2019 Taylor 414ce Ltd cedar / koa

[masmith]

Hello all. I’ve been searching for a koa/ cedar combo for my wife. She primarily plays finger style, folk, singer songwriter originals. She has a soft touch.

She had been playing my GS-K, however with a large body and medium strings it’s a bit much for her.

Of course This wood combo is a bit old school and we could not find locally, so I purchased one used online from a dealer. It hasn’t arrived yet, but we are very excited.

I did try and find the Wood and Steel issue, or the Taylor website description of this model but could only find the the Ovangkol/ cedar Ltd in 2019. Does anyone have any more reference material on this model?

Also, does anyone own this model? I would love to hear opinions.

Here is the link for the one I bought:

https://www.musicmakersweb.com/produ...19-w-hard-case

[hoosfoos]

Are you sure it's not the 2019 514ce LTD (not the 414ce LTD).

This is from the Fall 2019 Wood & Steel (Vol. 95)

Models:
512ce 12-Fret LTD
514ce LTD
Back/Sides: Hawaiian Koa
Top: Western Red Cedar

Though the tonewood pairing of Hawaiian koa and cedar isn’t currently offered in our Koa Series, the two woods have a harmonious history at Taylor, a special sonic kinship that traces back to the early days of our Grand Auditorium body style in the mid-1990s. Andy is excited to reunite these complementary woods on this limited edition offering, in the form of Grand Auditorium and Grand Concert models dressed in our 500 Series appointments.

“Those two woods are a heavenly match,” he says.

Though koa brings instant cachet thanks to its exotic beauty, Andy is quick to emphasize cedar’s virtues: soft-touch responsiveness and broad, harmonically rich tone, which together have traditionally appealed to fingerstyle players.

When you marry cedar’s traits with koa’s midrange mojo and then add our V-Class bracing to the mix, you have a recipe for a new dimension of acoustic sound. Andy describes the impact of V-Class on a cedar top in terms of its ability to spread the soundboard energy in a way that allows a note to bloom and develop.

“We want the sound to disperse evenly over the top so it vibrates in a cohesive way,” he explains. “Cedar tends to be relatively stiff across the grain in proportion to its resiliency along the grain, which makes a mechanically efficient sound transmitter. As a result, only a little harmonic content is absorbed, making the overtone content rich and full. It feels like the guitar lights up without the need to hit it hard.” It’s a “smoky, thick, complex” sound, to use Andy’s words — a natural counterbalance to koa’s sweet, bell-like response. The result is a beautifully dynamic sound in which overtones can resonate and sustain while the fundamental note remains clear.

“For me, the magic is in the mid-range,” Andy says of koa. “In a way, it sounds like the Hawaiian language: sweet, lyrical, melodic. The way the notes flow from the guitar makes them sound effortless.”

In the Grand Concert 512ce 12-Fret, those qualities are even more pronounced. The compact body/neck configuration gives this guitar a featherweight feel, and the bridge has been shifted toward the center of the lower bout, which alters how the cedar top is articulated. Sonically, this allows the small body to punch above its weight, producing a bigger, more powerful voice. That change affects the player, too — the strings feel slightly more slinky under your fretting hand, making it easier to bend notes and form difficult chords.

The Grand Auditorium 514ce LTD, meanwhile, blends versatility with the modern-sounding clarity that you might expect from a Taylor, but with a bit of sonic sweetener added. Koa brings more presence in the midrange, and with the cedar top, players can expect a pleasing mix of warmth and sparkle.

The koa sets we selected for the backs of these models incorporate what we call a Simons wedge, named after its creator, Spanish luthier Jorge Simons from Madinter, one of our wood suppliers and our ownership partner with our Crelicam ebony mill in Cameroon. Both Andy and Bob Taylor prefer the symmetrical look of the back’s four-piece bookmatched configuration, featuring a two-piece bookmatched wedge, along with other structural benefits for players.

“The reality is the four-piece setup gives you a more consistent back plate,” Andy explains. “By using narrower pieces, we have the luxury of matching for grain consistency and stability, rather than being constrained by the wood’s width, or having a center wedge with uneven characteristics from side to side. We’ll be using the bookmatched Simons wedge design more in the future because it looks and functions so well.”

Aesthetically, the guitars feature our 500 Series appointment package, including faux tortoiseshell binding and grained ivoroid Century inlays, along with one additional finishing detail that sets these models apart: a beautiful shaded edgeburst finish treatment that wraps the entire body and neck in vintage warmth and complements the golden-brown color tones of the body and neck woods. Both guitars ship with our proprietary ES2 electronics and include a Taylor deluxe hardshell case.

[masmith]

Nope

It’s a 414ce Ltd

[hoosfoos]

I found this old Sweetwater page with some info:
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...back-and-sides

but it's weird that Taylor would produce both a 414 LTD and a 514 LTD in the same year, both with the Cedar/Koa combo, don't you think?

[masmith]

Originally Posted by hoosfoos

I found this old Sweetwater page with some info:
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...back-and-sides

but it's weird that Taylor would produce both a 414 LTD and a 514 LTD in the same year, both with the Cedar/Koa combo, don't you think?

Yea very strange. That’s why I’m asking. I wonder if it was a limited run within the limited line that year. Mine also has a wedge which sort of makes it more interesting

https://www.musicmakersweb.com/produ...19-w-hard-case

[The Growler]

I’ve not played that guitar, but I think that cedar is a great top for finger style playing. Taylor makes nice guitars, so I’d give it a shot.

[Shadowfox]

So I played that one with a girl from my youth group when we went to Chicago Music Exchange on her look for a guitar.

The two Taylor's she liked the most, and I also thought sounded the best, were the Cedar/Koa and the 324 Builder's Edition.

However, we ended up with her getting a Furch, which was better in most ways.

If you get it and don't bond with it, I think looking at a Cedar topped Furch in OM would be a great option!

[guitararmy]

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=620964

If this is the one you bought, it should do the trick!

I have a Taylor cedar/koa 710 dreadnought that sounds wonderful.

[masmith]

Originally Posted by guitararmy

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=620964

If this is the one you bought, it should do the trick!

I have a Taylor cedar/koa 710 dreadnought that sounds wonderful.

No I got this one:

https://www.musicmakersweb.com/produ...19-w-hard-case

I did almost buy that one, liked the idea of the v class bracing and the electronics.

[masmith]

Got the guitar today, purchased from Music Makers in Illinois. Great service from them.

This guitar is so interesting- appears to be stained koa, as it’s a bit darker then what I’m used to. Has a beautiful wedge in the back. The cedar is dark and has a beautiful grain.

It is punchy, full mid range, but woody and warm. The guitar projects forward very well and the intonation up the neck is simply amazing. It’s really fantastic with a capo up the 5th of 7th fret. Doesn’t loose sustain or volume at all.

It’s a very good compliment to my GS-K which is a Sitka top.

Cedar and koa are really a great combination, surprised many builders have moved to Sitka tops on their smaller bodied koa guitars.

I’m still a bit confused by this guitar being a 414ce Ltd with koa back and sides. It almost seems like a hybrid of the 2019 500 series koa guitars but with the 400 series Ltd inlays and adornements.

[guitararmy]

Congratulations! Sounds like a great guitar.
I wonder what strings are on it?

[Bob Womack]

Taylor occasionally ran limited editions where they had some wood that wasn't quite up to the quality of their signature lines but could be offered in one of their 300 or 400 lines. For example, I own both a 1999 K14c and a 2000 314kce "Legends of the Fall" Limited edition. he K14c is koa/cedar and is the lightest, most delicate guitar I've ever played. The 314kce has plainer koa back and sides and a sitka spruce top and is a more robust instrument. It lives at the studio now.




K14c




2000 314kce "Legends of the Fall" Limited edition

Bob

[RussL30]

Originally Posted by masmith

Got the guitar today, purchased from Music Makers in Illinois. Great service from them.

This guitar is so interesting- appears to be stained koa, as it’s a bit darker then what I’m used to. Has a beautiful wedge in the back. The cedar is dark and has a beautiful grain.

It is punchy, full mid range, but woody and warm. The guitar projects forward very well and the intonation up the neck is simply amazing. It’s really fantastic with a capo up the 5th of 7th fret. Doesn’t loose sustain or volume at all.

It’s a very good compliment to my GS-K which is a Sitka top.

Cedar and koa are really a great combination, surprised many builders have moved to Sitka tops on their smaller bodied koa guitars.

I’m still a bit confused by this guitar being a 414ce Ltd with koa back and sides. It almost seems like a hybrid of the 2019 500 series koa guitars but with the 400 series Ltd inlays and adornements.

Congrats! Cedar really does great things with the way it warms up Taylor’s. I’d love to try the cedar koa combo. I still regret passing on a 714ce cedar several years ago because I read cedar wasn’t good for strumming. I have a cedar dread in another make and it strums as well as any if my spruce dreads.

Another great combination that bridges the gap between cedar end koa is Engelman. I have a Taylor 30th anniversary GC with Engelman and koa and I really love the sound of it. The sound just explodes out of the guitar.