814ce Upgrades?

[Eclimax13]

Just wondering if anyone has done any upgrades that actually do make a difference in sound.

[bo1142]

You will find people that swear by bone saddle and bridge pins, but I don't hear any difference.  The one upgrade I would like to do is an asthetic choice, but I would like Gotoh 510 tuners.  The tuners that Taylor uses are great, but I love the look of the gold Gotoh's with black buttons....beautiful.

[cjd-player]

Ecklimax13, I see this is your first post, so Welcome!

I replaced the stock Tusq saddle with a bone saddle.  Mine definitely sounds different.  Whether it sounds "better" is the ears of the player.  To me, I think it sounds better.  It took some of the high shrill off, and is a bit meatier in the bass and mids.   You can mellow the guitar even more with an elephant ivory saddle (which I found too mellow), but I like it better with the bone.

[Steely Glen]

I replaced the gold Taylor tuner buttons with ebony.  Sounds soooo good now.   

[Eclimax13]

Ok great.  I might try the bone saddle and pins and check out those tuners.  I have self locking Gotoh's on my Esp and love them.

[MRMTAYGA]

Just wondering if anyone has done any upgrades that actually do make a difference in sound.

+1 on switching to bone saddle. I did this upgrade on my 714 LTD last year and to me, I really thought the sound improved greatly.

[Iplay2]

I replaced the gold Taylor tuner buttons with ebony.  Sounds soooo good now.   

So do you think the ebony gives your guitar more of a deep and woody tone, whereas the gold would make it have a higher metalic zing?   

[Steely Glen]

So do you think the ebony gives your guitar more of a deep and woody tone, whereas the gold would make it have a higher metalic zing?   

That was my experience, especially after I applied the  ToneRite to the tuner buttons.  It really helped the ebony ones to open up.

[sachi]

The only upgrade I can think of that could improve the sound is to add a bone saddle. Get it from Bob Colosi, who makes excellent products. Bone pins can look nice but it's debatable whether they would make a perceptible difference in the sound.

[michaelw]

hi eclimax,

i've tried several different changes & to me i've found that picks (material & gauge) can make
a good bit of difference (if you use picks), strings (different types, manufacturers, gauges),
saddle (bone, fossilized or hard ivory) & nut (especially when open notes are played) & finally
bridge pins (faux tortoise, tusq, or brass)  of varying mass ... when using brass pins, please be
especially careful during string changes, as one errant slip can add more 'character' in a hurry

i've found that tuner buttons can affect the balance of the guitar, more on some  than others, &
i like ebony as it doesn't show fingerprints that the gloss metal buttons have a tendency to do &
on a 12 string (especially on guitars with Grover mini rotomatics), the balance of the guitar feels
much less 'headstock heavy', although the decrease in mass may  have some effect, sort of in
the opposite way that adding more mass could increase sustain (like a 'fat finger' on an electric)

the changes may be subtle & i've listed in them in what i've felt to be in order of diminishing returns,
based on what i've noticed, but just as the tone of a guitar is subjective, so is everything else that
has the potential to change or 'tweak it' to some degree, but if nothing else, experimenting with
most of these ideas should not require an excessively high investment & hopefully you can find that
by making one or two changes, that the tone of your 814ce may be 'more' of how you'd like it to be

good luck & have fun

[cjd-player]

...
i've found that tuner buttons can affect the balance of the guitar, more on some  than others, ... although the decrease in mass may  have some effect, sort of in the opposite way that adding more mass could increase sustain (like a 'fat finger' on an electric) ...

I have found that to be true on my Grand Concert guitars.  I once replaced the Taylor gold-plated buttons with Taylor Ebonoid buttons, and did notice a decrease in sustain.  Actually it's hard to describe.  It reduced sustain, yes, but the guitar sounded less full.  I much prefer the metal buttons on the Grand Concerts.

Switching them on my Grand Auditorium (814ce) did not give me the same audible difference.

[Eclimax13]

Well to be honest, I love the sound of the 814ce as is.  I wasn't even looking for something in this price range and never, NEVER thought I'd spend such funds on one.  But after playing it, I simply could not find a finer and more romantic sounding acoustic.  Believe me, I tried, for hours..and hours.  At the end of the day, I ruined myself by picking it up as everything else sounded inferior next to it.  But I always enjoy and upgrade.  So far the suggestions seem to be lateral movements to achieve a certain tone.  For now I may just leave it as is.

[Edward]

Just wondering if anyone has done any upgrades that actually do make a difference in sound.

Bone saddle makes a difference.  Whether you prefer the difference is up to you; be objective. 

BTW, if you do not own the guitar and was thinking of buying one, you could consider a bone saddle/nut upcharge upon order.

Single biggest improvement you can make on any acoustic guitar is strings.  Problem: there are a million brands out there.  But they definitely sound different from one another.  Experimenting here will pay the biggest dividends, IMHO.

Edward

[thedak]

Gotohs for sure.

[silvereagle48]

I added collosi bone nut and saddle to my 814ce before I sold it to finance a bto GA.  Thought it helped acoustic tone a small amount.  The gotohs would be an excellent upgrade.  I have them on both Taylors and Hoffman.