Doyle DDX

[DMZ]

My local GC has one and I played it a little. I'm kinda smitten. Not a tone monster but solid fit in the Taylor way and very sharp looking to me. Seemed easy to play!

[John429]

Forum member "the52blues" has one of these and posted a nice photo in the picture gallery. I have never seen one of these in person and would love to try one out.

[Steve]

Aside from the inlays and the headstock, it's simply a black 214ce, albeit in Maple.

Which is cool.

[Greenheart]

Aside from the inlays and the headstock, it's simply a black 214ce, albeit in Maple.

Which is cool.

My thoughts exactly. BTW, does it even make any difference tonally if a guitar uses rosewood or maple plywood, aka laminate?

[dkoloff]

Aside from the inlays and the headstock, it's simply a black 214ce, albeit in Maple.

Which is cool.

My thoughts exactly. BTW, does it even make any difference tonally if a guitar uses rosewood or maple plywood, aka laminate?

It makes a diiference even if laminate....the maple will be inherently brighter.

[the52blues]

I'm the guy that owns a DDX. I see very few of them around or comments about them. It is in the same category as a 214 but the maple construction sets it apart for me. I love the crisper tone quality you get from maple. I also own a custom Washburn jumbo made of quilted maple. It also has a cedar top which I think helps take the edge off the brightness. As you are well aware there are as many differing opinions as there are people on this forum so all I can say is what turns my crank. The DDX has a superior sound to the 214 IMHO and even some of the solid non-maple woods too. I replaced the strings with D'Addario J17 (medium gauge) Phosphorus Bronze strings to fatten the lower end making it better for my flat picking style although after hearing several vids of Doyle I am also learning finger style as well now. I've never liked "plain jane" looking guitars. They need to be a little different for me so the gloss black finish and the Gretch style fret markers helped me make up my mind!

[michaelw]

the DDX model i heard had a 'crisper tone' than the 214ce, which could  be related to the inner maple laminate &,
to a lesser degree, the outer maple laminate, compared to the sapele inner & rosewood outer of the 214ce -
i could not determine the variation in the grain pattern between the two tops because the finish on
the DDX is solid black & i didn't have an inspection mirror & flashlight with me at the time to 'look in'

it could just be variances between the 2 guitars, but most of the of the 07/later 214s i've heard have been quite
consistent overall, save for the DDX & one other example (& i believe the difference with the other was the top)

ymmv
play on

[Satsuki]

It has laminate  sides and back. It doesn't  make difference in tone if the laminate is maple or rosewood. Bob Taylor himself has said this. I think you want the tone to be brighter or crispier because you see maple.

[Walt Q.]

Aside from the inlays and the headstock, it's simply a black 214ce, albeit in Maple.

Which is cool.

In a recent thread, Brian Swerdfeger from Taylor said, "FYI - In 2012, this model is the 214ce-BLK and features regular dot inlays and no signature on the peghead."

[michaelw]

It laminate  sides and back. It doesn't  make difference in tone if the laminate is maple or rosewood. Bob Taylor himself has said this. I think you want the tone to be brighter or crispier because you see maple.

as i've heard & played both of them, it's possible that i can't trust my own ears -
still, i think that since the back on the 200 series is unbraced & because the 2012 200s
have a rosewood inner laminate, there could  be a reason, other than just aesthetics

the outer finish on the DDX/BLK is solid gloss black, so perhaps the reason
maple veneer is used because it could  help facilitate the finish process
i don't know & i guess i'll have to wait to find out ... it would pretty cool, imho,
if later on down the line there were some natural gloss finish 214ce LTD maples

[Tammany Tiger]

Coincidentally, I played a DDX and a 214 at GC today. The strings were dead on both guitars and the setup on the DDX left a lot to be desired. Still, I thought that the DDX was crisper. It definitely wins points in the cool category. The price seems like a lot of money for a guitar with laminate back and sides though.

[michaelw]

here's a review of the DDX - it's mentioned it also has a maple neck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-ENKppEI3A
the 214ce-BLK - now has a NuBone nut & saddle (100/200 & Baby series too - was Tusq in 11)
http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/214ce-blk