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Guitar World

Entertainment

Ross Holder

"With an incredibly smooth, fast-playing neck and low action right out of the factory, there’s little to dislike": Taylor 414ce review

Bob Taylor Future Andy Powers

In 1994, Bob Taylor introduced an acoustic body shape that would quickly become one of the best-selling on the market: the Grand Auditorium. Now one of Taylor’s most popular and recognizable models, the Grand Auditorium has been praised for its versatility. Sitting comfortably between the bigger, boomier dreadnought and the more compact Grand Concert – favored by fingerpickers – the Grand Auditorium was designed to offer the best of both worlds.

Today, Taylor offers 12 different series featuring the Grand Auditorium shape. From the entry-level 100 series to the more expensive-than-your-first-car Presentation series, there are far more options available compared to 1994. However, it’s the 400 series where our review guitar sits. Alongside a shorter scale Grand Concert 412ce and a brand new round-shoulder dreadnought – 417e – the 414ce is the series' GA option.

The Taylor 414ce is the brand’s most affordable Grand Auditorium that features a fully solid Sitka spruce top and rosewood back and sides. Unlike the more experimental woods found in the 300 series or the innovative choices in the 500 series, you won’t find another fully solid spruce and rosewood model until you reach the 814ce.

Priced around $/£2,500, the 414ce appeals to serious working musicians seeking a versatile workhorse with intricate aesthetics. It could also attract intermediate players looking for a beautiful, lifelong acoustic. For the purpose of this review, I was sent a natural version of the 414ce by Taylor. Typically, the 414ce is offered in a gorgeous sunburst finish by default. However, the natural top is available as an option via official Taylor dealers; it's just not available directly on their website.

Over the course of a few weeks, I put the 414ce through its paces – here’s exactly what I thought of this remarkable Taylor acoustic.

Build

As mentioned, the 414ce opts for tried-and-true tonewoods: a solid Sitka spruce top paired with a two-piece Indian rosewood back and sides. Finished in Taylor’s signature gloss, it is not only a stunning, traditional-looking acoustic but also durable enough to shrug off a few bumps and dings. The body is accented with white binding on the top and back, adding a clean aesthetic pop. Other pleasing body features include a faux-tortoise shell pickguard and single-ring agoya shell rosette, culminating in a truly classic look and feel.

The West African Crelicam ebony used for the bridge and pins extends to the fingerboard, a hallmark feature in Taylor guitars. On our review model, the ebony was rich and deep, exuding a classy, high-end feel. The intricate inlays in Italian acrylic, a new addition to the 400 series, add a decorative touch that is repeated on the headstock, bringing subtle cohesion to the design. It's one of those guitars that is hard to take my eyes off – on the rare occasions it was not in my hands.

Rounding off the guitar is a Neo-Tropical mahogany neck with black binding and a smooth satin finish. The headstock is equipped with six 'standard paddle' tuning pegs, as Taylor calls them. While they may not be the flashiest, their performance is anything but subtle. In fact, I don’t recall needing to adjust the tuning once after it was set, even when experimenting with alternate tunings – they performed heroically. If you are looking for a sturdy, zero-hassle gigging acoustic, the 414ce should be near the top of your list.

Playability

Moving onto playability, straight out of the case, the 414ce played impeccably. Taylor has always been a brand that has championed comfortable and smooth playability. An ethos that began with founder Bob Taylor and elevated with current CEO Andy Powers, the 414ce epitomizes this.

The slim, satin-smooth neck has an almost electric guitar-like feel, making everything from strumming cowboy chords to playing bluesy licks up and down the neck incredibly easy. It offers zero resistance and encourages hours of playing. Also, the frets were bright and polished, allowing the strings to glide over them with minimal friction during bends.

Moreover, the setup was perfect upon arrival – about as low as possible without any hint of string buzz, even when digging into chords. I can’t imagine many players who wouldn’t appreciate this setup; it was that agreeable. Even the factory-coated D'Addario XS 12-53 strings feel incredible and complement the player-friendly setup admirably.

Thanks to the low action, comfortable neck, and Venetian cutaway, playing at the 12th fret and beyond was much easier than on other acoustic guitars I’ve tried. The 414ce is perfect for acoustic covers of electric songs, even making soloing a breeze if that's your style. Plus, with such a brilliant setup, tuning stability was never an issue – even when I was using a capo.

Tone

Couple the playability with the 414ce's impressive breadth of tones, and it’s easy to see why the Grand Auditorium is lauded as the “Swiss Army knife” of acoustic guitars. This tonewood combination is a favorite for a reason. The solid Sitka spruce top delivers articulate yet smooth high end, making the treble notes of a G chord feel incredible.

The harmonic overtones from the solid rosewood back and sides culminate in that “sound in your head” acoustic tone that many other brands struggle to achieve. The low end, while not as prominent as a larger-bodied acoustic, is incredibly warm – never intrusive or murky, which is often the case with larger guitars. To my ear, our review 414ce has a slightly scooped midrange that pairs beautifully with my voice, allowing for ample space for vocals.

Under the hood, the 414ce features Taylor’s V-Class bracing, a development introduced by Andy Powers. While reading about the impact of bracing on an acoustic can be informative, nothing compares to the experience of picking up a 414ce – it’s abundantly evident. Without wanting to sound too much like Spinal Tap, the sustain is simply incredible; it feels as though this guitar never wants to go silent, always giving life to each note you play. As for projection, the 414ce doesn’t fill the room like a comparable dreadnought, but that’s not its intent. Instead, it offers enough volume and spread to showcase a wide spectrum of frequencies when you start to dig in.

When it comes to electronics, the Expression System 2 does a fantastic job of capturing the guitar's natural sweetness. The control panel is designed to blend in nicely, but don’t be fooled – it’s an active system that lets you boost frequencies instead of just rolling them off. With simple Bass, Treble, and Volume controls right at your fingertips, making adjustments on the fly is a breeze. My only tiny gripe? There’s no built-in tuner. While you’ll probably have a tuning pedal for live gigs, having a built-in tuner would definitely be a handy backup.

Final Verdict

The 414ce offers everything you could want in a versatile acoustic guitar. With an incredibly smooth, fast-playing neck and low action right out of the factory, combined with the guitar’s resonant, sustained tone from the fully solid Sitka spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides, there’s little to dislike. Add the discreet yet versatile Expression System 2 pickup, and you have a high-end workhorse guitar that looks as impressive as it sounds.