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Pros:
- Comfortable playing
- Bright, rich sound
- Excellent build
Cons:
- Sapele neck might not be everyone’s favourite
- A bit pricey for beginner level
Taylor has been creating some of the most comfortable and easy to play models in their 100 series and 114ce is one of their most popular model from these series. The tonewood and neck construction have been tweaked in a way to make even beginners fairly comfortable with this dreadnought. Apart from great construction this model boasts mesmerizing sound and tone. 114ce would be a great first guitar for any beginner, if they are willing to pay over $500, or a great continuation of their journey for someone who has been playing for quite some time. In either case, this guitar is a great instrument to enjoy playing.
Build
This is a Grand Auditorium acoustic/electric guitar with a cutaway that has a solid Sitka spruce top and layered walnut back and sides. Solid Sitka spruce will give your guitar the needed durability and articulation while walnut back and sides will enhance the clarity and volume. It is vital, when thinking about tonewood, to understand how durable it is and 114ce’s material seems to be selected in order to face any temperature and humidity changes without being affected too much (of course you cannot leave it in a sauna or something but you know what I mean).
The combination of these materials leads to 114ce being an amazing model for strumming, fingerpicking, flat-picking, and much more. The neck is patented Taylor made of Sapele that provides easy great and comfort while also creating accurate intonation. The saddle and nut are made from tusq, which comes very close in the brightness to real bone nut. A nut on this model is slightly narrower than usual (1-11/16-inch width) which also adds to the comfort of playing as well as easy chord forming. These all are great assets if you are a beginner struggling with bulkier constructions. The cutaway is Venetian style, making the guitar more accessible in upper-end fretboard area.
Hardware
114ce is equipped with an ebony fretboard with Italian acrylic dot inlays, plastic rosette and tortoise pickguard which makes this guitar not only functional but breathtakingly good looking. The truss rod cover and headstock overlay are both Indian Rosewood while the tuner is standard Die-Cast chrome. This model also features 114ce Expression System 2 pickup with pickup sensors positioned behind the saddle rather than under the saddle. This allows for saddle to come in contact with the bridge, delivering clear and articulate sound.
And, as a nice bonus, you also get a gig bag that will keep your guitar safe in any condition. Of course it is not the same as a guitar case, that will literally protect a guitar from any weather or massacre but for a gig bag, especially coming with a guitar – is a big asset. AND, if this is your first guitar, you will not have to do more research and spend more money on a gig bag, so congratulations at least one thing comes off your mind.
Taylor 114ce Sound
Taylor does not stop at great build and hardware, the sound on this baby is astounding. Well, to be perfectly honest the sound results from great build and hardware, so it would not be a big surprise. This model offers clear and loud sound through the right choice in the tonewood. It is great for beginners and professionals because the balanced mid-range and bright tone work great with just practicing and gigging as well as recording. So if you are a beginner with high hopes (or delusions, like in my case) you might consider this one for the long haul.
Conclusion
Taylor, with their 114ce, offers high-quality build, comfort and durability for any level of professionalism. Details they took into account to make this dreadnought more comfortable, make it especially noteworthy for beginners who are taking their first steps and want a no-nonsense guitar that will make their experience easy and joyful.
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