I've gigged with a Taylor 314ce for the last two years. It's been an absolute dream. Between gigs, jams, and practice, it gets played about 10 to 15 hours per week. I play in Florida, so humidity is ever-present. I keep it in the case when not playing. My only problem is the frets are wearing quicker than I would like, but my grip is probably way too tight. That's just a 30 year flaw in my technique, not a manufacturing issue. Out of all the guitars I've owned or played at this price point, the Taylor has been my favorite so far.
To be fair, the Taylor that was on your bench was in fact a dud. But also, to be fair, that is not a good representation of Taylor guitars. I work on Taylor guitars every week and have worked on thousands of them. I do measure the soundboard deflection on every acoustic that comes on the bench and I rarely see this kind of severe hump on a Taylor. But coincidentally, I just happen to have a Taylor in the shop that has that kind of severe hump. In my case it is due to a brace that came unglued. I would suggest that you should perhaps check if there is an unglued brace on your Taylor, as well. Perhaps you can't see the gap with the endoscope because you did loosen the string tension. I typically check the braces with a thin feeler gauge, when I suspect that there might be an unglued one. The detail that you mentioned, that the end block is not glued to the soundboard could possibly be by design. There's a possibility they did that to avoid decreasing the surface of the soundboard. It's possible. Also, the saddle on a Taylor should only be shaved in the event that one cannot get the action on speck, on both sides, after doing a neck reset. A neck reset will of course lower or raise the action on the bass side and on the treble side by the same amount. But if the guitar settled in a way that there is a differential soundboard deflection, so there's more deflection on one side than on the other, then we have to shave one side of the saddle to compensate. But in general, that is not needed, as the neck reset will do the action adjustment. I see a lot of Taylor guitars with saddles that have been shaved by previous techs and on some of those guitars there's barely any string break angle left on the strings going across the saddle. That's why I always keep a supply of Taylor saddles in stock, so I have them ready, to bring the saddle height back on speck. A set of Taylor neck shims only costs $55, directly from Taylor and the set comes with a set of original Taylor neck block labels, to cover the two bolts. I already worked out a formula to pretty much nail it when I do a neck reset, so I immediately grab the correct shims to get the action right. I do part of my setup with the old strings, measure the action, do my calculation, then when I take the old strings off, to clean the guitar, I already know which shims are to be used to get the correct action. I rarely have to take the new strings off to get another set of shims, to fine tune the action. Also, Taylor will only charge you one time for the shims. At that time you can also request that they throw in a set of shims for the GS mini, for the Baby Taylor, etc. And when you run out of certain shims, you can just call them and they'll send you whichever shims you need, at not extra cost. The person I deal with , at Taylor, is Bo Santos. He'll hook you up if you need their help. I'm not sure what the arrangements with shipping costs outside of the US might be, though. To be fair, the neck blocks on the other 2 guitars that you showed were pretty slim. I don't recall that you showed the neck block on the Taylor. But, if I saw this correctly, I believe that the Mayson had a gap between the neck block and the fingerboard extension block. That's the main structural part of any acoustic guitar and if there's a gap there, that is certainly not good. I also don't believe there's any significant advantage to the carbon fiber layers on the laminate fingerboard extension block. What are the odds that such a short piece of plywood will ever bend? My personal opinion about Taylor guitars is that they are a good choice for the recreational player. I usually just have to do setups on Taylors and I rarely see the need for any structural repairs. There will always be the odd one. Taylor guitars are assembled in a strict humidity controlled plant and they hardly ever develop soundboard cracks, even in cases when people are not aware of the fact that they need to use a humidifier during the winter. By comparison, Martin guitars are awful. They dry up all the time (Martin has no humidity control at the pant), they have bridge lift issues, the binding keeps coming off, braces keep coming off, soundboards crack al the time. On every X-series Martin I've ever seen there is a gap at the heel of the neck. Even on more costly Martin guitars the neck angle is almost always wrong. I've often seen, they slice into the soundboard, around the bride, with a sharp blade, in an effort to make a nice bridge glue joint. But the cut is often deep into the soundboard. So, now you have to fix the soundboard, crape off more of the finish around the bridge footprint, so that you can use an oversized bridge to cover up that cut and hopefully reinforce that part of the board. Martin truly makes some awful guitars. OK, I talked enough. Thanks for listening (reading) and I hope at least some of it makes sense. Take care.
If you honestly believe that $899 retail in the USA is "a fair deal" for this P.O.S. Taylor 114ce, then I am utterly speechless. In his earliest days, Bob Taylor made some really fine dreadnoughts. Of course he was attacked by many when he revolutionized the use of a bolt-on neck, but we must give him credit where credit is due. An acoustic guitar better be really nice & have a high value in order to re-set a neck with a dovetail joint. A GOOD bolt-on neck design makes a lot of sense, and is much less costly to repair or replace. But with all of that being said, I purchased a brand new upper shelf Taylor ( I can't recall the model now ) back in 2005. The price was around $2600, as best I can recall, from a local music store. I really loved the sound & how it played at first. But after several months, I began to notice something: my expensive Taylor wasn't very touch responsive like any of my 3 Japanese Takamine's. No matter if you play a Taylor softly or really digging in, they just sound the same. A really GREAT acoustic guitar SHOULD give you what you ask of it. And all 3 of my Japanese Takamine's blew that Taylor right out of the water.......and none of my Takamine's cost as much as that Taylor did. Quite frankly, ALL Taylor guitars are grossly over-priced, and because we are truly living in the golden age of luthierie right now, there are MANY options that are MUCH better than ANY Taylor for the money. ME: 62 yr old, lifelong guitarist/singer/blues harp/stage performer of many many years. I was forced to sell off all of my guitars, amps, gear, etc during that awful recession of '08 to save our home. After years of financial recovery, I have since purchased 4 AMAZING acoustic guitars produced by HSIENMO ( they build no more than 400 guitars PER YEAR )......all from their custom shop. Loved the first one SO much, I bought 3 more. 1 D45 clone dreadnought, a grand auditorium, and 2 medium jumbo's. My D45 clone and grand auditorium both have top-shelf Adirondack spruce tops with SOLID Honduran rosewood back & sides. One of my medium jumbo's has German spruce top with solid Indian RW back & sides, while the other has a killer western cedar top with solid cocobolo back & sides. 2 have solid single pc mahogany necks while the other 2 have killer 5 pc laminated flamed maple/rosewood necks. I won't even go into the GORGEOUS quilted mahogany, ebony, abalone, flamed maple binding/purfling/back strips, etc......they're all loaded, and built RIGHT inside & out. And they all 4 sound as gorgeous as they look & play. I took each one in to show them off ( one by one as I purchased them ) to my buddy's working at a local music store, which happens to be an authorized Taylor dealer. They have a huge selection of Taylor's from low-end models to the Presentation series costing OVER 10 GRAND. 3 of the 4 of my Hsienmo's absolutely smokes the best Taylor they have in their shop, and even they admit it. 2 of my Hsienmo's ( the D45 clone and my grand auditorium ) are $2500 each, and the 3rd ( one of my medium jumbo's with the cedar top and the most beautiful cocobolo we've ever seen on any acoustic ) costed only $1890. All 4 have bolt-on necks VERY nicely done/fit........just as all 4 have floating ebony fingerboards that will never warp over the body. All 4 also have camel bone nuts, saddles, and bridge pins. All 4 were set-up perfectly right out of the case. From my own personal experience: guitarists everywhere are getting SEVERELY RIPPED OFF BY TAYLOR. Their "Builder's Series" especially......because they figured out a way to get rid of the binding, YET CHARGE MORE MONEY. Oh, and by the way: I purchased 4 Journey Tek EP001K pick-up systems & installed them all myself, and they too, blow away Taylor's system. Hsienmo doesn't even offer a "cheap budget guitar". When you can but a top-shelf HAND-MADE acoustic guitar with all the bells, whistles, and appointments that is BUILT RIGHT, and sounds as glorious as it looks, for ONE/FIFTH of the price of a top shelf Taylor.......then something is horribly wrong with Taylor. And the same thing goes for MARTIN. Both Taylor AND Martin nowadays, are all about mass production & profits...but even their custom shop models are being smoked by acoustics made by other fabulous builders & factories that cost quite a bit less. Thanks for listening/reading.......and I hope THIS is making sense.
Longest comment and reply I've ever seen watching a TH-cam video. Even though I stopped reading 1/3 of the way through on both' I still have both of you a 👍.
@GuitarQuackery 's comments on Martin are so extreme and beyond belief (if true, Martin would have gone out of business a long time ago) that you have to wonder how reliable his comments on Taylor are.
@@jDominiqueS I can totally understand that my comments on Martin can be questioned. I'll make some Martin videos at some point in the future. In fact, as it turns out, I just fixes some binding (again) on a Martin (this time it was an OM-28). I did make plenty of recordings, but it it does take a while to edit all of that into a coherent video. So, I am not sure when I'll be ready to post it. BTW, it is well known in the guitar repair world that Martin guitars have all these issues that I am describing. About 50% of them are garbage.
Why the heck would you buy several Taylor guitars. Did it take that many to get to a playable one. I bought one 4000 Taylor. It was my last, never again
Around 10 yrs. ago I bought new a Taylor GC-3 that has lived most of it's awful sounding life inside it's case. The low E string sounds like a thud and the high strings ring forever. Taylor bragged about these guitars, we've been building these GC's for 30 years and they are wonderful! Being left-handed I just can't pick one up and try it, I had to order one. Being a machinist and handy with my hands I've made bone saddles for every guitar I owned that didn't have one, they all sounded better, even a $110.00 Johnson guitar (my first) guitar that had a laminated top. This GC-3 sounded like shit, the high strings rang f o r e v e r, and the low E string still had the thud sound. I immediately took the bone saddle out and put the tusk one back in. Also, the bridge pin holes were bored oversize, you could put the bridge pins in, turn the guitar upside down and they would all fall out. I called customer service and the guy said they are suppose to be loose. I said well, you obviously don't know shit either. I bought .005 oversize bridge pins to fix their mistake. Taylor did send it in a good guitar case. So a year or two after I bought this guitar Taylor redesigned it, they made the body thicker and blah, blag, blah. For about eight years I got their brag ass magazine twice a year. From the magazine I learned Taylor is very good at tooting their own horn. My guitar and the one you have in hand would make good fire started..if they're not to damp. pun- intended.
Why not sell it. There are people out there that dream of owning a Taylor. Maybe it doesn't sound good to YOUR ears. And good to somebody elses. I have a Taylor and I am happy with it. It's not a real expensive one. But fair enough for me.
I almost didn't click on this, as I thought it was just an all Taylor's suck thing, but I am glad I watched it. It prompted me to check my Martin D10-E . I put my phone in and took some photos. I was please to see no glue leaking and what looked like very nice construction. I'll have to do that next time I go looking at guitars at the local shop. Thanks! Also, I have looked at that same Taylor model at the time I bought my Martin. I am now very glad I purchased the Martin.
I had the same problem with a Taylor gs mini and the belly was so bad that unglued the bridge. There was no waranty etc ect. The guitar was brand new after it happens. What a terrible experience as a customer. Thanks for showing the real reasons of this, I tought it was the humidity but clearly its not, cheers
I had a Taylor GS Mini that did the same thing. It bellied up so much that the action higher up the neck made it almost unplayable. At first I thought it just needed a neck reset, but after watching a video from Guitar Spa Singapore I realized that the GS Mini had alomost no tracking. They sound good for a few years though until they have to problem. I finally sold it to a guy who said he never played up the neck and didn't care about the belly. I was very glad to be rid of it and have stayed away from Taylors since.
I had the same experience with my brandnew GS mini, extreme bellying around the bridge and no warranty from Taylor at all, thanks to the humidity-clause😊 . A GS mini is advertised as a traveller guitar, for god’s sake! No more Taylor’s for me ,,,
I have a Taylor 114ce also and has the same problem. Good sounding guitar but below the 5th fret it will make your fingers hurt. I didn't realize the top had such an arch just like the video. This has been one of those regret buys. Thanks for posting this video as it has enlightened me to why it has action issues. Very good assessment !!
I bought a Taylor GS-mini brand new. Action was unplayably high. Had to have the neck shimmed under warranty in its first week. Guitar shop technician said he is doing this all the time for that model. I wondered why they would let them out of the factory like that, then I watched a ‘tour’ video where the set-ups are being done by unpaid interns…
I got lucky. I have the mini mahogany and mini e koa. Both have low action with no buzz and sound great. The mini mahogany actually sounds better than the e koa...I don't know if it's just the difference in woods or that the mini mahogany doesn't have electronics...maybe a little of both.
The main reason for having horizontal grain on the end blocks is so that any grain movement will be in tandem with the guitar sides, minimising any chances of splitting. Back and soundboard bonding to the blocks is secondary as they already have large area bonding onto the kirfings.
I was told get a Yaylor, not a Martin. I got the Martin, and love it. Something wasn't right with the Taylor i didn't believe it would last. I was right.
I have a Taylor Academy 10e. The Jack plug has failed twice. The first time it was fixed under warranty. The second time I took it to a luthier. He says the Jack is really cheap and nasty. A Jack of decent quality only costs £10 online. It is frustrating that Taylor sell a guitar for £750 but then cut corners with poor quality components.
@@kippsguitar6539 Absolutely! And I agree with you totally that the bellying issue is directly related to the crappy construction. I wouldn't touch that guitar with a 10' pole. Thanks for taking the time and effort in letting us know about this.
I got rid of the Name blinkers 45 years ago. I've seen for myself what you have delivered here. Excellent video, keep up the great work. Subscribed straight away.
Well that’s obviously a budget guitar. Are we absolutely sure it’s really a Taylor and not a knock-off? I’ve worked on a bunch of higher-end Taylors and none of them looked even remotely like this. Never worked on a budget Taylor but if this is real then yeah… unacceptable.
Regardless of whether it's high or low end it has their brand name on it and they should have stricter quality control making instruments in foreign countries. Other American guitar manufacturers have good quality instruments coming from Indonesia that are almost indentical to the quality of their "higher end" American made brothers.
I guess many commentors didn't actually listen or watch the video and just made comments. It is a Taylor and made in Mexico. I have a Taylor that was also made in Mexico and I love it. Intonation and action was perfect out of the box and the guitar is flawless. I would imagine every brand has it's problems, especially with their lower tier models.
@@jameswilliford5478 I have a 12 string that was as you described it was perfect when it came out of the box and eight months later it had bellied to the point of being unplayable. Yes I expected that to eventually happen as it was a 12 string. But eight months later is unacceptable and then when I had the neck adjusted to compensate it which was part of the reason I bought a tailor over the cheaper guild, They shimmed it with the maximum number of shims and it still was just playable a few months later bam same thing happened it got even worse. So now I'm stuck with a $900 piece of crap. I saw a used reason one in a guitar shop that was the year before mine was made and it had the same problem I don't expect the same attention to detail and quality on the high end taylor what I expected a serious mechanical physical flaw like this would not occur immediately after construction.
@@coiner105 I had no Idea that there were even Mexican made Taylor's. I have only seen them made in California. Are the Mexican ones only for the European market?
I think across the board all the manufacturers at the lower end have made cost saving measures to keep their businesses stay afloat and profitable. It's not just in guitars its in all products made we use on a daily basis.
Proud Taylor fan here with over 40 years of playing experience- 3 guitars from them and they are all great. A couple of months ago I went into a shop and played about fifteen acoustics, and the Taylors were better than every Larrivee or Martin- the only guitar that was comparable was a high-end Gibson. Also played a VERY nice Yamaha BTW. Tthe 114 does not have bracing because the back is shaped to provide structural support instead. From Taylor: "A note on Taylor layered wood guitars: The Taylor 100 Series, 200 Series, Academy Series, Baby Taylor, Big Baby and GS Mini models feature a layered wood back and sides with an arched back. The arch is by design and allows us to add depth and strength to the guitar body without bracing the back"
I've never liked Taylor guitars much but not because they don't play well. Heck I imagine a Zager often plays well...but the sound usually puts me off as much as the prices, especially for the laminate guitars. I do like the 800 series sound; but my Gibson was a 2400$ Avante Garde offering that's explosive for a litte thing and it's also Rosewood.
It's subjective, I don't necessarily think Taylor's suck but they aren't anything I'd buy. I find the mojo isn't there, a bit "clinical" and uninspiring but no guitar is for everyone.
I also have seen some guitars designed specifically with this arched top. This could be a design choice by Taylor, but you have to admit the build quality of the inners is pretty bad on this particular guitar..
Taylors are good (not great, although they do make a few great ones) but are overpriced. I say this and I own 2; until recently it was 4. The GS-mini is a really good product, but a tad overpriced. I love the T5 - the "Swiss Army knife" guitar - it does everything well but nothing great, but is the best guitar for learning songs because you can go to the electrics or acoustics once you have it down, so it's a great axe to keep out. I also have an 814CE ('97) but no way I'd pay $4K for a new one - for that money there are lots of other guitars I'd rather have.
About 10 years ago I inherited some money and decided to buy a 'decent' acoustic guitar. I went to a reputable local dealer and asked whether he had a Martin within my price range (I wanted to spend about £500 at the time). He advised me against buying a Martin in that price range, and instead sold me a Tanglewood TW1000-SR. I have never regretted it. It's a fabulous Dreadnought, high quality materials and workmanship, and has an amazing tone (even better after ten years of playing!).
About twenty years ago I hit every guitar shop in Leeds looking for an affordable steel string guitar. (I normally played the classical guitar that I built myself under a very good luthier.) I must have tried nearly every guitar in town that day. I kept raising my budget as I was disappointed with what I was finding. I almost gave up that day until in the last shop there was a discounted, already affordable, Tanglewood. I didn't really like the look of it much. It wasn't the style of guitar I thought I wanted but I thought I had to give it a go, like I already had with many others, and not be persuaded by such things. I could tell almost instantly I'd found it. The sound and the feel was what I'd come looking for and I found it in a guitar for a fraction of the price of some pretty high end guitars. Still got it. Still love it. Never had to do anything to it in all that time aside from maybe a touch on the truss rod here and there when changing string gauges. Having said all that I've now got a rather ropey Tanglewood acoustic bass I'm looking to get shot of. 🙂
Yes Taylor has its own sound compared to Martin or Gibson, Which some people like. Structurally you can say what you want to say about that cheap Taylor model but you should also compare how it sounds it could also be that if they put too much bracing that resonance and sound projection will be affected. I am not a fan of their new V bracing but I love the sound of my 1998 815ce and 2003 914ce. I own a Martin D41 , Collings D2H and Gibson J45 as well.
All my Taylors are 300 series: a Taylor 324ce 6-string, a Taylor 316ce Baritone 8-string, and a Taylor 352ce 12-Fret 12-string. I'm very pleased and thankful to have them along with my 1954 Gibson CF-100E, 1990 Custom Legend 1759 Ovation 12-string, 1991Elite Ovation 1768 six-string, a 2019 LXK2 Little Martin 6-string, and a 2023 X Series Martin 6-string.
Recently found a 1962 Mayfair parlour guitar,made in Japan and has been stood in a pantry since before England won the World Cup and it’s better made than that Taylor…Excellent piece by the way,well worth a sub..
I almost didn't watch this video! (No clickbait title.) I am SO GLAD that i did. From now on, i will closely examine the innards of any guitar i buy! In fact, I'm gonna check out my last purchase to see if it "measures up." Just as soon as i get back home. (I'm on the other side of the country right now, and couldn't bring a beloved guitar due to potential airline screwups.) At least now i know things to look for! Thank you.
Just never buy a cheap Mexican version of an American top brand. You know that they're overpriced. Same goes for Chinese Guild guitars. Buy a genuine one that was made in USA. If your budget is way too small, buy a Korean Cort. They make decent solid spruce top guitars for very affordable prices.
I play Taylor for many years. They are amazing guitars. As a musician, my main concern is tone quality, intonation, tuning stability and playability. They are perfect in that regard. To be clear: I am talking about their higher end models. What you show in this video is *completely* different from what I see in the interior of my instrument. Conclusion, *the title of this video is a click bait* . Because it generalizes and judges a brand by one of their guitars where the main defect is a excessively curved top, which is what you get if you're not careful regarding humidity and other environment influences. You can ruin even the best guitar in that way. Taylor has highly automated factories. Which means: uniformly machine shaped parts. That's why many vendors say they rarely have to return an instrument to the factory. This is another argument to distrust the correctness of this video.
@@kippsguitar6539 Clickbait typically refers to the practice of writing sensationalized or misleading headlines in order to attract clicks on a piece of content. It often relies on exaggerating claims or leaving out key information in order to encourage traffic. In the most optimistic explanation of this case, it's about generalizing something that relates to one single instrument or one low end series out of the large number of models, which is disproportionate You can do this trick on most guitar brands.
@@kippsguitar6539 if it’s a Taylor, they should have replaced it. Whoever built that particular guitar did a terrible job. That’s why I thought it would be interesting to see a comparison of the exact same model to see if it was built with higher standards. I own a 314 and it’s a fine guitar. I own about 15 guitars from 200.00 to over 3000.00, so I have no particular attachment to my Taylor. I have others that play as well and are less expensive, but I think we should be fair here. Taylor used a 3 layer wood back. They don’t call it laminate because they claim laminate could imply other materials besides wood. Also every Taylor guitar come with a gig bag or a hard case. If the owner of this one bought it new and didn’t get a case, he got ripped off again. There’s no question the quality of workmanship on this guitar is awful and should have been replaced. Along with an apology. I bought RVs for over 150,000.00 with the same garbage craftsmanship. Some people have no pride in their work.
I have the utmost respect for Bob Taylor. His Guitars are world renowned as some of the best quality & most beautiful stringed instruments on the planet. Imagine the vast number of people who own & enjoy playing their Taylor Guitars. I am extravagantly grateful for my beautiful Taylor Guitar.
Erm, forgive my ignorance, but, you are feeding the camera in and looking at the bottom of the guitar, not the neck. That's the jack socket isn't it? That piece of ply is to strengthen that area which is also where the strap pin is?
As you mentioned ignorance I'll try to remain as polite as possible but the short answer is that this ply will do almost nothing. Plywood as a 'strengthening piece' is about as effective as a catflap in an elephant house, ply isn't strong in the direction that the jack enters the body and so over time that strain will cause issues, most likely causing the DI to stop working which for an 800 quid guitar is not okay. Think about guitar construction from the perspective of long-term use, sure the cheap plywood may last a while if treated gingerly but ultimately, this is just designing redundancy into the system, you are creating a part that when it breaks (which it will) will be annoying and costly to fix and possibly cause structural damage to the guitar itself. To be clear, I'm not saying it will snap or fail catastrophically, just that this is literally the cheapest and nasty way to install a jack input.
@@Scotmend My reason to comment was that, in the video, our friend refers to that piece of ply as the neck block when it appears to be holding the jack at the opposite end of the guitar. I beg to differ on your engineering analysis: Ply IS strong in that direction, that's the whole reason for making ply out of crossed laminates, and you would struggle to break a piece of 1/8" ply that size in your hands. 1/4" would be impossible unless you are Hulk Hogan.
@@Scotmend You're entitled to your opinion. The truth is, a lot of things aren't as nice on the inside as we think they should be, but still work. I'd like to remind that Taylors have a jack/battery holder/electronics/strap pin assembly at that end of the guitar. It's not just a jack bolted into a piece of plywood. Have a look at one and you will see what I mean. Additionally, this is a "THIS IS WHY XYZ SUCKS!!!!!" vid, with XYZ invariably being an established brand, with the intention of implying some kind of conspiracy theory - ultimately causing a flame war between two encamped sides (generating plenty of views and comments). Searching for similar issues with Taylor guitars as this guy's belly problem doesn't show up an epidemic of them. Therefore, just maybe, that belly was caused by maltreatment by its owner. Can't really discuss the technicalities of it without knowing its history. But, end of the day, you buy whatever guitar plays and sounds good to you, and we are lucky there are so many good guitars to chose from nowadays! 😁
@@andygrove285 As a working guitarist, I can say sincerely say that an instrument's ability to deal with the wear and tear of playing live is absolutely critical. It's a point that is sadly overlooked by TH-camrs in favour of more flashy topics like endless tonewood discussion videos.. From my experience, playing any instrument on tour; whether it's playing in musical theatre or even local bar gigs, will put an instrument through a lot more wear than home practice. It sounds strange as it's not really a 'tone' thing but more of a reliability thing. For that reason, I think this video is fair to criticize. I've played a couple of friends' Taylors and they just would not stay in tune, even when set up. This is an £800 product being marketed as an instrument I'm supposed to take seriously as if it is a professional instrument. The build quality is dreadful and so many basic aspects of this acoustics construction have been done so cheaply that the instrument is an accidental archtop.
I have had my 114 cents since 2017 and upgraded many aspects of it. Still plays great and is specked out. Also the 114 solid top is now warm in and sounds very good. Just upgraded to 314 baritone from them.
You are absolutely correct. Taylor has significant design and build quality issues. I’ve seen some magnificent high-end Taylors, BUT, others…Whew!!! I had their higher-end nylon-strung guitar where the top ‘telegraphed’ with six months. I then argued with Taylor for months before they finally relented and sent over a new body (why they didn’t just replace the whole instrument is beyond me). Fast forward another 4-6 months and the top of the ‘new’ body also telegraphed. I gave up and got rid of the piece of crap. And before all the armchair experts come out with nonsense, all of my guitars are kept in humidity controlled cases when not being used. Further, I’ve had high-end Martins, Gibsons, and others. I’ve been a demonstrator for Martin at showcases and I’ve built guitars and been an importer of a quality Asian brand. As I said, I’ve seen and played some great high-end Taylors, but there are some serious problems with more than a few of their cheaper to mid-range guitars. They are certainly not worth the ticket price.
As a person who used to build guitars...that is amatuer work quality at best. But, that said, that's one of Taylor's least expensive guitars, and some of those shortcuts, like the small end block and no back bracing is an attempt to free up the vibration so it sounds better. It's still junk yes, but it's intentional junk.
And the video's point is for the same or less money you can get much better, unless you are a headstock label ho. Taylor's up-line offerings are much better, but I still think for the money one can get a better instrument elsewhere at any price point.
That Taylor is $899 ( retail in the USA ) worth of JUNK. That guitar isn't worth $125 NEW. Both Taylor AND Martin have been ripping people off for quite some time now. Because no matter which price point, or quality level, there are literally DOZENS of other guitar factories that are blowing them both clean out of the water for price vs what you get. And this includes their custom shop models.
@@howabouthetruth2157 There is a lot of money to be made in the segment between €500.- and €1,000.- because that is where most of the potential buyers are. A good Martin costs €3,000+ period. I wouldn't buy a Martin under the 18 range, so D-18, 00-18 etc. And 28+ for rosewood. Spending less than 3 grand on a new Martin is wasted money. I would rather spend 1/3 of that on a Blueridge, but they are becoming more expensive too.
@@gingerbeer914 Buy a new Martin guitar in ANY price range......and you're playing Russian roulette. Seriously. Ya may get a good one......or you may get a true lemon that starts coming apart. Bridges pulling clean off of HIGH END Martin's are all too common today. There are SO many killer acoustic guitar makers right now that are much better IN ANY price range....far too many to name here. We are truly living in the golden age of luthierie right now, due to the countless options and great pricing with high quality to boot. And I never dreamed I would be saying such things only 20 years ago. ( I've been playing & singing since 1974.) But it takes millions upon millions of new guitarists to learn the hard way. They want to "feel secure" in choosing a big name........no matter the price point.......and let me tell ya Brother.......they WILL learn the hard way. Because Martin and Taylor are straight up ripping people off. I really don't enjoy saying this stuff.......but it's the sad truth: the bean counters have taken over with those big ass companies.
I bought a baby Taylor and regretted it very quickly. It seemed like a nice travel guitar until the back came off. They glued the back to the sides with no rims. I cant believe that the back stayed on as long as it did. Well, I called Taylor about the warrenty and they gave me a shop to bring it to, but it was 100 miles to get to it. I glued the back on myself and decided never to buy another Taylor. Ill stick with Martin. I have a Martin dc15e and I love that guitar. Its a much more expensive guitar, but that no excuse for Taylors cheap build on the Baby Taylor line.
I looked inside my yamaha fgx 800 C, which is $389 us, and it's miles above that Taylor's inners, everything was as you said it should be.. I have a scope like the one you used...yamaha is the best guitar for what you pay. I played Martin's and Taylor's fenders, etc... and the only guitar that sounded a bit better than the yami was a seagull guitar that i played at the guitar center. But way more expensive. As we're the others.
I’ve owned my Taylor 214CE for nearly 20 years. Still holds tune perfectly, plays flawlessly and sounds fantastic. Id be keen to see inside mine like this, to see if its better / worse. Regardless, its been a fantastic guitar for the money and served me well.
They are no longer using this X-bracing pattern on the 100 and 200 series, they've transitioned to what they are calling "C-class bracing" which looks like a partial V. Something interesting I noted, with the new C bracing, which appears less supportive than even V or traditional X is that models with the GP body shape that come with medium gauge strings stock on V-bracing variants are shipping with light gauge strings on the C braced versions... It does make me wonder how well they go about testing their prototypes in the wild and in different environmental conditions before making them into mass produced products.
Great video, thank you. I remember trying to purchase my very first acoustic guitar (lol, T114, I thought it was fine). Very frustrating. So many companies, so many building techniques, so many natural materials. Too many variables. In some ways, it’s always a crap shoot. Buying your first guitar is like buying your first car without knowing how to drive.
I have a few Taylor guitars, and none are like that inside. I have a 214ce deluxe for travel. Rosewood and spruce, a 224ce in Koa and layered Koa. Also, for travel. A 414ce in Rosewood and spruce, and a 724ce all Koa. That guitar was searched out for the video. My friend has an 114ce, and it doesn't look like that.
The inside of my 214 ce doesnt look at all like this 114. Better bracing on the top, tucked underneath propper kerfing. Propper neck and tail blocks. No glue squeeze out. Its about 15 years old I think.
I have a Taylor 214cd-PLUS and a Baby Taylor. There is nothing wrong with either, and while the Baby Taylor isn't quite the sound of the 214 I'm impressed with it. It's a couch guitar and a quick grab practice guitar. The action of these out the box was spot on. I have a humidistat inside of the 214ce-p (Taylorsense) and the humidity inside the Aerocase is between 48% - 56%. I live in rainy Portland Oregon where sometimes the summer humidty gets down in the 30's. Taylor, for a large brand, is good quality stuff. That sir, is a dud, which is extremely rare
Belly appears pretty normal @ 0:48. How 'bout swapping the neck shim? Yes it has a neck shim. Taylor will happily send you extra shims if you need them. Awesome company.
Excellent video. I subscribed. 879 Pounds? That's over $1100 U.S! I'm a Yamaha guy, and have no shame about it. I have always thought that Taylors (and Martins) are over-priced. I am not a luthier, nor am I a professional guitar tech, but have done many guitar repairs and set-ups over the decades. This guitar is a mess. So much for quality control.
As someone with 20+ years of Taylor ownership and gigging behind me I find this review at best ignorant and certainly not reflective of the experience I have had with the brand and I include the 114ce that my daughter and I chose after 3 hours auditioning Ina guitar shop 5 years ago. Fundamentally the 100 series achieves its tone and price point by using a shapely or walnut veneered back and sides that requires no bracing or kerfing for its strength I have a low end nylon strung Taylor CE of the same construction its plays well has good projection and sounds sweet so all those comments about interlocking bracing with kerfs is not relevant to this design. I have had ovations, Yamaha’s (on which it is impossible to do a neck reset by the way so don’t try, and own a 2000 X-braced 914ce and a more recent Y-braced Builders Edition K14ce I have had them serviced at Manson’s and I have had a wonderful ownership experience because I value the tone and I know that the action can be adjusted easily (without a traditional neck reset) because that capability has been designed into the guitar. I really have to say that you got this one wrong….
bought a tailor one fifty e twelve strength part of the reason I bought it was that I assumed eventually it would belly they all do I have a ibaness from 1991 that has bellied and it's not unplayable it's just not as playable as I'd like Higher up the neck. So I gave a Mexican Taylor a shot thinking ok the price is reasonable for an instrument I don't play all the time. I got it and it sounded wonderful amplified it played well it sounded nice maybe not as much lower mid as I'd like but it was a fine sounding instrument and played well. Eight months later I pulled it out of its case I had not used it in a couple of weeks and the action was unplayable I measured it to the gate with the gage and it was about a hair over four millimeters at the 12th fret if I had a arrow I could have shot like Robin Hood with it. on the other hand I haven't i've been as 30 years old it's not nearly the belly. So while this may be unfair to other tailors clearly Clearly their lower end line is susceptible to this. Then the way I was treated by their customer service was extremely disrespectful guitar does not belly that much in 8 months and literally in a couple of weeks they blame the humidity for it but on the other hand it was right next to a bunch of other guitars that were perfectly fine and played like they always do. then When they agreed to do warranty work on it due to the tech looking at it it took from September to march to get it done. Now part of the reason I bought this particular model rather than say a martin Was the reputation for quality even if I'm not really a fan of their sound I know they're well made or thought so and the fact that net can be shimmed to compensate for a belly. Eventually I was told by the tech that he'd use the maximum number of shims or thickness I don't remember which and then the neck could no longer be adjusted to compensate for that. And even at that point I felt the action was higher than when I bought it and it is higher than spec I don't recall the exact numbers right now so I was somewhat disappointed and then a few months later it moved again. Well not as much it still remains at the edge of playability if you don't play cowboy ports. I do not know enough about technicalities of the racings in that to say whether the guys right or wrong what I do know from experience and having seen a couple in stores that were for sale With the same issues that Taylor's low end guitars are A line to avoid like the plague. Is exactly what happened to me on my guitar within the first year of ownership. I'd also add that Taylor's warranty and Sweetwater's warranty were not worth the paper they were written on.
This is interesting - I bought a Taylor and didn’t get on with the Expression system at all. It went back to Taylor and when I got it back it still kept cutting out on stage. I couldn’t trust it after that. Very heavy guitar too. It sat in the case unplayed for 11 years then I traded it for a Gibson American Eagle which is awesome.
I'm not a fan of Taylors ever since I first encountered them many years ago. BUT, I wish you would do this level of analysis on a higher model. That being said, I found your look inside these guitars to be instructive and enjoyable. Thanks.
I would like to see him do another video on the same model. Taylor braces the back of their guitars. That looks nothing lol the inside of my Taylor 314 which is a lesser model.
Wow, suddenly I realize that the amazing Taylor I bought only after playing every other guitar in the shop, many of which cost several times as much, is in fact not a good guitar after all even though it projects astonishingly, feels alive in my hands and has a rich sound I've never heard from anything else but another Taylor. Thanks for this not at all clickbait video, which I assure you I actually took the time to watch.
I have this exact Taylor guitar model. It plays great, stays in tune, great intonation, electronics are solid. Is it full of overbuilds and high end woods? No, and it didn’t need to be. It’s a great instrument at this price point.
I've been playing since '65 ... and professionally for about 20 of those years. I've owned a lot of guitars and have really put those guitars through the test of moving them from home to the clubs I played ... and sitting in those relatively harsh environments. For an acoustic, an Ovation held up best but it would never be my choice for a recording session. The worst acoustic I've ever owned was a Gibson. I've always thought that the Taylors were far overrated ... my opinion only. I've had a Martin, and Martins would usually be my choice for recording. I had one acoustic that developed the belly bump ... not expensive enough of a guitar to put a lot of time or money into. I used a "Bridge Doctor" to correct the hump and then made a "Nashville/High Strung" guitar out of it. I figured that the lower string tension and the bridge doctor would prevent a reoccurence of the bump ... and it did.
Thanks for this vid! I've been mixing foh for a long enough time to agree! The Taylors 👎 were never fun to work with. They absolutely sound increasingly more horrible the harder you strike them. This inspection of the build quality demonstrates why that could be true. When considering an instrument, pick one that lets you dig in and responds well to your energy. ✌️
Are you sure that the arch is not a design feature? I just checked my Taylor 224ce-K DLX that I bought 5 months ago in February and it also has a slight but clearly visible arch that seems to taper off behind the bridge to the rear of the guitar, much like an archtop would have. My guitar sounds brilliant and is very comfortable to play. Should I be concerned?
@@sil.lum.quan. design feature that means the action is too high to be playable 🤔. Acoustics do often have a once they strung due to tension of the strings. You would expect it to increase over 20 plus years but not in 6 months.
i've had a couple of tanglewood guitars, mainly seconds that i picked up for £75 just to try them out. one was a parlour guitar that sounded really, really nice, but looked awful so that went, and another with rosewood back and sides that sounded great too, it had a warped neck though so i used it mainly for bottle neck. friends have tanglewood and they sound pretty good and look pretty good too.
Thanks for this informative video. I own a newish Taylor 114e, and it has the same extreme bowl top with too high action. It has great loud tone, but it's painful to play. I've tried a dehumidifier but no dice. I'll need to sell it, but now I feel bad about taking money for a poor design. Argh.
Taylor has been going down in quality for several years. In the 1990's and early 2000's they made great guitars. They BS about making all the improvements to guitars is nothing but cost saving measures while raising prices. and it'd gotten worse since Andy Powers took over.
Yes, because Taylor found out idiots would pay just as much or more for a substandard guitar as they would for a fine instrument. Their market segment went from guitar players to profilers just wanting folks to see that Taylor name on the headstock.
I have a 1996 910 (original owner) and it's a ridiculously good guitar. I've played some really nice Tayors recently so it depends on which model you buy. Not much different than any other guitar company.
Imho they were never "great". . They were never exciting. Very even sounding (some, called "balanced"), nothing stood out. A middle of the road dependable instrument only.
I have a MIM Taylor 224ce-k dlx and love it. If I were to rethink my purchase I would still buy it today after trying what's available locally...but I would probably go with the satin finish instead of the gloss. I've only had it a few years now, but it still looks new and sounds better every year. There are definitely some excellent lower priced options available I'm sure, but I'm happy with mine.
Wow, thank you for posting this no nonsense peek into Taylor's construction, would you perhaps do a comparison follow up of something higher up in their range? Saying that this seems to have worse construction and QC than most sub 300 quid acoustics!
I have had one of these for the last 15 years. One of the first batch of 114ce's. It sounds great in the room, but has always sounded shite plugged in. I now see why, although, I had a peek inside mine and it's not this bad, the one in the vid looks a bit newer
Bought a taylor 12 mim string guitar during covid for Christmas ,I thought OK they have the adjustable neck and when it bellies a bit like all 12 strings do I can adjust the neck in a few years. by August it had bellied so much there was 4 1/2 millimeters clearance at the 12th fret it was un playable. I have an Ibanez as 12 string that's about 30 years old but nowhere near this belly Still playable if not as playable as the Taylor when it arrived. I saw used one in the store with the exact same problem After my experience . I took the guitar to the authorized repairman in August I got it back in March. Was told the neck adjustment was maxed out. not as good as new but better , than it shifted again it's back to where it was in august last year. Yes it is the low end of Taylo. I checked them out in the store and I thought they were much superior to anyone else's low cost 12 strings so I bought one based on the confidence and reputation of the name not expecting within eight months it would be absolutely unplayable. As to the issue of humidity it was right next to a bunch of vintage guilds n Gibsons and none of them shifted. And Taylor tried to hit me with thief oh well it's the humidity it's your fault ****. Love to know how anyone even manages to tour with the Taylor guitar if they are that sensitive. .
Now wait a minute: you complained that the grain of the end block in the Mayson was running in the same direction as the wood grain of the sides........but then you also complained about the grain of the end block in the Tanglewood running perpendicular to the wood grain of the sides. Or am I missing something?????????????
And that's just the thing I have a Mexican roadwornTelecaster cause I'm not really a tele guy but it's turned out to be my favorite telecast i've ever played I actually like it better than my friends real 50s. So fender has a budget line in Mexico that delivers the goods why can't Taylor
I think Taylor tried to become all things to all guitar players when they started building cheaper guitars and they should not have gone down that road. I bought a 7 series in 1992 and it has had 3 new frets, two set ups and I recently had Gotoh 510s fitted as the original tuners were becoming very worn. It has remained incredibly stable, I have not experienced any issues apart from the fact that the neck is too narrow which can lead (very rarely) to pushing either top or bottom strings past the fret and onto the side of the neck. It seems that manufacturing quality at the lower end of the range is pretty shocking on these 100/200 Taylors and yet they have the nerve to charge big money. This video is a real eye opener, shame on Taylor! Why would you risk your reputation by building substandard guitars that are literally set up to fail and then abdicate all responsibility with a humidity clause?
I have a Yamaha FG800 and for $200 I have no complaints. It doesn’t have the tone woods that I would prefer but it’s not a toy. I know how to setup guitars though and that makes all the difference. I do own expensive guitars too btw.
Slab cut bridge plate ! Also the nasty binding strips and the braces were burnt by laser cutting so there was no sanding or shaping on those short braces.
Well done for highlighting the build quality of three different examples of what you get for your money. This particular Taylor may well be at the small end of their price range, but even that shouldn't mean it's ok to throw it together using shoddy workmanship with scrap pieces of badly finished wood slapped together with the knowledge that the average guitarist wouldn’t even think of looking inside the instrument something Taylor are banking on. Would it really have hurt them to have bothered to make it more structurally sound as after all it looks like the insides were made from remnants from the higher end of the range? I've played a few Tanglewoods and I've found them to be quite consistently good for the money.
I have owned a high-end Taylor 12-string, that was made in 2016, since 2020. It is a keeper. Not one of their 6-string models has ever interested me. The V-bracing looks like a bad move too.
I just bought a 36 inch Vangoa cutaway guitar and wish I could show you how it’s made it is FAR superior to what you’re showing on that Taylor. I paid 172.49 CAD Made in China. Spruce top I bought it on Amazon. 6:08 Great video thank you. 🇨🇦
Anyone who has played long enough to have left a trail of new and used guitar purchases over the years knows ANY brand, including the most expensive, will put out the odd stinkaroonio which should have been shot and buried, never having seen the outside of whatever plant/shop built it. It's a miracle that Taylor, Martin, Gibson and on and on, who build thousands of guitars every year, manage to keep these seriously screwed up examples to a bare minimum. Also, even with the very best examples of these high-end manufacturers some will love them others hate them, way it goes! Personally, I'm not a fan of Martin but I have great respect for these iconic American guitars. A couple of years ago I was in the market for a new acoustic and had a $2,000 CDN budget, give or take a couple of hundred, and I took my sweet time and picked up every acoustic at three locations in the GTA (Toronto Canada) as well as going through every used acoustic in the same shops, and I didn't like a single Taylor or Martin. I ended up buying a new Epiphone Excellente, and I just love it! The other side of the quality/price coin!~ I have a budget black Yamaha FG 340 (very rare to find them painted black) and someone was having a career day when they built it back in 78 or 79 because this axe plays and sounds like "budda" aka butter, and I will never trade or see it, I absolutely love it!! I've had it for about 25 years and my wife's late uncle John, who gave me the guitar and wouldn't take no for an answer, because I flat out refused to accept it, and wanted him to keep it. I drove to his house one day and left it inside his side door when they were out. By the time I hit a few stores and got home maybe 45 minutes later, it was back! LOL! She never goes out of tune and always sounds fantastic, and the very first time it had any work was when I did a complete fret job, which it hardly needed, about five years ago. Sometimes I'll go on an extended run playing some of my other acoustics and it can sit for weeks, but I know whenever I do get back to her she will be in perfect tune, or close to it! Yamaha has quietly (compared with other labels who put great effort in advertising) been building absolutely awesome guitars in all ranges for decades!! They may not be the sexiest acoustics out there, but regardless of what price range someone may be restricted to, you will NEVER go wrong with Yamaha! Jack ~'()'~
@@bronzesnake7004 Ifdthe design calls for a single brace.. that is not the "odd stinkaroonio" it is deliberate misrepresentation of what a guitar should be. It's all about the money.
Ian a luthier in Puertorico and i have to say that they don’t make X bracing with three braces. They do it with the notch in the middle, they’re only tow braces on the X. If the customer do not care of the safety of his instrument this problems will be there.
I bought a Taylor in 2013, the 110 model for $450 brand new. It is amazing. Never had to do any work on it at all. Stays in tune. I am guessing their QC has declined.
This is a brilliant review and critique. I’ve played guitar for 41 years and I very nearly bought a $7500 Taylor (a different model to this one), but found a more beautiful and stunning TAKAMINE, which remains in perfect tune to this day after 25 years of hard playing. Prior to this video I held very high regard for TAYLOR BRAND guitars based on my experience of playing many of them and liking them all. But I am utterly shocked at this appalling example of shoddy workmanship. I saw the title of the video and assumed it would be junk. Instead, WM is clearly a very accomplished and well qualified Luthier. I feel he has been very fair to TAYLOR here with his voiceover. If it were me I would have gone even harder. But one thing is certain. My next guitar WILL NOT BE A TAYLOR. They should have given this customer a full replacement of a model of his choosing, along with a QA Certification and they should have honoured their Warranty - the fact they didn’t is my main concern and that’s the reason I will never buy one because they clearly cannot be trusted to stand by their own promise, and their QA process is catastrophic. Cheap junk from China would probably play better. Very poor form TAYLOR GUITARS. 👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎 Great video WM Guitars 👍 You’ve won a new subscriber.
The bellying is an easy fix, if you know how. JLD bridge doctor from STEW-MAC around 30USD , an hour install, bingo...creates more resonance, a flat soundboard, an improved guitar. I have turned 200usd guitars into GREAT tone machines with this improvement.
I have handled and played a bunch of Taylors including 50th Ann. $10k+ models. They always feel too heavy for any given size. I own a D35 Martin and an OMC16. My guitar mentor has 2 800 series models and they are bricks by comparison. On top of that almost all of them I pick up are so poorly set up from the factory as to be unplayable. Local shop had a Taylor Parlor slot head 12 fret on the wall. Even had a finish I could like. Picked it up and did not even try to play it. Strings at least 3mm off 1st fret by nut. I have never picked up an unplayable new Martin and I have owned 5 in total (all USA Martins and Taylors for comparison). Taylor sound is kind of sterile to my ear acoustically. Plugged in they sound great but so does my 1960s plywood $80 Framus Texan with an eBay sound hole pickup.
Wow! If that is a genuine Taylor, I am shocked! I just looked inside my modest collection of guitars (all 'budget' models under £500) and they all have considerably better internal build quality. Even the second-hand Vintage V300 I bought for £50 is better (an amazing guitar for the money)! To be fair to Taylor, my second-hand Baby Taylor is pretty tidy inside but is a fraction of the price of the 114 you feature. Thanks for a very enlightening video!
Here we say : "Tout ce qui est excessif est insignifiant" (Anything excessive is insignificant) Your video and title perfectly deserves that comment :) Generalization to a whole brand, with the analysis of only two item/model is just ridiculous. Other people do the same thing with (insert a brand here), perhaps to give them a kind of expertise; or simply YT views, but certainly not wiseness.
I’ve owned Taylor’s for 25 years. Everything from 200 series up to Builder’s Editions. If you take care of them with proper humidification, they’re great guitars. Crisp, articulate, full tone and response. The more you play them, the more seasoned they get.
You've put that camera to very good use, illuminating the junk that Taylor is marketing in their lower end, and banking on their reputation and that of their arguably better built higher end instruments. Their big mistake is that anyone who starts out with one of these lower end junkers is not likely to stick with the Taylor brand as they eventually invest in a higher end, better built guitar. If your first Taylor is poorly designed junk, why would you want to give them anymore money for their high end models? I've been playing since the 60s, (played pro for 30+ years) and have literally owned hundreds of guitars (electric and acoustic) over the decades. I happen to love Taylor 12 strings, because they sound good enough, but more importantly because the Taylor 12 strings I've owned (like 6 or 7 different models) played easier than any other brand, stayed very well in tune, and amplified well, although NOT using their internal pickups, but rather using K&K minis, which I prefer for most acoustics, and usually in combination with a magnetic soundhole type (usually vintage) that I run through a seperate channel or amp. I don't think I would buy any new Taylor 6 string at this time though, unless it was way underpriced and happened to be something very special, (maybe a slot head parlor or something). In a lot of ways you're better off buying used, because if the instrument is going to fail like this one, it will already have done so. If you're buying a 10+ year old guitar, it will have been 'played-in' and probably sounding better than when it was new, and any inherent design problems will likely already have revealed themselves. Buying used though, you do really need to know what to look for (neck-angle, saddle height, fret wear, neck relief, top-belly, etc), or have someone along with you that knows. I've bought quite a few used guitars that, after playing them for a year or two, was able to sell them at a profit, which gave me the funds to upgrade further still and try out different brands and models. The only other good thing I can say about Taylors is that they do tend to hold their value, if only based on their name brand and reputation. Same with most Martins and Gibsons. I think that is ultimately the best way to learn about these things, - to play (and own) as many different ones over the years as you can, so you learn through first hand experience what features you like, and what works for you and your particular style of playing... Through your video it's pretty conclusive though, to see that cheap butt-joint x brace, the burnt braces that don't even slot into the binding/kerfing, the solitary, inefficient belly brace; it's all pretty shocking, especially when compared to the other, better-built examples you show. Bob Taylor was once a pretty good guitar designer and luthier; I think he should be ashamed at these sort of examples, and their shortcomings, bearing his name. They can and should build much better for the prices they're charging; it's just the right thing to do... Anyway, very well done video, I don't think you were biased in any way; I hope Taylor sees this as a bit of a 'wake-up call', although I doubt they will, as they have a lot of success doing what they do. But I'd rather spend my money on a higher end instrument like a (used) Collings or maybe an older model Martin 00/000, than any of the higher priced Taylors. The only Martin I've kept in my 'shrinking stable' is a 1963 super rare model 5-16, a very tiny parlor type guitar. I agree that if you can find a local builder with a good rep who will work with you for under $3k, that you can probably get your 'lifetime guitar'. But it's a good idea to have owned and played at least a half-dozen other guitars before you go bespoke, just so you'll actually know what features you want to go for.
Have to agree totally. Seen them on the wall at stores! People pick one up like its a master piece guitar! Same thing big belly in the guitar Overpriced junk!. .Seen 20year old Yamaha play & sound better?!
Thanks for the "insider view" on these guitars. The Taylor, being the cheapest full size model in the lineup, could have definitely been better constructed and executed. Clearly a quick and cheap build using cheap labour. Having said that, when it comes to correcting the action on Taylors, you shouldn't even consider shaving the saddle. Your first step should be resetting the neck with a thicker set of shims. That would have addressed the action despite the top belly.
You should mention you are looking at Mexican built Taylors that sell at a lower price point. American built Taylors built of solid wood have a much higher build standard. Still thanks for posting as it was eye opening. What year was this guitar?
I've gigged with a Taylor 314ce for the last two years. It's been an absolute dream. Between gigs, jams, and practice, it gets played about 10 to 15 hours per week. I play in Florida, so humidity is ever-present. I keep it in the case when not playing. My only problem is the frets are wearing quicker than I would like, but my grip is probably way too tight. That's just a 30 year flaw in my technique, not a manufacturing issue.
Out of all the guitars I've owned or played at this price point, the Taylor has been my favorite so far.
To be fair, the Taylor that was on your bench was in fact a dud. But also, to be fair, that is not a good representation of Taylor guitars. I work on Taylor guitars every week and have worked on thousands of them. I do measure the soundboard deflection on every acoustic that comes on the bench and I rarely see this kind of severe hump on a Taylor. But coincidentally, I just happen to have a Taylor in the shop that has that kind of severe hump. In my case it is due to a brace that came unglued. I would suggest that you should perhaps check if there is an unglued brace on your Taylor, as well. Perhaps you can't see the gap with the endoscope because you did loosen the string tension. I typically check the braces with a thin feeler gauge, when I suspect that there might be an unglued one.
The detail that you mentioned, that the end block is not glued to the soundboard could possibly be by design. There's a possibility they did that to avoid decreasing the surface of the soundboard. It's possible.
Also, the saddle on a Taylor should only be shaved in the event that one cannot get the action on speck, on both sides, after doing a neck reset. A neck reset will of course lower or raise the action on the bass side and on the treble side by the same amount. But if the guitar settled in a way that there is a differential soundboard deflection, so there's more deflection on one side than on the other, then we have to shave one side of the saddle to compensate. But in general, that is not needed, as the neck reset will do the action adjustment.
I see a lot of Taylor guitars with saddles that have been shaved by previous techs and on some of those guitars there's barely any string break angle left on the strings going across the saddle. That's why I always keep a supply of Taylor saddles in stock, so I have them ready, to bring the saddle height back on speck.
A set of Taylor neck shims only costs $55, directly from Taylor and the set comes with a set of original Taylor neck block labels, to cover the two bolts. I already worked out a formula to pretty much nail it when I do a neck reset, so I immediately grab the correct shims to get the action right. I do part of my setup with the old strings, measure the action, do my calculation, then when I take the old strings off, to clean the guitar, I already know which shims are to be used to get the correct action. I rarely have to take the new strings off to get another set of shims, to fine tune the action.
Also, Taylor will only charge you one time for the shims. At that time you can also request that they throw in a set of shims for the GS mini, for the Baby Taylor, etc. And when you run out of certain shims, you can just call them and they'll send you whichever shims you need, at not extra cost.
The person I deal with , at Taylor, is Bo Santos. He'll hook you up if you need their help. I'm not sure what the arrangements with shipping costs outside of the US might be, though.
To be fair, the neck blocks on the other 2 guitars that you showed were pretty slim. I don't recall that you showed the neck block on the Taylor. But, if I saw this correctly, I believe that the Mayson had a gap between the neck block and the fingerboard extension block. That's the main structural part of any acoustic guitar and if there's a gap there, that is certainly not good. I also don't believe there's any significant advantage to the carbon fiber layers on the laminate fingerboard extension block. What are the odds that such a short piece of plywood will ever bend?
My personal opinion about Taylor guitars is that they are a good choice for the recreational player. I usually just have to do setups on Taylors and I rarely see the need for any structural repairs. There will always be the odd one. Taylor guitars are assembled in a strict humidity controlled plant and they hardly ever develop soundboard cracks, even in cases when people are not aware of the fact that they need to use a humidifier during the winter.
By comparison, Martin guitars are awful. They dry up all the time (Martin has no humidity control at the pant), they have bridge lift issues, the binding keeps coming off, braces keep coming off, soundboards crack al the time. On every X-series Martin I've ever seen there is a gap at the heel of the neck. Even on more costly Martin guitars the neck angle is almost always wrong. I've often seen, they slice into the soundboard, around the bride, with a sharp blade, in an effort to make a nice bridge glue joint. But the cut is often deep into the soundboard. So, now you have to fix the soundboard, crape off more of the finish around the bridge footprint, so that you can use an oversized bridge to cover up that cut and hopefully reinforce that part of the board. Martin truly makes some awful guitars.
OK, I talked enough.
Thanks for listening (reading) and I hope at least some of it makes sense.
Take care.
If you honestly believe that $899 retail in the USA is "a fair deal" for this P.O.S. Taylor 114ce, then I am utterly speechless. In his earliest days, Bob Taylor made some really fine dreadnoughts. Of course he was attacked by many when he revolutionized the use of a bolt-on neck, but we must give him credit where credit is due. An acoustic guitar better be really nice & have a high value in order to re-set a neck with a dovetail joint. A GOOD bolt-on neck design makes a lot of sense, and is much less costly to repair or replace. But with all of that being said, I purchased a brand new upper shelf Taylor ( I can't recall the model now ) back in 2005. The price was around $2600, as best I can recall, from a local music store. I really loved the sound & how it played at first. But after several months, I began to notice something: my expensive Taylor wasn't very touch responsive like any of my 3 Japanese Takamine's. No matter if you play a Taylor softly or really digging in, they just sound the same. A really GREAT acoustic guitar SHOULD give you what you ask of it. And all 3 of my Japanese Takamine's blew that Taylor right out of the water.......and none of my Takamine's cost as much as that Taylor did. Quite frankly, ALL Taylor guitars are grossly over-priced, and because we are truly living in the golden age of luthierie right now, there are MANY options that are MUCH better than ANY Taylor for the money. ME: 62 yr old, lifelong guitarist/singer/blues harp/stage performer of many many years. I was forced to sell off all of my guitars, amps, gear, etc during that awful recession of '08 to save our home. After years of financial recovery, I have since purchased 4 AMAZING acoustic guitars produced by HSIENMO ( they build no more than 400 guitars PER YEAR )......all from their custom shop. Loved the first one SO much, I bought 3 more. 1 D45 clone dreadnought, a grand auditorium, and 2 medium jumbo's. My D45 clone and grand auditorium both have top-shelf Adirondack spruce tops with SOLID Honduran rosewood back & sides. One of my medium jumbo's has German spruce top with solid Indian RW back & sides, while the other has a killer western cedar top with solid cocobolo back & sides. 2 have solid single pc mahogany necks while the other 2 have killer 5 pc laminated flamed maple/rosewood necks. I won't even go into the GORGEOUS quilted mahogany, ebony, abalone, flamed maple binding/purfling/back strips, etc......they're all loaded, and built RIGHT inside & out. And they all 4 sound as gorgeous as they look & play. I took each one in to show them off ( one by one as I purchased them ) to my buddy's working at a local music store, which happens to be an authorized Taylor dealer. They have a huge selection of Taylor's from low-end models to the Presentation series costing OVER 10 GRAND. 3 of the 4 of my Hsienmo's absolutely smokes the best Taylor they have in their shop, and even they admit it. 2 of my Hsienmo's ( the D45 clone and my grand auditorium ) are $2500 each, and the 3rd ( one of my medium jumbo's with the cedar top and the most beautiful cocobolo we've ever seen on any acoustic ) costed only $1890. All 4 have bolt-on necks VERY nicely done/fit........just as all 4 have floating ebony fingerboards that will never warp over the body. All 4 also have camel bone nuts, saddles, and bridge pins. All 4 were set-up perfectly right out of the case. From my own personal experience: guitarists everywhere are getting SEVERELY RIPPED OFF BY TAYLOR. Their "Builder's Series" especially......because they figured out a way to get rid of the binding, YET CHARGE MORE MONEY. Oh, and by the way: I purchased 4 Journey Tek EP001K pick-up systems & installed them all myself, and they too, blow away Taylor's system. Hsienmo doesn't even offer a "cheap budget guitar". When you can but a top-shelf HAND-MADE acoustic guitar with all the bells, whistles, and appointments that is BUILT RIGHT, and sounds as glorious as it looks, for ONE/FIFTH of the price of a top shelf Taylor.......then something is horribly wrong with Taylor. And the same thing goes for MARTIN. Both Taylor AND Martin nowadays, are all about mass production & profits...but even their custom shop models are being smoked by acoustics made by other fabulous builders & factories that cost quite a bit less. Thanks for listening/reading.......and I hope THIS is making sense.
Longest comment and reply I've ever seen watching a TH-cam video.
Even though I stopped reading 1/3 of the way through on both' I still have both of you a 👍.
@GuitarQuackery 's comments on Martin are so extreme and beyond belief (if true, Martin would have gone out of business a long time ago) that you have to wonder how reliable his comments on Taylor are.
@@jDominiqueS I can totally understand that my comments on Martin can be questioned.
I'll make some Martin videos at some point in the future. In fact, as it turns out, I just fixes some binding (again) on a Martin (this time it was an OM-28). I did make plenty of recordings, but it it does take a while to edit all of that into a coherent video. So, I am not sure when I'll be ready to post it.
BTW, it is well known in the guitar repair world that Martin guitars have all these issues that I am describing. About 50% of them are garbage.
@@BryanClark-gk6ie Yep, I kind of got carried away with my rant. But hopefully it helps someone at some point in the future. Thanks.
Wow. I have several Taylor guitars. From several different years. They all sound great. Play great. Built great. 🤷🏻
Same here. I've tried a couple Martin's and sent them back to Sweetwater.
Your builder were not drunk that day. Lucky you
Why the heck would you buy several Taylor guitars. Did it take that many to get to a playable one. I bought one 4000 Taylor. It was my last, never again
Me too, in fact I’ve never played a bad Taylor.
@@troytempest290 Me neither. I had a T5 that I just didn’t like. So I sold it. But then again, I don’t really play electric guitar anyway.
Around 10 yrs. ago I bought new a Taylor GC-3 that has lived most of it's awful sounding life inside it's case. The low E string sounds like a thud and the high strings ring forever. Taylor bragged about these guitars, we've been building these GC's for 30 years and they are wonderful! Being left-handed I just can't pick one up and try it, I had to order one. Being a machinist and handy with my hands I've made bone saddles for every guitar I owned that didn't have one, they all sounded better, even a $110.00 Johnson guitar (my first) guitar that had a laminated top. This GC-3 sounded like shit, the high strings rang f o r e v e r, and the low E string still had the thud sound. I immediately took the bone saddle out and put the tusk one back in. Also, the bridge pin holes were bored oversize, you could put the bridge pins in, turn the guitar upside down and they would all fall out. I called customer service and the guy said they are suppose to be loose. I said well, you obviously don't know shit either. I bought .005 oversize bridge pins to fix their mistake. Taylor did send it in a good guitar case. So a year or two after I bought this guitar Taylor redesigned it, they made the body thicker and blah, blag, blah. For about eight years I got their brag ass magazine twice a year. From the magazine I learned Taylor is very good at tooting their own horn. My guitar and the one you have in hand would make good fire started..if they're not to damp. pun- intended.
Why not sell it. There are people out there that dream of owning a Taylor. Maybe it doesn't sound good to YOUR ears. And good to somebody elses. I have a Taylor and I am happy with it. It's not a real expensive one. But fair enough for me.
I almost didn't click on this, as I thought it was just an all Taylor's suck thing, but I am glad I watched it. It prompted me to check my Martin D10-E . I put my phone in and took some photos. I was please to see no glue leaking and what looked like very nice construction. I'll have to do that next time I go looking at guitars at the local shop. Thanks! Also, I have looked at that same Taylor model at the time I bought my Martin. I am now very glad I purchased the Martin.
Get a furch, just as good and half the price
I had the same problem with a Taylor gs mini and the belly was so bad that unglued the bridge. There was no waranty etc ect. The guitar was brand new after it happens. What a terrible experience as a customer. Thanks for showing the real reasons of this, I tought it was the humidity but clearly its not, cheers
I have the same thing with Taylor Academy I have to pay for someone to reset the neck they still could get into spec
I had a Taylor GS Mini that did the same thing. It bellied up so much that the action higher up the neck made it almost unplayable. At first I thought it just needed a neck reset, but after watching a video from Guitar Spa Singapore I realized that the GS Mini had alomost no tracking. They sound good for a few years though until they have to problem. I finally sold it to a guy who said he never played up the neck and didn't care about the belly. I was very glad to be rid of it and have stayed away from Taylors since.
I had the same experience with my brandnew GS mini, extreme bellying around the bridge and no warranty from Taylor at all, thanks to the humidity-clause😊 . A GS mini is advertised as a traveller guitar, for god’s sake! No more Taylor’s for me ,,,
I have a Taylor 114ce also and has the same problem. Good sounding guitar but below the 5th fret it will make your fingers hurt. I didn't realize the top had such an arch just like the video. This has been one of those regret buys. Thanks for posting this video as it has enlightened me to why it has action issues. Very good assessment !!
I bought a Taylor GS-mini brand new. Action was unplayably high. Had to have the neck shimmed under warranty in its first week. Guitar shop technician said he is doing this all the time for that model. I wondered why they would let them out of the factory like that, then I watched a ‘tour’ video where the set-ups are being done by unpaid interns…
I got lucky. I have the mini mahogany and mini e koa. Both have low action with no buzz and sound great. The mini mahogany actually sounds better than the e koa...I don't know if it's just the difference in woods or that the mini mahogany doesn't have electronics...maybe a little of both.
The main reason for having horizontal grain on the end blocks is so that any grain movement will be in tandem with the guitar sides, minimising any chances of splitting. Back and soundboard bonding to the blocks is secondary as they already have large area bonding onto the kirfings.
I was told get a Yaylor, not a Martin. I got the Martin, and love it. Something wasn't right with the Taylor i didn't believe it would last. I was right.
I have a Taylor Academy 10e. The Jack plug has failed twice. The first time it was fixed under warranty. The second time I took it to a luthier. He says the Jack is really cheap and nasty. A Jack of decent quality only costs £10 online. It is frustrating that Taylor sell a guitar for £750 but then cut corners with poor quality components.
Yep, it's a crappy build. But, it is a cheaper, MIM Taylor. To imply that all Taylor's suck may be overstating it a bit. :)
True but they are still responsible for their products
@@kippsguitar6539But is it a Taylor or a fake Taylor?🤔
@@jono1457-qd9ft genuine Taylor 100 series, seen 2 really bad ones my students bought
@@kippsguitar6539 Absolutely! And I agree with you totally that the bellying issue is directly related to the crappy construction. I wouldn't touch that guitar with a 10' pole. Thanks for taking the time and effort in letting us know about this.
I got rid of the Name blinkers 45 years ago. I've seen for myself what you have delivered here. Excellent video, keep up the great work. Subscribed straight away.
Yes I have a 150 dollar Vietnamese guitar that's better than my 2500 dollar takamine which was a waste of money, Spot on
Well that’s obviously a budget guitar. Are we absolutely sure it’s really a Taylor and not a knock-off? I’ve worked on a bunch of higher-end Taylors and none of them looked even remotely like this. Never worked on a budget Taylor but if this is real then yeah… unacceptable.
Would be interesting to see another one that is at a Taylor dealer.
It has a Taylor scan chip and he said it cost £879
Regardless of whether it's high or low end it has their brand name on it and they should have stricter quality control making instruments in foreign countries. Other American guitar manufacturers have good quality instruments coming from Indonesia that are almost indentical to the quality of their "higher end" American made brothers.
I guess many commentors didn't actually listen or watch the video and just made comments. It is a Taylor and made in Mexico. I have a Taylor that was also made in Mexico and I love it. Intonation and action was perfect out of the box and the guitar is flawless. I would imagine every brand has it's problems, especially with their lower tier models.
@@jameswilliford5478 I have a 12 string that was as you described it was perfect when it came out of the box and eight months later it had bellied to the point of being unplayable. Yes I expected that to eventually happen as it was a 12 string. But eight months later is unacceptable and then when I had the neck adjusted to compensate it which was part of the reason I bought a tailor over the cheaper guild, They shimmed it with the maximum number of shims and it still was just playable a few months later bam same thing happened it got even worse. So now I'm stuck with a $900 piece of crap. I saw a used reason one in a guitar shop that was the year before mine was made and it had the same problem I don't expect the same attention to detail and quality on the high end taylor what I expected a serious mechanical physical flaw like this would not occur immediately after construction.
A thousand usd for a Mexican made, laminated guitar. Absolutely nutty before you even pointed the other things out
Absolutely true
@@coiner105 I had no Idea that there were even Mexican made Taylor's. I have only seen them made in California. Are the Mexican ones only for the European market?
I think across the board all the manufacturers at the lower end have made cost saving measures to keep their businesses stay afloat and profitable. It's not just in guitars its in all products made we use on a daily basis.
They are still responsible for their overpriced products
@@kippsguitar6539 To an extent. The price of the product comes down to the sales team not the quality department.
The only valuable response to that thread! Thanks!
Proud Taylor fan here with over 40 years of playing experience- 3 guitars from them and they are all great. A couple of months ago I went into a shop and played about fifteen acoustics, and the Taylors were better than every Larrivee or Martin- the only guitar that was comparable was a high-end Gibson. Also played a VERY nice Yamaha BTW. Tthe 114 does not have bracing because the back is shaped to provide structural support instead. From Taylor: "A note on Taylor layered wood guitars: The Taylor 100 Series, 200 Series, Academy Series, Baby Taylor, Big Baby and GS Mini models feature a layered wood back and sides with an arched back. The arch is by design and allows us to add depth and strength to the guitar body without bracing the back"
I've never liked Taylor guitars much but not because they don't play well. Heck I imagine a Zager often plays well...but the sound usually puts me off as much as the prices, especially for the laminate guitars.
I do like the 800 series sound; but my Gibson was a 2400$ Avante Garde offering that's explosive for a litte thing and it's also Rosewood.
It's subjective, I don't necessarily think Taylor's suck but they aren't anything I'd buy. I find the mojo isn't there, a bit "clinical" and uninspiring but no guitar is for everyone.
I also have seen some guitars designed specifically with this arched top. This could be a design choice by Taylor, but you have to admit the build quality of the inners is pretty bad on this particular guitar..
Taylors are good (not great, although they do make a few great ones) but are overpriced. I say this and I own 2; until recently it was 4. The GS-mini is a really good product, but a tad overpriced. I love the T5 - the "Swiss Army knife" guitar - it does everything well but nothing great, but is the best guitar for learning songs because you can go to the electrics or acoustics once you have it down, so it's a great axe to keep out. I also have an 814CE ('97) but no way I'd pay $4K for a new one - for that money there are lots of other guitars I'd rather have.
@@TeleCaster66that’s a perfect description.! Some said balanced, which they were..all the strings sounded boring.
About 10 years ago I inherited some money and decided to buy a 'decent' acoustic guitar. I went to a reputable local dealer and asked whether he had a Martin within my price range (I wanted to spend about £500 at the time). He advised me against buying a Martin in that price range, and instead sold me a Tanglewood TW1000-SR. I have never regretted it. It's a fabulous Dreadnought, high quality materials and workmanship, and has an amazing tone (even better after ten years of playing!).
About twenty years ago I hit every guitar shop in Leeds looking for an affordable steel string guitar.
(I normally played the classical guitar that I built myself under a very good luthier.)
I must have tried nearly every guitar in town that day. I kept raising my budget as I was disappointed with what I was finding.
I almost gave up that day until in the last shop there was a discounted, already affordable, Tanglewood.
I didn't really like the look of it much. It wasn't the style of guitar I thought I wanted but I thought I had to give it a go, like I already had with many others, and not be persuaded by such things.
I could tell almost instantly I'd found it.
The sound and the feel was what I'd come looking for and I found it in a guitar for a fraction of the price of some pretty high end guitars.
Still got it. Still love it. Never had to do anything to it in all that time aside from maybe a touch on the truss rod here and there when changing string gauges.
Having said all that I've now got a rather ropey Tanglewood acoustic bass I'm looking to get shot of. 🙂
Yes Taylor has its own sound compared to Martin or Gibson,
Which some people like.
Structurally you can say what you want to say about that cheap Taylor model but you should also compare how it sounds it could also be that if they put too much bracing that resonance and sound projection will be affected.
I am not a fan of their new V bracing but I love the sound of my 1998 815ce and 2003 914ce.
I own a Martin D41 , Collings D2H and Gibson J45 as well.
Wow you are amazing
My Taylor is 314ce, made in USA, great construction woods and sound , one testimony can't affect a hole brand !!
I have the same and love it
I have one also. One look inside and you can see it’s not a Taylor.
Yes and back to the theme of this video, this Taylor is 1000 dollars and junk, keep up
All my Taylors are 300 series: a Taylor 324ce 6-string, a Taylor 316ce Baritone 8-string, and a Taylor 352ce 12-Fret 12-string. I'm very pleased and thankful to have them along with my 1954 Gibson CF-100E, 1990 Custom Legend 1759 Ovation 12-string, 1991Elite Ovation 1768 six-string, a 2019 LXK2 Little Martin 6-string, and a 2023 X Series Martin 6-string.
Recently found a 1962 Mayfair parlour guitar,made in Japan and has been stood in a pantry since before England won the World Cup and it’s better made than that Taylor…Excellent piece by the way,well worth a sub..
I almost didn't watch this video!
(No clickbait title.)
I am SO GLAD that i did.
From now on, i will closely examine the innards of any guitar i buy!
In fact, I'm gonna check out my last purchase to see if it "measures up."
Just as soon as i get back home. (I'm on the other side of the country right now, and couldn't bring a beloved guitar due to potential airline screwups.)
At least now i know things to look for!
Thank you.
Just never buy a cheap Mexican version of an American top brand. You know that they're overpriced. Same goes for Chinese Guild guitars. Buy a genuine one that was made in USA.
If your budget is way too small, buy a Korean Cort.
They make decent solid spruce top guitars for very affordable prices.
I play Taylor for many years. They are amazing guitars. As a musician, my main concern is tone quality, intonation, tuning stability and playability. They are perfect in that regard. To be clear: I am talking about their higher end models. What you show in this video is *completely* different from what I see in the interior of my instrument. Conclusion, *the title of this video is a click bait* . Because it generalizes and judges a brand by one of their guitars where the main defect is a excessively curved top, which is what you get if you're not careful regarding humidity and other environment influences. You can ruin even the best guitar in that way.
Taylor has highly automated factories. Which means: uniformly machine shaped parts. That's why many vendors say they rarely have to return an instrument to the factory. This is another argument to distrust the correctness of this video.
I don’t even believe that’s a Taylor. It’s a fraud guitar.
It's not click bait, these are still Taylors and are crap and it's their responsibility
@@kippsguitar6539 Clickbait typically refers to the practice of writing sensationalized or misleading headlines in order to attract clicks on a piece of content. It often relies on exaggerating claims or leaving out key information in order to encourage traffic. In the most optimistic explanation of this case, it's about generalizing something that relates to one single instrument or one low end series out of the large number of models, which is disproportionate You can do this trick on most guitar brands.
@@kippsguitar6539 if it’s a Taylor, they should have replaced it. Whoever built that particular guitar did a terrible job. That’s why I thought it would be interesting to see a comparison of the exact same model to see if it was built with higher standards. I own a 314 and it’s a fine guitar. I own about 15 guitars from 200.00 to over 3000.00, so I have no particular attachment to my Taylor. I have others that play as well and are less expensive, but I think we should be fair here. Taylor used a 3 layer wood back. They don’t call it laminate because they claim laminate could imply other materials besides wood. Also every Taylor guitar come with a gig bag or a hard case. If the owner of this one bought it new and didn’t get a case, he got ripped off again. There’s no question the quality of workmanship on this guitar is awful and should have been replaced. Along with an apology. I bought RVs for over 150,000.00 with the same garbage craftsmanship. Some people have no pride in their work.
I have a sheerden by Lowden almost same price as that Taylor but mine beautiful, very well built and the sound is amazing.
Do you have the ed Sheeran scarf and pendant too? Oh dear
I have the utmost respect for Bob Taylor. His Guitars are world renowned as some of the best quality & most beautiful stringed instruments on the planet. Imagine the vast number of people who own & enjoy playing their Taylor Guitars.
I am extravagantly grateful for my beautiful Taylor Guitar.
Erm, forgive my ignorance, but, you are feeding the camera in and looking at the bottom of the guitar, not the neck. That's the jack socket isn't it? That piece of ply is to strengthen that area which is also where the strap pin is?
As you mentioned ignorance I'll try to remain as polite as possible but the short answer is that this ply will do almost nothing.
Plywood as a 'strengthening piece' is about as effective as a catflap in an elephant house, ply isn't strong in the direction that the jack enters the body and so over time that strain will cause issues, most likely causing the DI to stop working which for an 800 quid guitar is not okay.
Think about guitar construction from the perspective of long-term use, sure the cheap plywood may last a while if treated gingerly but ultimately, this is just designing redundancy into the system, you are creating a part that when it breaks (which it will) will be annoying and costly to fix and possibly cause structural damage to the guitar itself.
To be clear, I'm not saying it will snap or fail catastrophically, just that this is literally the cheapest and nasty way to install a jack input.
@@Scotmend My reason to comment was that, in the video, our friend refers to that piece of ply as the neck block when it appears to be holding the jack at the opposite end of the guitar.
I beg to differ on your engineering analysis: Ply IS strong in that direction, that's the whole reason for making ply out of crossed laminates, and you would struggle to break a piece of 1/8" ply that size in your hands. 1/4" would be impossible unless you are Hulk Hogan.
@@andygrove285 I would argue that the internal finish of the guitar in this video is absolutely dreadful, plywood included.
@@Scotmend You're entitled to your opinion. The truth is, a lot of things aren't as nice on the inside as we think they should be, but still work.
I'd like to remind that Taylors have a jack/battery holder/electronics/strap pin assembly at that end of the guitar. It's not just a jack bolted into a piece of plywood. Have a look at one and you will see what I mean.
Additionally, this is a "THIS IS WHY XYZ SUCKS!!!!!" vid, with XYZ invariably being an established brand, with the intention of implying some kind of conspiracy theory - ultimately causing a flame war between two encamped sides (generating plenty of views and comments).
Searching for similar issues with Taylor guitars as this guy's belly problem doesn't show up an epidemic of them. Therefore, just maybe, that belly was caused by maltreatment by its owner. Can't really discuss the technicalities of it without knowing its history.
But, end of the day, you buy whatever guitar plays and sounds good to you, and we are lucky there are so many good guitars to chose from nowadays!
😁
@@andygrove285 As a working guitarist, I can say sincerely say that an instrument's ability to deal with the wear and tear of playing live is absolutely critical.
It's a point that is sadly overlooked by TH-camrs in favour of more flashy topics like endless tonewood discussion videos..
From my experience, playing any instrument on tour; whether it's playing in musical theatre or even local bar gigs, will put an instrument through a lot more wear than home practice.
It sounds strange as it's not really a 'tone' thing but more of a reliability thing. For that reason, I think this video is fair to criticize.
I've played a couple of friends' Taylors and they just would not stay in tune, even when set up.
This is an £800 product being marketed as an instrument I'm supposed to take seriously as if it is a professional instrument.
The build quality is dreadful and so many basic aspects of this acoustics construction have been done so cheaply that the instrument is an accidental archtop.
I have had my 114 cents since 2017 and upgraded many aspects of it. Still plays great and is specked out. Also the 114 solid top is now warm in and sounds very good. Just upgraded to 314 baritone from them.
You are absolutely correct. Taylor has significant design and build quality issues. I’ve seen some magnificent high-end Taylors, BUT, others…Whew!!! I had their higher-end nylon-strung guitar where the top ‘telegraphed’ with six months. I then argued with Taylor for months before they finally relented and sent over a new body (why they didn’t just replace the whole instrument is beyond me). Fast forward another 4-6 months and the top of the ‘new’ body also telegraphed. I gave up and got rid of the piece of crap. And before all the armchair experts come out with nonsense, all of my guitars are kept in humidity controlled cases when not being used. Further, I’ve had high-end Martins, Gibsons, and others. I’ve been a demonstrator for Martin at showcases and I’ve built guitars and been an importer of a quality Asian brand. As I said, I’ve seen and played some great high-end Taylors, but there are some serious problems with more than a few of their cheaper to mid-range guitars. They are certainly not worth the ticket price.
What a great INSIDE look at these guitars! Thank you. I learned a lot. 🙂
As a person who used to build guitars...that is amatuer work quality at best. But, that said, that's one of Taylor's least expensive guitars, and some of those shortcuts, like the small end block and no back bracing is an attempt to free up the vibration so it sounds better. It's still junk yes, but it's intentional junk.
And the video's point is for the same or less money you can get much better, unless you are a headstock label ho. Taylor's up-line offerings are much better, but I still think for the money one can get a better instrument elsewhere at any price point.
Yes indeed: buy a Blueridge instead!
That Taylor is $899 ( retail in the USA ) worth of JUNK. That guitar isn't worth $125 NEW. Both Taylor AND Martin have been ripping people off for quite some time now. Because no matter which price point, or quality level, there are literally DOZENS of other guitar factories that are blowing them both clean out of the water for price vs what you get. And this includes their custom shop models.
@@howabouthetruth2157 There is a lot of money to be made in the segment between €500.- and €1,000.- because that is where most of the potential buyers are.
A good Martin costs €3,000+ period.
I wouldn't buy a Martin under the 18 range, so D-18, 00-18 etc.
And 28+ for rosewood.
Spending less than 3 grand on a new Martin is wasted money.
I would rather spend 1/3 of that on a Blueridge, but they are becoming more expensive too.
@@gingerbeer914 Buy a new Martin guitar in ANY price range......and you're playing Russian roulette. Seriously. Ya may get a good one......or you may get a true lemon that starts coming apart. Bridges pulling clean off of HIGH END Martin's are all too common today. There are SO many killer acoustic guitar makers right now that are much better IN ANY price range....far too many to name here. We are truly living in the golden age of luthierie right now, due to the countless options and great pricing with high quality to boot. And I never dreamed I would be saying such things only 20 years ago. ( I've been playing & singing since 1974.) But it takes millions upon millions of new guitarists to learn the hard way. They want to "feel secure" in choosing a big name........no matter the price point.......and let me tell ya Brother.......they WILL learn the hard way. Because Martin and Taylor are straight up ripping people off. I really don't enjoy saying this stuff.......but it's the sad truth: the bean counters have taken over with those big ass companies.
I bought a baby Taylor and regretted it very quickly. It seemed like a nice travel guitar until the back came off. They glued the back to the sides with no rims. I cant believe that the back stayed on as long as it did. Well, I called Taylor about the warrenty and they gave me a shop to bring it to, but it was 100 miles to get to it. I glued the back on myself and decided never to buy another Taylor. Ill stick with Martin. I have a Martin dc15e and I love that guitar. Its a much more expensive guitar, but that no excuse for Taylors cheap build on the Baby Taylor line.
I looked inside my yamaha fgx 800 C, which is $389 us, and it's miles above that Taylor's inners, everything was as you said it should be.. I have a scope like the one you used...yamaha is the best guitar for what you pay. I played Martin's and Taylor's fenders, etc... and the only guitar that sounded a bit better than the yami was a seagull guitar that i played at the guitar center. But way more expensive. As we're the others.
Yamaha makes excellent guitars.
I’ve owned my Taylor 214CE for nearly 20 years. Still holds tune perfectly, plays flawlessly and sounds fantastic.
Id be keen to see inside mine like this, to see if its better / worse.
Regardless, its been a fantastic guitar for the money and served me well.
They are no longer using this X-bracing pattern on the 100 and 200 series, they've transitioned to what they are calling "C-class bracing" which looks like a partial V. Something interesting I noted, with the new C bracing, which appears less supportive than even V or traditional X is that models with the GP body shape that come with medium gauge strings stock on V-bracing variants are shipping with light gauge strings on the C braced versions... It does make me wonder how well they go about testing their prototypes in the wild and in different environmental conditions before making them into mass produced products.
Great video, thank you. I remember trying to purchase my very first acoustic guitar (lol, T114, I thought it was fine). Very frustrating. So many companies, so many building techniques, so many natural materials. Too many variables. In some ways, it’s always a crap shoot. Buying your first guitar is like buying your first car without knowing how to drive.
I have a few Taylor guitars, and none are like that inside.
I have a 214ce deluxe for travel. Rosewood and spruce, a 224ce in Koa and layered Koa. Also, for travel.
A 414ce in Rosewood and spruce, and a 724ce all Koa. That guitar was searched out for the video. My friend has an 114ce, and it doesn't look like that.
The inside of my 214 ce doesnt look at all like this 114. Better bracing on the top, tucked underneath propper kerfing. Propper neck and tail blocks. No glue squeeze out. Its about 15 years old I think.
Average wood, plastic bindings for 1k..no chance
I have a Taylor 214cd-PLUS and a Baby Taylor. There is nothing wrong with either, and while the Baby Taylor isn't quite the sound of the 214 I'm impressed with it. It's a couch guitar and a quick grab practice guitar. The action of these out the box was spot on. I have a humidistat inside of the 214ce-p (Taylorsense) and the humidity inside the Aerocase is between 48% - 56%. I live in rainy Portland Oregon where sometimes the summer humidty gets down in the 30's. Taylor, for a large brand, is good quality stuff. That sir, is a dud, which is extremely rare
Good points. Your careful case would definitely hold up in court.
I have a 355CE 12 string made in 2000. It plays and sounds beautiful.
Belly appears pretty normal @ 0:48. How 'bout swapping the neck shim? Yes it has a neck shim. Taylor will happily send you extra shims if you need them. Awesome company.
Excellent video. I subscribed. 879 Pounds? That's over $1100 U.S! I'm a Yamaha guy, and have no shame about it. I have always thought that Taylors (and Martins) are over-priced. I am not a luthier, nor am I a professional guitar tech, but have done many guitar repairs and set-ups over the decades. This guitar is a mess. So much for quality control.
Top end yamaha and furch guitars are far superior to High end Taylors these days.
As someone with 20+ years of Taylor ownership and gigging behind me I find this review at best ignorant and certainly not reflective of the experience I have had with the brand and I include the 114ce that my daughter and I chose after 3 hours auditioning Ina guitar shop 5 years ago. Fundamentally the 100 series achieves its tone and price point by using a shapely or walnut veneered back and sides that requires no bracing or kerfing for its strength I have a low end nylon strung Taylor CE of the same construction its plays well has good projection and sounds sweet so all those comments about interlocking bracing with kerfs is not relevant to this design. I have had ovations, Yamaha’s (on which it is impossible to do a neck reset by the way so don’t try, and own a 2000 X-braced 914ce and a more recent Y-braced Builders Edition K14ce I have had them serviced at Manson’s and I have had a wonderful ownership experience because I value the tone and I know that the action can be adjusted easily (without a traditional neck reset) because that capability has been designed into the guitar. I really have to say that you got this one wrong….
He’s just going for the click-bait.
bought a tailor one fifty e twelve strength part of the reason I bought it was that I assumed eventually it would belly they all do I have a ibaness from 1991 that has bellied and it's not unplayable it's just not as playable as I'd like Higher up the neck. So I gave a Mexican Taylor a shot thinking ok the price is reasonable for an instrument I don't play all the time. I got it and it sounded wonderful amplified it played well it sounded nice maybe not as much lower mid as I'd like but it was a fine sounding instrument and played well. Eight months later I pulled it out of its case I had not used it in a couple of weeks and the action was unplayable I measured it to the gate with the gage and it was about a hair over four millimeters at the 12th fret if I had a arrow I could have shot like Robin Hood with it. on the other hand I haven't i've been as 30 years old it's not nearly the belly. So while this may be unfair to other tailors clearly Clearly their lower end line is susceptible to this. Then the way I was treated by their customer service was extremely disrespectful guitar does not belly that much in 8 months and literally in a couple of weeks they blame the humidity for it but on the other hand it was right next to a bunch of other guitars that were perfectly fine and played like they always do. then When they agreed to do warranty work on it due to the tech looking at it it took from September to march to get it done. Now part of the reason I bought this particular model rather than say a martin Was the reputation for quality even if I'm not really a fan of their sound I know they're well made or thought so and the fact that net can be shimmed to compensate for a belly. Eventually I was told by the tech that he'd use the maximum number of shims or thickness I don't remember which and then the neck could no longer be adjusted to compensate for that. And even at that point I felt the action was higher than when I bought it and it is higher than spec I don't recall the exact numbers right now so I was somewhat disappointed and then a few months later it moved again. Well not as much it still remains at the edge of playability if you don't play cowboy ports. I do not know enough about technicalities of the racings in that to say whether the guys right or wrong what I do know from experience and having seen a couple in stores that were for sale With the same issues that Taylor's low end guitars are A line to avoid like the plague. Is exactly what happened to me on my guitar within the first year of ownership. I'd also add that Taylor's warranty and Sweetwater's warranty were not worth the paper they were written on.
This is interesting - I bought a Taylor and didn’t get on with the Expression system at all. It went back to Taylor and when I got it back it still kept cutting out on stage. I couldn’t trust it after that. Very heavy guitar too. It sat in the case unplayed for 11 years then I traded it for a Gibson American Eagle which is awesome.
I'm not a fan of Taylors ever since I first encountered them many years ago. BUT, I wish you would do this level of analysis on a higher model. That being said, I found your look inside these guitars to be instructive and enjoyable. Thanks.
I would like to see him do another video on the same model. Taylor braces the back of their guitars. That looks nothing lol the inside of my Taylor 314 which is a lesser model.
Wow, suddenly I realize that the amazing Taylor I bought only after playing every other guitar in the shop, many of which cost several times as much, is in fact not a good guitar after all even though it projects astonishingly, feels alive in my hands and has a rich sound I've never heard from anything else but another Taylor.
Thanks for this not at all clickbait video, which I assure you I actually took the time to watch.
I agree.
Same...lol...but at least it might make me take more notice of build quality when I do find one I like the sound and feel of.
I have this exact Taylor guitar model. It plays great, stays in tune, great intonation, electronics are solid. Is it full of overbuilds and high end woods? No, and it didn’t need to be.
It’s a great instrument at this price point.
It's not, as demonstrated, since you can get much better - and without structural weaknesses/flaws - for much less.
I've been playing since '65 ... and professionally for about 20 of those years. I've owned a lot of guitars and have really put those guitars through the test of moving them from home to the clubs I played ... and sitting in those relatively harsh environments. For an acoustic, an Ovation held up best but it would never be my choice for a recording session. The worst acoustic I've ever owned was a Gibson. I've always thought that the Taylors were far overrated ... my opinion only. I've had a Martin, and Martins would usually be my choice for recording. I had one acoustic that developed the belly bump ... not expensive enough of a guitar to put a lot of time or money into. I used a "Bridge Doctor" to correct the hump and then made a "Nashville/High Strung" guitar out of it. I figured that the lower string tension and the bridge doctor would prevent a reoccurence of the bump ... and it did.
Thanks for this vid! I've been mixing foh for a long enough time to agree! The Taylors 👎 were never fun to work with. They absolutely sound increasingly more horrible the harder you strike them. This inspection of the build quality demonstrates why that could be true.
When considering an instrument, pick one that lets you dig in and responds well to your energy. ✌️
Are you sure that the arch is not a design feature? I just checked my Taylor 224ce-K DLX that I bought 5 months ago in February and it also has a slight but clearly visible arch that seems to taper off behind the bridge to the rear of the guitar, much like an archtop would have. My guitar sounds brilliant and is very comfortable to play. Should I be concerned?
It is
@@sil.lum.quan. design feature that means the action is too high to be playable 🤔. Acoustics do often have a once they strung due to tension of the strings. You would expect it to increase over 20 plus years but not in 6 months.
@@on3orafter I've also purchased a Breedlove within the last 3 months and it doesn't have an arched top, it has a flat top.
I have 5 taylors and only one came ready to play.
Ive bought two that ive had to send back as they were that bad,
But i still love them.
This was an eye opening video! I hope my cherry wood Martin is okay! It has to be. I'm already in trouble for having too many guitars!
Taylors are awesome.
FINALLY, someone brave enough to address the elephant in the room.
i've had a couple of tanglewood guitars, mainly seconds that i picked up for £75 just to try them out. one was a parlour guitar that sounded really, really nice, but looked awful so that went, and another with rosewood back and sides that sounded great too, it had a warped neck though so i used it mainly for bottle neck. friends have tanglewood and they sound pretty good and look pretty good too.
Thanks for this informative video. I own a newish Taylor 114e, and it has the same extreme bowl top with too high action. It has great loud tone, but it's painful to play. I've tried a dehumidifier but no dice. I'll need to sell it, but now I feel bad about taking money for a poor design. Argh.
That "neck block" is the tail, isn't it? See the wires and electronics? That's not the neck end of the guitar you were looking at if I'm not mistaken.
Taylor has been going down in quality for several years. In the 1990's and early 2000's they made great guitars. They BS about making all the improvements to guitars is nothing but cost saving measures while raising prices. and it'd gotten worse since Andy Powers took over.
Amen brother.
Yes, because Taylor found out idiots would pay just as much or more for a substandard guitar as they would for a fine instrument. Their market segment went from guitar players to profilers just wanting folks to see that Taylor name on the headstock.
They used to be 100% made in the US. Now they are shit made by cheap labor across the border?
I have a 1996 910 (original owner) and it's a ridiculously good guitar. I've played some really nice Tayors recently so it depends on which model you buy. Not much different than any other guitar company.
Imho they were never "great". . They were never exciting. Very even sounding (some, called "balanced"), nothing stood out. A middle of the road dependable instrument only.
Well done you. Excellent advice.
I have a Taylor 114e walnut back and sides with Es2 electronics. I think it sounds great and plays great.
I agree because Taylar bracings come loose and rattle the soundboard
I have a MIM Taylor 224ce-k dlx and love it. If I were to rethink my purchase I would still buy it today after trying what's available locally...but I would probably go with the satin finish instead of the gloss. I've only had it a few years now, but it still looks new and sounds better every year. There are definitely some excellent lower priced options available I'm sure, but I'm happy with mine.
Wow, thank you for posting this no nonsense peek into Taylor's construction, would you perhaps do a comparison follow up of something higher up in their range? Saying that this seems to have worse construction and QC than most sub 300 quid acoustics!
Very informative video
I have had one of these for the last 15 years. One of the first batch of 114ce's. It sounds great in the room, but has always sounded shite plugged in. I now see why, although, I had a peek inside mine and it's not this bad, the one in the vid looks a bit newer
Bought a taylor 12 mim string guitar during covid for Christmas ,I thought OK they have the adjustable neck and when it bellies a bit like all 12 strings do I can adjust the neck in a few years. by August it had bellied so much there was 4 1/2 millimeters clearance at the 12th fret it was un playable. I have an Ibanez as 12 string that's about 30 years old but nowhere near this belly Still playable if not as playable as the Taylor when it arrived. I saw used one in the store with the exact same problem After my experience . I took the guitar to the authorized repairman in August I got it back in March. Was told the neck adjustment was maxed out. not as good as new but better , than it shifted again it's back to where it was in august last year. Yes it is the low end of Taylo. I checked them out in the store and I thought they were much superior to anyone else's low cost 12 strings so I bought one based on the confidence and reputation of the name not expecting within eight months it would be absolutely unplayable. As to the issue of humidity it was right next to a bunch of vintage guilds n Gibsons and none of them shifted. And Taylor tried to hit me with thief oh well it's the humidity it's your fault ****. Love to know how anyone even manages to tour with the Taylor guitar if they are that sensitive. .
Now wait a minute: you complained that the grain of the end block in the Mayson was running in the same direction as the wood grain of the sides........but then you also complained about the grain of the end block in the Tanglewood running perpendicular to the wood grain of the sides. Or am I missing something?????????????
All Taylor's up to series 2 are made in Mexico, 3 and upwards are made in USA
And that's just the thing I have a Mexican roadwornTelecaster cause I'm not really a tele guy but it's turned out to be my favorite telecast i've ever played I actually like it better than my friends real 50s. So fender has a budget line in Mexico that delivers the goods why can't Taylor
Wow really?
I think Taylor tried to become all things to all guitar players when they started building cheaper guitars and they should not have gone down that road. I bought a 7 series in 1992 and it has had 3 new frets, two set ups and I recently had Gotoh 510s fitted as the original tuners were becoming very worn. It has remained incredibly stable, I have not experienced any issues apart from the fact that the neck is too narrow which can lead (very rarely) to pushing either top or bottom strings past the fret and onto the side of the neck. It seems that manufacturing quality at the lower end of the range is pretty shocking on these 100/200 Taylors and yet they have the nerve to charge big money. This video is a real eye opener, shame on Taylor! Why would you risk your reputation by building substandard guitars that are literally set up to fail and then abdicate all responsibility with a humidity clause?
Thank you for showing this. Very informative.
Really great info. Thanks for posting
I have a Yamaha FG800 and for $200 I have no complaints. It doesn’t have the tone woods that I would prefer but it’s not a toy. I know how to setup guitars though and that makes all the difference. I do own expensive guitars too btw.
Slab cut bridge plate ! Also the nasty binding strips and the braces were burnt by laser cutting so there was no sanding or shaping on those short braces.
Well done for highlighting the build quality of three different examples of what you get for your money. This particular Taylor may well be at the small end of their price range, but even that shouldn't mean it's ok to throw it together using shoddy workmanship with scrap pieces of badly finished wood slapped together with the knowledge that the average guitarist wouldn’t even think of looking inside the instrument something Taylor are banking on. Would it really have hurt them to have bothered to make it more structurally sound as after all it looks like the insides were made from remnants from the higher end of the range? I've played a few Tanglewoods and I've found them to be quite consistently good for the money.
I have a Masonite guitar. Such a nice sound and great playability. They're doing wonders with linoleum these days.
I have owned a high-end Taylor 12-string, that was made in 2016, since 2020. It is a keeper. Not one of their 6-string models has ever interested me. The V-bracing looks like a bad move too.
great education in comparing the internal structural elements of one guitar to another. Great educational video. Thanks for that...
I just bought a 36 inch Vangoa cutaway guitar and wish I could show you how it’s made it is FAR superior to what you’re showing on that Taylor. I paid 172.49 CAD Made in China. Spruce top I bought it on Amazon. 6:08 Great video thank you. 🇨🇦
Wow. A real eye opener for sure. Great information. Thanks for this detailed video.
I have a Taylor guitar…..and it most definitely doesn’t suck!
Anyone who has played long enough to have left a trail of new and used guitar purchases over the years knows ANY brand, including the most expensive, will put out the odd stinkaroonio which should have been shot and buried, never having seen the outside of whatever plant/shop built it.
It's a miracle that Taylor, Martin, Gibson and on and on, who build thousands of guitars every year, manage to keep these seriously screwed up examples to a bare minimum.
Also, even with the very best examples of these high-end manufacturers some will love them others hate them, way it goes!
Personally, I'm not a fan of Martin but I have great respect for these iconic American guitars. A couple of years ago I was in the market for a new acoustic and had a $2,000 CDN budget, give or take a couple of hundred, and I took my sweet time and picked up every acoustic at three locations in the GTA (Toronto Canada) as well as going through every used acoustic in the same shops, and I didn't like a single Taylor or Martin.
I ended up buying a new Epiphone Excellente, and I just love it!
The other side of the quality/price coin!~
I have a budget black Yamaha FG 340 (very rare to find them painted black) and someone was having a career day when they built it back in 78 or 79 because this axe plays and sounds like "budda" aka butter, and I will never trade or see it, I absolutely love it!!
I've had it for about 25 years and my wife's late uncle John, who gave me the guitar and wouldn't take no for an answer, because I flat out refused to accept it, and wanted him to keep it. I drove to his house one day and left it inside his side door when they were out. By the time I hit a few stores and got home maybe 45 minutes later, it was back! LOL!
She never goes out of tune and always sounds fantastic, and the very first time it had any work was when I did a complete fret job, which it hardly needed, about five years ago.
Sometimes I'll go on an extended run playing some of my other acoustics and it can sit for weeks, but I know whenever I do get back to her she will be in perfect tune, or close to it!
Yamaha has quietly (compared with other labels who put great effort in advertising) been building absolutely awesome guitars in all ranges for decades!! They may not be the sexiest acoustics out there, but regardless of what price range someone may be restricted to, you will NEVER go wrong with Yamaha!
Jack ~'()'~
@@bronzesnake7004 Ifdthe design calls for a single brace.. that is not the "odd stinkaroonio" it is deliberate misrepresentation of what a guitar should be.
It's all about the money.
Ian a luthier in Puertorico and i have to say that they don’t make X bracing with three braces. They do it with the notch in the middle, they’re only tow braces on the X. If the customer do not care of the safety of his instrument this problems will be there.
I bought a Taylor in 2013, the 110 model for $450 brand new. It is amazing. Never had to do any work on it at all. Stays in tune. I am guessing their QC has declined.
This is a brilliant review and critique. I’ve played guitar for 41 years and I very nearly bought a $7500 Taylor (a different model to this one), but found a more beautiful and stunning TAKAMINE, which remains in perfect tune to this day after 25 years of hard playing. Prior to this video I held very high regard for TAYLOR BRAND guitars based on my experience of playing many of them and liking them all.
But I am utterly shocked at this appalling example of shoddy workmanship. I saw the title of the video and assumed it would be junk. Instead, WM is clearly a very accomplished and well qualified Luthier. I feel he has been very fair to TAYLOR here with his voiceover. If it were me I would have gone even harder.
But one thing is certain. My next guitar WILL NOT BE A TAYLOR. They should have given this customer a full replacement of a model of his choosing, along with a QA Certification and they should have honoured their Warranty - the fact they didn’t is my main concern and that’s the reason I will never buy one because they clearly cannot be trusted to stand by their own promise, and their QA process is catastrophic. Cheap junk from China would probably play better. Very poor form TAYLOR GUITARS. 👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎
Great video WM Guitars 👍
You’ve won a new subscriber.
The bellying is an easy fix, if you know how. JLD bridge doctor from STEW-MAC around 30USD , an hour install, bingo...creates more resonance, a flat soundboard, an improved guitar. I have turned 200usd guitars into GREAT tone machines with this improvement.
I have handled and played a bunch of Taylors including 50th Ann. $10k+ models. They always feel too heavy for any given size. I own a D35 Martin and an OMC16. My guitar mentor has 2 800 series models and they are bricks by comparison. On top of that almost all of them I pick up are so poorly set up from the factory as to be unplayable. Local shop had a Taylor Parlor slot head 12 fret on the wall. Even had a finish I could like. Picked it up and did not even try to play it. Strings at least 3mm off 1st fret by nut. I have never picked up an unplayable new Martin and I have owned 5 in total (all USA Martins and Taylors for comparison).
Taylor sound is kind of sterile to my ear acoustically. Plugged in they sound great but so does my 1960s plywood $80 Framus Texan with an eBay sound hole pickup.
Wow! If that is a genuine Taylor, I am shocked! I just looked inside my modest collection of guitars (all 'budget' models under £500) and they all have considerably better internal build quality. Even the second-hand Vintage V300 I bought for £50 is better (an amazing guitar for the money)! To be fair to Taylor, my second-hand Baby Taylor is pretty tidy inside but is a fraction of the price of the 114 you feature. Thanks for a very enlightening video!
Here we say : "Tout ce qui est excessif est insignifiant" (Anything excessive is insignificant)
Your video and title perfectly deserves that comment :)
Generalization to a whole brand, with the analysis of only two item/model is just ridiculous.
Other people do the same thing with (insert a brand here), perhaps to give them a kind of expertise; or simply YT views, but certainly not wiseness.
I’ve owned Taylor’s for 25 years. Everything from 200 series up to Builder’s Editions. If you take care of them with proper humidification, they’re great guitars. Crisp, articulate, full tone and response. The more you play them, the more seasoned they get.
Had a 414ce top started the same thing . Then the electronics crapped, so, having no room for failures, Outya go!
maybe remove or loosen strings for better access ?
You've put that camera to very good use, illuminating the junk that Taylor is marketing in their lower end, and banking on their reputation and that of their arguably better built higher end instruments. Their big mistake is that anyone who starts out with one of these lower end junkers is not likely to stick with the Taylor brand as they eventually invest in a higher end, better built guitar. If your first Taylor is poorly designed junk, why would you want to give them anymore money for their high end models?
I've been playing since the 60s, (played pro for 30+ years) and have literally owned hundreds of guitars (electric and acoustic) over the decades. I happen to love Taylor 12 strings, because they sound good enough, but more importantly because the Taylor 12 strings I've owned (like 6 or 7 different models) played easier than any other brand, stayed very well in tune, and amplified well, although NOT using their internal pickups, but rather using K&K minis, which I prefer for most acoustics, and usually in combination with a magnetic soundhole type (usually vintage) that I run through a seperate channel or amp.
I don't think I would buy any new Taylor 6 string at this time though, unless it was way underpriced and happened to be something very special, (maybe a slot head parlor or something). In a lot of ways you're better off buying used, because if the instrument is going to fail like this one, it will already have done so. If you're buying a 10+ year old guitar, it will have been 'played-in' and probably sounding better than when it was new, and any inherent design problems will likely already have revealed themselves. Buying used though, you do really need to know what to look for (neck-angle, saddle height, fret wear, neck relief, top-belly, etc), or have someone along with you that knows. I've bought quite a few used guitars that, after playing them for a year or two, was able to sell them at a profit, which gave me the funds to upgrade further still and try out different brands and models. The only other good thing I can say about Taylors is that they do tend to hold their value, if only based on their name brand and reputation. Same with most Martins and Gibsons. I think that is ultimately the best way to learn about these things, - to play (and own) as many different ones over the years as you can, so you learn through first hand experience what features you like, and what works for you and your particular style of playing...
Through your video it's pretty conclusive though, to see that cheap butt-joint x brace, the burnt braces that don't even slot into the binding/kerfing, the solitary, inefficient belly brace; it's all pretty shocking, especially when compared to the other, better-built examples you show. Bob Taylor was once a pretty good guitar designer and luthier; I think he should be ashamed at these sort of examples, and their shortcomings, bearing his name. They can and should build much better for the prices they're charging; it's just the right thing to do...
Anyway, very well done video, I don't think you were biased in any way; I hope Taylor sees this as a bit of a 'wake-up call', although I doubt they will, as they have a lot of success doing what they do. But I'd rather spend my money on a higher end instrument like a (used) Collings or maybe an older model Martin 00/000, than any of the higher priced Taylors. The only Martin I've kept in my 'shrinking stable' is a 1963 super rare model 5-16, a very tiny parlor type guitar. I agree that if you can find a local builder with a good rep who will work with you for under $3k, that you can probably get your 'lifetime guitar'. But it's a good idea to have owned and played at least a half-dozen other guitars before you go bespoke, just so you'll actually know what features you want to go for.
TLDR 🤣
Bob semi-retired and gave the company to the employees. The quality of their instruments lay solely on their shoulders.
Have to agree totally. Seen them on the wall at stores! People pick one up like its a master piece guitar! Same thing big belly in the guitar Overpriced junk!. .Seen 20year old Yamaha play & sound better?!
Thanks for the "insider view" on these guitars. The Taylor, being the cheapest full size model in the lineup, could have definitely been better constructed and executed. Clearly a quick and cheap build using cheap labour.
Having said that, when it comes to correcting the action on Taylors, you shouldn't even consider shaving the saddle. Your first step should be resetting the neck with a thicker set of shims. That would have addressed the action despite the top belly.
Yep I had 2 of them and Both The Neck Twisted and they were unplayble from that day on But Great Fire Wood !
Unless you play in a rock band, Taylor’s sound like crap anyway. Hard pass on Taylor guitars.
Agree 100%.
I thought the 114 and 214 are supposed to have tops like that?? I have heard that many times.
They are junk and should sell at 100 dollars
You should mention you are looking at Mexican built Taylors that sell at a lower price point. American built Taylors built of solid wood have a much higher build standard. Still thanks for posting as it was eye opening. What year was this guitar?
This is the best informative video out there, and well done. I’m going on Amazon to maybe get one of those cameras
Hilarious! I bought myself one after watching this video 🙂
I had a Taylor 614. The standard series Martins cost less, and are better. I like the way Taylor does nylon string guitars. The neck is perfect.