Taylor 614ceFE First Edition First Play

[Guitarsan]

Today I had about 10 minutes to check out a newly voiced maple 614ce First Edition at my local Guitar Center. http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/614ce-fe

Here's my initial, albeit rushed, report. The photos are not ideal, taken with an iphone with tons of reflections everywhere, sorry about that!

First on the finish. While some may have thought Taylor sought to "mimic" traditional brown stained rosewood, that's definitely not what it looks like. It is very unique in appearance, almost a "rust" tint to it, which in some ways still somewhat echoes the orange tint they were trying to "resolve". I found it pleasing and at the same time I can see where Taylor is going - it seems both a tint that leans toward a traditional look, but without looking like a traditional stain. So they may have achieved a more "modern" look. I found myself liking it, but certainly not "wowed" by it. It's just a different look, which I assume could appeal to those not looking for the same old look. While the fretboard on this guitar was pretty much a solid black ebony, the headstock veneer had visible striping in it. My photo didn't pick up all that is on that headstock veneer.  The striped ebony pickguard was pleasing and very similar in appearance to striped rosewood pg on the 2014 814ce I compared it to.  I would expect the fretboard, headstock, and pickguard will vary somewhat guitar to guitar. The spruce top had a slightly darker tint than most of the other Taylors in the store, but not a big difference in appearance that I could detect.

I played it some with a pick they gave me and also some brief fingerstyle. Two things jumped out at me just playing this guitar and then reconfirming by playing a 2014 814ce right after. First, the frequency response of this setup is one of the widest I've ever heard. My first involuntary reaction was "ok, this is definitely a Taylor" because it had tons of sweet high end during pick strumming. Coupled with that though, was plenty of bass, a surprising amount for a maple guitar and to my ears, slightly more than the rosewood 814ce, especially noticeable in fingerstyle playing. The midrange may have been slightly reduced from the volume of both the high and low end, but I may not have played enough to decide for sure on that. Bottom line, I would describe it as a bright, full-range tone. I wish I could compare it to the "old" maple Taylor, but it's been so long since I played one that I hesitate to do that. Second thing was the responsiveness. I would describe it as "punchy", but in a good way. Like a very fast and steep attack very noticeable compared to the rosewood 814ce and a typical rosewood guitar. It just stuck out to me right away. Is this good or bad? Completely subjective, I'll leave it for others to say when this attribute might be a good thing. After thinking about this, I bet this is due mostly to the new bracing and torrefaction they're done to the spruce.

All in all, I suspect those most familiar with the current 600 series will find this guitar different in multiple dimensions. Ultimately you'll have to decide if different is better for you and your needs.

[nopicknick]

Thank you for the review. Sounds like a guitar I would love to play. Since I only use the fleshy part of my fingers, and never a pick, your review tells me this particular model might be a perfect fit. Thanks again!

[ronmcc4]

Thanks for the review Guitarsan. It sounds like that might be a guitar that can do many things well. Based on your pics I do like the back stain.

[davwir]

Thanx for the review. I am looking forward to checking one out soon too.

I think the stain may not be traditional on a guitar, but I immediately thought of orchestral string instruments, where that kind of stain on maple is most traditional for sure..

[TaylorGirl]

Thanks for taking the time to give folks a review. That headstock back is unique and classy. The whole guitar is beautiful....typical Taylor!

[Guitarsan]

Welcome everyone...I was excited to be one of the first to play it. On the other hand, I asked the Guitar Center sales guy how long it had been in the store and he shrugged his shoulders and guessed last week. To be fair, he was in the middle of wheeling out an amp for a customer, but I chuckled at his nonchalance.

On the fingerstyle comment, I think it would be an excellent fingerstyle guitar with the potential for more dynamics than many other models. So for a club setting, for example, it would really shine and stand out, I think. Interested in other reports as some of you get the chance to try it out!

[Byrdsman]

Really digging that pickguard! 

[timfitz63]

Thanks for the impressions, "Guitarsan!"  Yeah, I'm going to have to take one for a spin...  The apparent reduction in the mid-range response and boost in the bass is a bit disconcerting to me, but we'll see...

... I think the stain may not be traditional on a guitar, but I immediately thought of orchestral string instruments, where that kind of stain on maple is most traditional for sure..

Yeah, I get the same impression from "Guitarsan's" photos.  I'm pleased to see that the stain doesn't completely wash out the wood grain; it has seemed to me that, when staining/coloring their Maple guitars (particularly with the darker colors), Taylor tends to use wood with less figuring.  That doesn't seem to be the case here, at least with the First Editions.

[Guitarsan]

Thanks for the impressions, "Guitarsan!"  Yeah, I'm going to have to take one for a spin...  The apparent reduction in the mid-range response and boost in the bass is a bit disconcerting to me, but we'll see...

Take that with a grain of salt on the midrange. As you can tell from the report, I'm hedging on that point because I'm not quite sure. It was a rushed visit....

The bass is not boomy, just surprising for a maple guitar, and I think that's what they wanted to add.

[AVTaylor83]

Thank you for posting the review.

Would you describe it has having more of that traditional crisp Taylor sound than the more vintage tone of the new 814?

The reason I never bonded with my old 614 was too little low end and a bit too much mid-range, so maybe this new bracing is what I've been missing.

[mgap]

I was on a road trip yesterday and stopped in to the GC to give the 614ce First Edition a try.  I went into the acoustic room and it was packed.  Not one place to sit and test.  They had several Taylors on the wall, but no one playing a Taylor.   One thing that I immediately noticed was all the guitars being played were buzzing like crazy, and out of tune.  Many people saying how nice this or that guitar sounded.  Well I decided this was not a good day to test out a 614ce First Edition.  It will have to be another day before I can find out what all the buzz is about(ha, sorry pun intended).  Hope they are not all gone by then

[Edward]

Aww man, I've been to GCs on "those" days, where it's clearly better just to return on a quieter day.  But FWIW, of the GCs near me one has a "vintage" room that is drop-dead quiet, and another has music-lesson rooms that are likewise pin-drop silent.  Ask a sales guy if they have either and they'll likely accomodate you.

Edward

[michaelw]

was able to play a 614ceFE at a relatively local GC yesterday -
to make a long story short ...


deeper, stronger low end than the 814ce & on-par with the 810e &
618e (which had more 'air') which is impressive, to me, especially
considering the 614 had a .053 E, while the 810 & 618 were .056 -
i agree with the immediacy of response over the larger body models,
but to my ear on this particular example, the mids were well rounded

there was also a 416ce that matched the 614ceFE very closely overall,
again with medium gauge strings (.056 E vs .053), but still very nice -
at this point, i'm thinking a head-to-head 618eFE vs 418e will be in order

one of the sales reps told me that if a player was looking for bass response,
he'd hand them the 614ceFE without telling them it had maple back & sides -
good call, along a very knowledgeable staff (5 of em stopped by) & instruments
in excellent shape for the most part, along with a pretty nice used collings dread

[timfitz63]

Well, I finally got my hands on one of these today.  Empire Music had one in stock.  Being a fan of Maple, I was eager to check it out.

The first thing that struck me was the aesthetics.  I really have to admit: Taylor hit it out of the park with the dark stain on the Maple; it really highlights the figuring well without hiding it.  The other appointments were very nice and worked well with the darkly-stained Maple.  On the whole, I give Taylor high marks on the new 600 aesthetics.

Sat down and began my typical ELO-based guitar-testing playlist, starting with "Turn To Stone" and an "E" chord.  "Wow," I thought.  "Pretty impressive bass, especially considering it's Maple!"  But the buzz-kill (for me) came with the next few chord changes; as I went from the introductory "E" to "F#" and then to "F#m", it sounded like all the bright, sparkly highs that I'd come to expect and love from Maple had been clipped away...  To my ears, Maple's characteristically-balanced brightness (at least as it had been done by Taylor in the past) had been ruined...  I was really trying to be open and objective, and give the new 614ce a fair chance; but when I grabbed some of the other guitars off the wall to compare it against (e.g., a Cocobolo PS14ce), it only confirmed for me what I was hearing...

I get what Bob Taylor wants to do, and I can respect his foresight here:  Maple is plentiful in North America and probably the most sustainable wood source for the future of guitars.  But it has not been a popular choice because natural-finish Maple doesn't have mass visual appeal; and the brightly-focused tone also doesn't seem to capture the ear of most guitar customers.  So, I must be one of the 'odd-ball' consumers that actually preferred Taylor's former visual and sonic treatment of Maple...  In fairness, if Bob Taylor and Andy Power's objective was to create a Maple guitar that neither sounds nor looks like a Maple guitar, they've succeeded admirably:  mission accomplished.  And on the whole, the new 614ce sounds reasonably good; Taylor will probably sell more of the newer 600 Series than their older 600 series, based solely on its ability to give customers the impression that they are purchasing a more conventional-looking and -sounding guitar.  Sadly, the new 600 Series is just not going to be for me...

[Guitarsan]

Well, I finally got my hands on one of these today.  Empire Music had one in stock.  Being a fan of Maple, I was eager to check it out.

The first thing that struck me was the aesthetics.  I really have to admit: Taylor hit it out of the park with the dark stain on the Maple; it really highlights the figuring well without hiding it.  The other appointments were very nice and worked well with the darkly-stained Maple.  On the whole, I give Taylor high marks on the new 600 aesthetics.

Sat down and began my typical ELO-based guitar-testing playlist, starting with "Turn To Stone" and an "E" chord.  "Wow," I thought.  "Pretty impressive bass, especially considering it's Maple!"  But the buzz-kill (for me) came with the next few chord changes; as I went from the introductory "E" to "F#" and then to "F#m", it sounded like all the bright, sparkly highs that I'd come to expect and love from Maple had been clipped away...  To my ears, Maple's characteristically-balanced brightness (at least as it had been done by Taylor in the past) had been ruined...  I was really trying to be open and objective, and give the new 614ce a fair chance; but when I grabbed some of the other guitars off the wall to compare it against (e.g., a Cocobolo PS14ce), it only confirmed for me what I was hearing...

I get what Bob Taylor wants to do, and I can respect his foresight here:  Maple is plentiful in North America and probably the most sustainable wood source for the future of guitars.  But it has not been a popular choice because natural-finish Maple doesn't have mass visual appeal; and the brightly-focused tone also doesn't seem to capture the ear of most guitar customers.  So, I must be one of the 'odd-ball' consumers that actually preferred Taylor's former visual and sonic treatment of Maple...  In fairness, if Bob Taylor and Andy Power's objective was to create a Maple guitar that neither sounds nor looks like a Maple guitar, they've succeeded admirably:  mission accomplished.  And on the whole, the new 614ce sounds reasonably good; Taylor will probably sell more of the newer 600 Series than their older 600 series, based solely on its ability to give customers the impression that they are purchasing a more conventional-looking and -sounding guitar.  Sadly, the new 600 Series is just not going to be for me...

Your reported experience is an outlier, (I think I've read 6 or 7 reviews so far, not including mine of course) Sounds like it might have been that specific build you had in your hands. Or the pick you used. Or....  But, good thing it's not for you, or the GAS would start all over again....