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(More customer reviews)I've been playing this guitar for a few days now, and it continues to surprise me in every way.
I've wanted a Taylor for several years now, and that's not a secret. Everyone who knows me well enough knows I've been a Taylor fan for years even though I've never had the opportunity to own one. With the new 100 and 200 series guitars, those aspiring to own Taylors, but don't have the bank account for it, can now own the guitar of their dreams.
This guitar features a solid Sitka spruce top and laminated sapele back and sides. Sapele is sonically similar to mahogany, and provides many of the same tonal characteristics that mahogany players love - lots of rich midrange, without too much boomy bass or bright, ringing trebles. It's a great wood that's suited to many different applications. The Grand Auditorium shape is Taylor's most popular, and for good reason. With its good bass response, ringing trebles, and powerful midrange, it's a guitar that's suited to many different styles of playing, from flatpicking/strumming to fingerstyle. This shape is Taylor's "axe of all trades" and no matter what your style, the GA body delivers.
Does this guitar sound as refined as its all-solid wood counterparts? Of course not, no laminate guitar does. However, what one should keep in mind is that a vast majority of the tone comes from the soundboard and the resonance chamber itself rather than the back and side woods. I'd say this guitar has a good 95% of the tone that its solid sapele counterparts (the acoustic 3 series or the 300 A/E series) have, but nowhere near the price. One needs to keep in mind there is the law of diminishing returns, and these "budget-level" guitars are no exception to that rule. This guitar is responsive, expressive, and would be a great guitar for gigs and other applications.
The action, fit, and finish is all signature Taylor. All the playability of a Taylor is still there. It plays about as easy as a good solid-body electric guitar. This guitar literally begs you to play it. It feels great in your lap (the GA body is a perfect ergonomic shape), and it looks great. There was some minor fret buzz at the ninth fret which was easily fixed, but that's the only thing I could find wrong. I didn't particularly care for the factory strings (Elixir 80/20 Nanoweb Lights) as to my ears they sound too bright. Replaced with a set of Elixir Phosphor Bronze Lights and this mellowed the guitar out beautifully and added a much more dynamic bass response, without losing any of the treble clarity.
This is the perfect Taylor for the hobbyist, occasional gig player, or any not-so-serious musician. Serious players would probably still be better served with an all-solid wood guitar, but for those of us who just want to enjoy our playing and sound good too, the Taylor 114 is the ideal choice.
EDIT: I just replaced the stock plastic bridge pins and tusq saddle with bone bridge pins and saddle. The improvement in the tone is rather significant. If you get this guitar, be sure to do just that, it takes makes a great sounding guitar even better.
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Taylor Guitars 114, Grand Auditorium, Solid Sitka Spruce Top, Sapele Back/SidesTaylor's popular Grand Auditorium shape joins the 100 Series. The 114 embodies the signature Taylor look, tone and feel--in an affordable package.
The Taylor 100 Series Tone and playability are hallmarks of Taylor guitars, and you'll find the 100 Series delivers plenty of each. Sporting a solid Sitka spruce top and sapele laminate back and sides, the redesigned 100 Series now features both Dreadnought and Grand Auditorium shapes, along with cutaway and Taylor electronics options. Value, yes. Compromise, no.
Sitka Spruce Top Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) grows in a coastal "pocket" from Northern California to Alaska. This dense, straight-grained wood has the highest strength and elasticity-to-weight ratio among available tonewoods, an attribute that makes it an ideal material not only for our soundboards, but for our internal bracing, as well. Sitka produces a slightly brighter tone than does Engelmann.
Sapele Laminate Back/SidesThis exceptional, mahogany-like wood grows throughout the tropical rain forests of Nigeria and the Ivory Coast of Africa. Ever since we introduced it in 1998, its legion of fans has grown exponentially. As a tonewood, it's denser and harder than mahogany, so it has a crisper, clearer, brighter, "pop"-ier sound than its more familiar counterpart. Loud and robust, with a lovely ribboned grain, sapele has been used by Spanish guitar makers for many years.
Varnish FinishA durable varnish finish offers protection, good looks, and a smooth feel to the touch. The spruce top's beauty shines right through.
Grand Auditorium Body Shape The Grand Auditorium was the first guitar shape designed from scratch by Bob Taylor. It was unveiled to commemorate the company's 20th Anniversary in 1994, and since then it has more than lived up to its promise. Although the GA has the width and depth of a Dreadnought, its narrower waist gives it the appearance of a smaller instrument, adds treble "zing" across the guitar's tonal spectrum, sharpens the definition of individual notes, and also enables it to rest comfortably in the lap. Because we remove mass from the width of the GA's braces, the guitar top moves faster, resulting in a snappy, bell-like tone. The GA, available as a 6- or 12-sting, is designed to be a strong fingerpicking guitar that also can handle medium strumming, and is exceptionally versatile.
Chrome-Plate Tuners Taylor Tuners continue the industry-leading 18:1 gear ratio that they've been using, yet yield even greater precision with the help of a manufacturing process that employs the same gear-cutting machines used by Swiss watchmakers. The more precisely-machined gears virtually eliminate the slight "slop", or slack, typical among tuners, which makes it even easier for Taylor owners to get--and stay--in tune. Taylor Tuners also feature an elegant aesthetic touch, with the Taylor logo cleanly etched on the back.
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