Bill, interesting you have both these guitars. The 414 Fall ltd last year was the rosewood b/s and the CV bracing, making it spec'd out very similar to the 814ce. I've A/B'd this Fall ltd model against a regular 414ce, but not against an 8 series. How do you find the two compare tonally?
Btw, the trc seems made for the 814 there.
Hi Andy. Yes, the regular 4xxce series offering is Sitka/Ovangkol. I just have a preference for Sitka/Rosewood and the Fall 2011 Limited series was a great opportunity to get that wood combination in a lower price range Taylor. Plus, with the added extra of the Sitka CV bracing - again only available in the higher price range Taylors (8xx series and up). Trouble is, once I bought the 412ce, I got the GAS pretty bad for another Taylor, so was looking around and a 2010 Wildwood CV 814ce (w/ Adi CV bracing) ended up as the 'sister' to the 412ce.
Tonally? Well, from my own perspective (and my own 50+ years ears), the sound of the GA shape guitar is definitely 'bigger' than that of the GC; definitely a better 'strummer'. Sorry I can't put it into words any better than that. It is different. Plus, the Adi CV bracing probably adds in a another layer of 'difference' compared to the Sitka CV bracing. (I didn't do an A/B comparison (Sitka CV bracing vs. Adi CV bracing) with the 814ce.)
BTW. Thanks for your vote for the TRC going on the 814ce. That seems to be the consensus of opinion here, so that's where it will probably go.
Cheers.
Bill