2020 Taylor 814ce V-Class Grand Auditorium Natural in  mint condition, including original hardshell case. No playwear whatsoever.  Used, selling because I'm focusing on beginning guitar and don't need such an excellent guitar. 

"Of all the guitars in Taylor’s product line, the 814ce is one of the most popular. Most manufacturers are loath to fix something that isn’t broken, but Taylor went back to the drawing board and for their fortieth anniversary designed an all-new Taylor 814ce. While longtime Taylor fans might lament the demise of the original design, the new 814ce could be just the guitar for players who previously hadn’t considered Taylor as an option.

The 814ce is a “Grand Auditorium”-sized flattop with a Venetian cutaway for better upper-fret access. It uses solid Indian rosewood for back and sides, a solid Sitka spruce top, mahogany neck and heel, ebony fretboard and headstock overlay, maple fretboard binding, and Indian rosewood edge trim. The 814ce also includes Taylor’s new Expression System 2 built-in piezo pickup system. Unlike some pickup systems that call attention to themselves with their plethora of buttons, sliders, and winking lights, the Expression System 2 is quite unobtrusive, with just three small knobs on the upper bout giving away its presence.

One of the major changes on the new 814ce is its bracing scheme. Unlike most traditional designs with bracing running horizontally across the guitar, the braces on the 814ce run in a more diagonal direction. According to Taylor, this new bracing uses a parabolic/scalloped design originally developed by luthier Andy Powers for the Taylor Grand Orchestra body and then recalibrated for the Grand Auditorium shape.

Another big change for the new 814ce is the wood thicknesses for the body and top. These new specifications, Taylor claims, allow the body “to work in harmony with the bracing to bring greater efficiency of movement to the guitar.” Along with the new wood thicknesses, Taylor also uses a gloss finish that is 40 percent thinner, going from 6 mils to only 3.5 mils. Taylor also changed to “protein glues,” using modern fish glue for the braces and heated hide glue for the bridge-to-body connection. 

When Taylor first began producing guitars many of their neck profiles seemed closer in shape and feel to an electric than an acoustic design. The 814ce feels more like an acoustic guitar than an electric, with a slightly oval profile that still has enough meat on its bones to feel substantial. The neck’s satin finish feels smooth, and makes sliding up the neck into upper positions easy.

The 814ce’s intonation is excellent. Unlike many acoustics that need to have the B string tuned several cents flat to sound right in a first-position G chord, the Taylor sounds right when tuned up to a full B. This is due in large part to its well-constructed compensated bridge. For its part, the Expression System 2 piezo pickup system is far less “quacky” than many other piezo systems out there. Guitarists will also like its three-knob controls with easy-to-feel centered detents allowing settings to be adjusted without looking at the knobs.

If I had to come up with one word to describe the sound of the new 814ce, it would be “responsive”; it reacts eagerly to even the lightest touch, yet unlike many guitars whose sound leaps out at you, the 814ce doesn’t get muddy when driven hard. And the 814ce’s sustain is excellent with the Elixir Phosphor Bronze Light strings that come with the guitar. Especially when playing single-note lines up the neck on the upper strings, the 814ce’s sustain rivaled the best acoustics I’ve played. The upper harmonics give the guitar’s sound a unique sheen that some guitarists would call “sparkling.” And while the top end is more extended than many acoustic guitars, its midrange and low frequencies give it enough weight and lower-frequency harmonic complexity so it doesn’t sound thin, wiry, or overly dry.

In short, the new Taylor 814ce is a superb musical tool, suited for virtually any musical situation where a professional or serious amateur guitarist needs a top-flight, carefully designed and constructed acoustic/electric instrument."

"Newly consolidated with the 814ce DLX, our flagship Grand Auditorium retains all of its sonic power with new features devoted to a smoother playing experience and updated aesthetics. In this 814ce, the classic tonewood combination of Indian rosewood and Sitka spruce still delivers its characteristic blend of warmth, low-end presence and high-range sparkle, elevated to new heights by V-Class bracing. 

Notes sustain longer, allowing rosewood’s rich overtones to bloom with more clarity than ever, and the advanced bracing scheme introduces greater power and tunefulness across the entire tonal spectrum for a rich and expressive sound. 

New features include a radius-style rosewood armrest and smoked nickel tuners, along with 800 Series standard appointments such as a smoky ebony fretboard sourced from Taylor’s Crelicam mill in Cameroon, maple binding, rosewood edge trim, an abalone rosette edged with rosewood, and mother-of-pearl Element fretboard and peghead inlays. The 814ce also includes a Venetian cutaway and our ES2 acoustic electronics, and ships in a deluxe hardshell case.

SPECS

Scale Length: 25-1/2"Nut & Saddle: Black Tusq Nut, Micarta SaddleBracing: V-ClassTruss Rod Cover: West African Crelicam EbonyPickguard: RosewoodNumber of Frets: 20Tuners: Smoked NickelCase: Taylor Deluxe Hardshell BrownBrand of Strings: Elixir Phosphor Bronze LightBody Length: 20"Body Width: 16"Body Depth: 4 5/8"
BodyBinding/Edge Treatment: Rock MapleTop Finish: Gloss 4.5Back Config: 2-piece No WedgeBackstrap Finish: NoneRosette Size: Single RingBridge Inlay: NoneBack/Side Finish: Gloss 4.5Armrest Binding: Radius, Indian RosewoodBackstrap Wood: NoneRosette Mat.: AbaloneStain/Sunburst: NoneWedge: NoneArmrest: yes
NeckNeck Width: 1-3/4"Fretboard Inlay: ElementFretboard Binding/Edge Treatment: Pale Non-Figured MapleHeel Cap Binding: West African Crelicam EbonyType of Neck Joint: Taylor NeckNeck/Heel: Tropical MahoganyFretboard Wood: West African Crelicam EbonyNeck Finish: SatinHeel Length: 3-1/2" PegheadPeghead Finish: GlossPeghead Binding: West African Crelicam EbonyPeghead Type: StandardPeghead Purfling: MapleHeadstock Overlay: West African Crelicam EbonyPeghead Inlay: ElementPeghead Logo: Taylor Mother of Pearl
OtherBridge Pins: West African Ebony with Green Abalone DotsButtons: Smoked NickelFingerboard Ext: NoneEdge Trim: Indian RosewoodBody Width: 16"Body Depth: 4 5/8"