About 18 months ago, I had the chance to pick up a mint condition 2007 214e from my local music shop. I wasn't in the market for it as I had an '09 214 already but there was just something about this one. Although a couple years old, the gloss top shimmered golden brown and it was flawless. The EIR fretboard really stood out. Long story short, it went home with me. I played it a couple months. Never compared its sound to my other 214. It was just a unique addition to the family.
Fast forward to last spring, I got word the unit was deploying. I good friend of mine and fellow Soldier, of which we share a love of great acoustic music, had mentioned he wanted to buy a guitar to ship over and maybe I could work with him on lessons or something. I shopped around with him making several mentions of a couple he could get in his price range. After careful consideration, I decided to give him the "friend discount" on the recently acquired 214e. After a couple weeks in theater my GSm and his very own 214e arrived unscathed. I was excited to be able to work with him on basic chords and it would be fun. As luck (and mission requirements) would have it, I was relocated to a different camp a couple hours away and down the drain went the thought of our lessons and playing time together. 8 months later, I got word from him he was heading back to the states early and sadly, he had given up on the dream of learning to play and asked if I wanted to buy back the 214e at a lesser price than I sold it to him. Now what do you think I said? I flew up to the camp he had recently left and snatched it back from a mutual buddy that was hanging on to it for me.
So, last night, only having the 214e back in my possession for a few days, I decide to take it out and play it little. I immediately fell back in love with it. There was just something about this guitar. It just feels good. Not to forget sounding great. Agreed Taylor laminates will almost never be better than its solid wood counterparts but this gem sounds twice as good as most solid wood other branded guitars of the same price. I did some research on this little guy and learned what I had was actually something a little special, to me anyway. Being an '07, I believe this is the first year Taylor switched the 200 series to EIR laminate from solid sapele. Being that it is the first year for the model, I'm eager to get back home and meticulously compare the sounds between my two models. Being a couple years apart, one with gloss top and one with satin, surely I would be able to tell a difference, right? Either way, I'm resigned to never letting it go again. It was meant to be in my little guitar family.
