Taylor 214CE Pickup - Low Cost Solution Needed

[mbornhorst23]

Hi guys. I purchased a Taylor 214CE acoustic guitar on craigslist. I love the way the guitar sounds and plays acoustically. My only issue is that is sounds awful when I plug it in to an amp. It sounds very metallic/hollow; not acoustic at all. I know it has nothing to do with the amp or the adjustments to the nuts, bolts, or action. I have researched online and found out that this is a common issue with the 100 and 200 level Taylors. Something about the under saddle transducer ES-T pickup. All I know is that my travel guitar sounds better plugged in than my Taylor and I need to do something about it. I have read that a Fishman Aura preamp will improve the sound greatly, however they are rather expensive. There is no way I want to spend that much to make my guitar sound good. I am looking for an inexpensive solution. I do not know anything about replacing pickups myself and I would rather not experiment on this guitar. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.



edited for prices

[Bill G]

What kind of amp are you plugging into??  Is it an acoustic specific amp? your guitar can sound compressed or thin through a regular electric guitar amp. I have played my 214ce through a small Fender acustisonic amp, an Acoustic AG 15 amp and a Peavy E208 ecoustic amp so far and it sounded pretty darn good, nothing like what you discribe.
 
Hope you solve your problem.

Take Care, 
Bill G

[MDS08]

I have heard of people having some issues like this before. Its not uncommon. Taylor might be of some help. Pull it out and add an LR Baggs. This is why I bought a 214 with no electronics.

[dcopper]

Acoustic tone is a funny animal. You need to give us more information on your setup. What kind of amp? What sort of settings on the amp/guitar.
What is it about your tone that you do not like? What are you trying to achieve? Where are you playing? What style music?
There are lots of really good and experienced tone gurus here and everyone is always glad to chip in with advice.
davidc

[mbornhorst23]

I'm using a Marshall all in one tube amp 30W. Every other acoustic guitar I have played through it sounds fine. I have also plugged my Taylor in to two other amps and found the same issue. I realize I can switch out the pickup with a Fishman or LR LR Baggs but I have never done this before and am a little weary of doing this myself. Also, these pickups aren't cheap. I'd rather fix this problem without having to shell out hunderds more to do so.