Horswispr's Full Review: Taylor 614-Ce Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic-El...
The Taylor 614CE more or less came out of nowhere to become my favorite Taylor acoustic guitar. I'm not sure I'd played one until a few months ago, when one appeared at my local Guitar Center. I was first struck by the guitar's beauty: the back and sides are a lovely honey color, and the grain is beautiful. The top is so light in color I thought it was Engelman spruce, though it's actually Sitka spruce.
When I first played the Taylor 614CE, I immediately noticed its smooth sound and excellent intonation. The tone was light and lively, but not as bright as I had grown accustomed to with Taylor guitars. The bass was tight, but far from overwhelming. The 614CE was one of the most balanced-sounding acoustics I'd ever played. Sustain was also outstanding.
The 614CE is made in the "grand auditorium" style, with a fairly big bottom and slender waist, like the previously reviewed 314CE, 414CE, and 514CE. But its back and sides, I soon found out, are made of maple, as is its neck. And the back is (on most 614CEs; see below) a three-piece, not the usual two-piece back found on most mid-priced guitars.
The finish is high quality gloss, like the 514CE and 714CE (but unlike the 314CE and 414CE, which have a gloss top and matte back and sides). Neck width is 1 3/4 wide at the nut, and the scale length is 25 1/2". Internal bracing is scalloped (shaven toward the middle of the top braces), giving the guitar better projection and dynamic range. Tuners are high quality gold plated Grovers.
The maple back and sides are largely responsible for the unusually smooth, mellow and liquid sound of the 614CE. In some ways, it reminded me of playing a Larrivee. When I played a Taylor 514CE right after playing a Taylor 614CE, the 514CE sounded brighter and maybe a bit punchier by comparison. The 614CE was smoother and more liquid. At first, I wasn't sure which I preferred (the Taylor 514CE is one of my favorite Taylors), but over time, I found myself returning to the 614CE. On some songs, I did prefer the brighter, more forward (but still quite liquid) sound of the 514CE. But on most, I preferred the mellower sound of the 614CE.
I needn't describe playability of this guitar. It was typical Taylor, which is to say excellent, with low action and a great ebony fingerboard. Intonation up the neck was outstanding on all samples I've played, better even than your average Taylor. Changing to alternative tunings was no problem, and putting a capo on necessitated minimal tweaking. Taylor appears to put a lot of care into each 614CE.
Other things that distinguish the 614CE are the light (white plastic) binding, and the old-style fancy pearl inlay in the ebony fingerboard. The rosette is also abalone, like that of older 514s and 714s.
Electronics of older models were the same high quality Fishman found on Taylor's other CE guitars. The latest 614CEs have a newer pick-up arrangement that provides excellent sound and greater simplicity: only a small bass, treble, and volume knob on "top side" of the guitar. Playing through an amplifier yielded sound that was remarkably natural for an acoustic-electric. The cutaway gave access to four or five extra frets on the treble strings.
The Taylor 614CE is a fairly expensive guitar. It retails for $3398, and can generally be had for about $2500 at your local Guitar Center. (Update: Since this review was originally written, the retail price of this guitar has risen to about $3800. A new one can generally be found for about $2900.) At that price it faces some high quality competition from the likes of Martin and Santa Cruz, but I think it's worth the high cost.
I notice that the guitar shown on Epinions is a rather weird-looking blue. I have never seen a blue Taylor 614CE, and I hope I never do. All 614CEs I've seen had the attractive honey-colored maple back and sides, and the light spruce top. I prefer the simpler dot fingerboard inlays of the Taylor 514CE to the fancier inlays of he 614CE, but that's a minor quibble.
The most important things are playability and sound, and it is in those areas where the 614CE seemed more impressive every time I played it. Intonation up the neck was flawless; this is the only guitar I've played that competes with my Larrivee LS-05 in that area. The somewhat quiet sound of this guitar makes it excellent for accompanying vocals (it is NOT as loud as my Santa Cruz OM, though it's louder than my little Larrivee LS-05), and it is OUTSTANDING for delicate finger-picking tunes, better, in fact, than my Santa Cruz OM on most finger-picking tunes in alternative tunings.
The bottom line: I finally caved in and bought this guitar a month or so ago. I've used it for gigs in standard tuning, for fingerpicking in alternative tunings, and for general playing around the house. The only area where it falls short is larger acoustic jam sessions. I'll stick with the louder Santa Cruz OM for those.
I should note that the Taylor 614CE is a relatively heavy guitar. I played several 612CEs as well, and found them to be a bit lighter, smaller, and more comfortable in my lap. But the slightly fuller bass of the 614CE won me over. And in spite of its weight, I've found it to be comfortable to play standing up with a strap.
All four samples of the Taylor 614CE I've played have been excellent, but I still recommend you play the PARTICULAR guitar you're interested in before buying.
If you're looking for a high-end Taylor guitar with a relatively mellow and smooth sound, definitely check out the 614CE.
October 5 2003 Note: While testing this guitar at Guitar Center, a fingerpicking friend and I noticed that one of the 614CEs there had a three-piece back, while the other had a two-piece back. What gives? The two-piece back 614CE sounded a little jinglier, but we think it was because it had newer strings on it. It also sounded a little bassier through the amplifier when we used the electronics. Possibly the same reason. In all other relevant ways (intonation, action, overall tone quality), the two were virtually identical. Is Taylor shifting over to two-piece backs? Or was this instrument a freak? We have no idea. I'll update if I find out more.
October 6 2003 Note: A call to Taylor's Customer Service department resulted in a return phone call from Zach WITHIN A DAY. He said that many Taylor 614CEs are made with two-piece backs. It simply depends on the sizes of maple wood available. He also said that any of Taylor's models can sometimes be found with three-piece backs--a total surprise to me. Perhaps some of the 314s and 414s I've played that I assumed had two-piece backs actually had three-piece backs (there is no stripe down the back of these guitars). Interesting!
With the Taylor 614-CE Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic-Electric Guitar the bold sounds of big leaf maple and Sitka spruce are enhanced by the Grand ...More at Musician's Friend
With the Taylor 614-CE Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic-Electric Guitar the bold sounds of big leaf maple and Sitka spruce are enhanced by the Grand ...More at Musician's Friend
With the Taylor 614-CE Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic-Electric Guitar the bold sounds of big leaf maple and Sitka spruce are enhanced by the Grand ...More at Musician's Friend
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