Taylor E14ce

[Guitar Cowboy]

Just curious, has anyone had a chance to play one of these 2019 Limited Series with West African Ebony back and sides? Thoughts?

[timfitz63]

My brother bought one of those E14's with the V-Class bracing, and I had a chance to sample it.  I'd say it has similar tonal characteristics to the 2013 Spring Limited I have, but is a bit different at the same time.  Hard to say whether it's attributable to simply differences in two guitars using nearly the same wood combination from the same manufacturer, but they don't sound exactly the same...

For starters, my brother's E14 has a Sitka Spruce top and my 614ce Spring Limited has a European Spruce top; plus they have different bracing schemes (V-Class vs. X, respectively).  So I would liken them to a couple of siblings -- perhaps even fraternal twins -- with somewhat similar (but not identical) personalities.  Both have a bright, clear, focused Maple-like tone (a family resemblance, if you will) that's 'flavored' by the different top woods and bracing.  I would say his E14 is less bright and a bit more 'introverted' in voice than my 614ce Spring Limited; the 2013 Spring Limiteds were also known for their 'bell-like' tone, which seems less prominent in the E14 line; so the E14 seems to tend toward a more warmer (shall we say Powers-like) tone.

Frankly, the overall tone of the E14 is still generally more suited to my tastes than his (he usually prefers guitars with an even warmer tone); but he got beguiled by the aesthetics and the 'limited' status of this E14 line, so decided he needed to have it.

[Guitar Cowboy]

but he got beguiled by the aesthetics and the 'limited' status of this E14 line, so decided he needed to have it.

yep that's sort of where I am at. I was thinking it may be a similar sound to maple as well, and I have one of those ... so ... hmmm ??
I have to say,  I love the aesthetics of the E14, with the exception of the black plastic pick guard which would need to eventually come off  or be replaced. Why didn't they put on an ebony pick guard like the 600 series?  I know those are Macassar not West African , but make a few less cutting boards and give me a West African pick guard as a teaser for the stunning back. I guess the price point of  the E14 is closer to 500 series , so it wasn't "worthy" of that upgrade. 

I looked up the 2013 614 Spring Limited with Ebony back and sides.. wow what a beautiful guitar that is!!!
Thanks for the info, Tim!

[Strumming Fool]

I was looking for the E14ce on the Taylor website, and couldn't  find it. Any help would be appreciated.

[Guitar Cowboy]

I couldn't find it  on the Taylor website either,  but Googled it and found it on various dealer websites  and on you tube videos. I was surprised that it was not  on the Taylor site. It looks like they  only have current 2020 Limiteds there. I was able to find  an old Taylor web page of the timfitz's 2013 Spring Limited Edition , but not a 2019 Fall Edition ??

[DennisG]

I played this exact one about three months ago and just loved it.  Aside from the spectacular-looking wood, I thought it was clear and beautiful across the entire frequency spectrum, and had a surprisingly robust bottom end.  It was all I could do to not walk out of the store with it.

https://store.dustystrings.com/p-6417-taylor-e14ce.aspx

[Strumming Fool]

Thanks I did the same after posting. Very pretty guitars!

[boneuphtoner]

I have been salivating over these since I first heard about them - the look is just incredible!  However, I'm very glad to hear timfitz's assessment that these resembled maple in alot of ways.  I had heard the comparison to rosewood, but not maple.  It is great to hear everyone's observations.

Nevertheless, having done two of the Taylor's BOGO deals in the past two months, I think I'm done buying guitars for awhile LOL.

[timfitz63]

but he got beguiled by the aesthetics and the 'limited' status of this E14 line, so decided he needed to have it.

yep that's sort of where I am at. I was thinking it may be a similar sound to maple as well, and I have one of those ... so ... hmmm ??
I have to say,  I love the aesthetics of the E14, with the exception of the black plastic pick guard which would need to eventually come off  or be replaced. Why didn't they put on an ebony pick guard like the 600 series?  I know those are Macassar not West African , but make a few less cutting boards and give me a West African pick guard as a teaser for the stunning back. I guess the price point of  the E14 is closer to 500 series , so it wasn't "worthy" of that upgrade. 

I looked up the 2013 614 Spring Limited with Ebony back and sides.. wow what a beautiful guitar that is!!!
Thanks for the info, Tim!

No worries!  Yeah, my 2013 Spring Limited is among my favorite guitars; it's got the right combination of aesthetic and tonal appeal that would make it difficult for me to part with that one.

That run of Spring Limited guitars was actually split between the early production models (including mine) having African Ebony, and the later ones having Macassar Ebony; apparently Taylor exhausted their supply of African Ebony before they met their production quota, and the issue proved to be a very popular one, so I guess they didn't want to miss out on the sales and switched to Macassar to finish the series...  And in the case of the 2013 Limiteds, Taylor just didn't even bother putting a pick guard on the guitar -- which suited me fine.  So yeah, I'd have to agree:  why put the same black plastic pick guard on these E14's as they put on some of the 300 series guitars...?  That kind-of cheapens the whole aesthetic...!

I was looking for the E14ce on the Taylor website, and couldn't  find it. Any help would be appreciated.

I don't think Taylor ever put up a web page for these E14's; they were a Roadshow-only issue that came out at the end of 2019 -- and were only available through dealers that hosted Roadshow events.

I have been salivating over these since I first heard about them - the look is just incredible!  However, I'm very glad to hear timfitz's assessment that these resembled maple in alot of ways.  I had heard the comparison to rosewood, but not maple.  It is great to hear everyone's observations.

Nevertheless, having done two of the Taylor's BOGO deals in the past two months, I think I'm done buying guitars for awhile LOL.

I have a couple of Maple-bodied Taylors (a 656ce and a Builder's Reserve V), and what makes my 2013 Spring Limited so appealing to me -- and tends to set it apart from my Maple-bodied guitars -- is that it's very well-balanced across the entire tonal spectrum (whereas Maple seems to favor the upper mids and trebles) while still retaining Maple-like clarity.  So it looks like "DennisG" had the same take on the tone as I did:  not exactly like Maple and not exactly like Rosewood either (which famously has a mid-range 'scoop').

I think if Taylor didn't have so much difficulty in working the wood (Ebony is a very hard wood and tends to resist efforts to shape it into guitar bodies -- to the degree that it's more susceptible to cracking than other tonewoods, even when properly humidified), they'd build a lot more Ebony-bodied guitars.  Especially given that they can now source the wood for themselves.  In fact, in talking with Joe Ravita at Empire Music, I think there initially were plans at Taylor to introduce the E14 as a new line -- until they started having too many warranty claims with the 2013 Spring Limited and Ebony-bodied Presentation Series guitars and ultimately scrapped those plans.

[Guitar Cowboy]

I think if Taylor didn't have so much difficulty in working the wood (Ebony is a very hard wood and tends to resist efforts to shape it into guitar bodies -- to the degree that it's more susceptible to cracking than other tonewoods, even when properly humidified), they'd build a lot more Ebony-bodied guitars...

...I think there initially were plans at Taylor to introduce the E14 as a new line -- until they started having too many warranty claims with the 2013 Spring Limited and Ebony-bodied Presentation Series guitars and ultimately scrapped those plans.

Well that's a bit concerning!

[timfitz63]

I think if Taylor didn't have so much difficulty in working the wood (Ebony is a very hard wood and tends to resist efforts to shape it into guitar bodies -- to the degree that it's more susceptible to cracking than other tonewoods, even when properly humidified), they'd build a lot more Ebony-bodied guitars...

...I think there initially were plans at Taylor to introduce the E14 as a new line -- until they started having too many warranty claims with the 2013 Spring Limited and Ebony-bodied Presentation Series guitars and ultimately scrapped those plans.

Well that's a bit concerning!

It is.  But I wouldn't let it stop me from buying one of Taylor's Ebony-bodied guitars -- as long as it has its warranty intact.  And Taylor may have altered their manufacturing techniques to work the Ebony better on the E14's -- so it's plausible none of those will experience a problem.

In my case, however, Taylor stepped up when my guitar was in something of a gray area:  I bought mine as a factory-used model; it wasn't very clear to me whether it still had a warranty on it; and at the time I purchased it, the cracking problems with the Ebony-bodied guitars weren't yet apparent.  A few years later, when I discovered that mine had developed some small cracks on the back, I sent it back to Taylor for repair, not knowing exactly what it would cost.  When they received my guitar, they contacted me, owned up to me that the cracking was a manufacturing defect, and told me they'd repair the guitar for free; all I was going to pay for was the return shipping.  Taylor even put new strings on it and a new battery in it before sending it back...!

And the guitar looks just fine now; I can find the spots where the cracks were, but one really has to look to see them.  And it still sounds as good as it ever did!

[Guitar Cowboy]

Yes, I have heard nothing but good with regard to Taylor’s warrantee service and how they stand behind their products.