspirational. The guitar mellows with age. The more you play it the better sound. I have composed 17 pieces in two years in a wide mix of styles.
Primarily I play it unplugged. I have a vintage Roland Jazz Chorus - 120 that is not the best system for it - slight chorus and reverb with EQ way down help. I am still working on getting a satisfactory sound.
It was worth the money. I do not have any reservations in the purchase of this guitar. It has been a wonderful inspiration.

This guitar is as playable and beautiful as promised...flawless construction and attention to detail...absolutely on target intonation and remarkable sustain and note life given that it is a fairly light guitar. I am used to 2" nut width anyway, but the 1 7/8" width makes the neck nice and silky...

ES-N electronics seem a little soft in output compared to other guitars (I only do finger style); I think this is intentional to give the player more control of the dynamic range; just raise the amp's pre-amp stage gain...it has no on-board tuner, so have a clip-on ready...

Not sure I like the factory's high tension strings...going to experiment with some of my aftermarket faves...

This particular one I have seems to have some magic in it. It really comes alive, unlike any guitar I have ever played before. But I don't know if they are all like that, (since it's a Taylor I'd be willing to bet they are all pretty close), but I don't have a place anywhere near me that stocks several of these for me to compare them (this guitar is more expensive than anything they have behind the glass at guitar center, which is the best music store anywhere near where I live. (yeah I know.)

After looking at every review I could find online (all the youtube videos of this one or anything close to it, which were very few) I decided to take the plunge on one, and it has not disappointed me in the slightest way. The total opposite in fact, I am absolutely floored by it.

Granted, I'm not a traditional classical player. So maybe the layout (string spacing and neck width, cutaway, (or truss rod! :P) might not be to the liking of traditional classical players.

But as for comfort, set up, and absolutely stunningly beautiful tone, and spot on PERFECT intonation all over the neck, plus simple, tasteful, non-flashy gorgeous looks, and a sense/feel of superb quality/craftsmanship/engineering, it's top notch. This is the best guitar I have ever bought of any kind. It knocks me out every time I play it.

Really, I would like to give a more critical review, instead of barraging you with superlatives. But honestly, there is nothing negative that I can think of to say about this guitar. It's amazing. (To be fair, I don't own or have access to a pile of $3K+ classical guitars to compare it to. So take it for what it's worth I guess.)

The only downside I can see is that I would never take it out in public where it might get damaged. I'll have to transition back to my Cordoba (Fusion 14 RS) for any of that. (Which is a pretty good guitar, and sounds lovely, but is nowhere near this level, and suffers from minor intonation issues. (This guitar will solve that problem in spades, and add a healthy dose of "OH MY GOD..." to boot.. :)

Maybe it could be a bit better as a custom shop special in wild figured Brazilian (yeah...) with some magic spruce (or cedar) top they have squirreled away somewhere, and some tasty (non-flashy) wooden inlays on the fretboard. (ala the current Koa series inlays, but more custom or one-of-a-kind) But then it would probably cost 5 times more... But I think that's about the only way to improve it from here.

If you like the style, and are looking to upgrade, BUY ONE! You won't be disappointed.

I have stayed away from Taylor for no real reason other than being a Gibson / Martin player for decades. This 814ce-N is a game changer for me. Great finish and workmanship and a neck I still am enjoying more each time I pick it up.
The ES2 - Just OK - still need to run it through Fishman products to get the sound I want.