Bad NGD - Taylor 614ce

[Napman41]

That's pretty gorgeous top though if you're not happy now you'll always second guess your decision.

[Napman41]

Send it back and let us know when they get it so one of us can pick it up as a blem and save some coin.

[roylor4]

I think bearclaw adds character and would be more concerned about how it sounds and plays.

To each his own......

Perhaps you should buy from someone that has multiple pics of each guitar like Sweetwater.

[Dwight]

Here's a picture of a 614ce I use to have. I liked the top just fine.

[mikealpine]

I'm in the "I like it" camp, and agree with Glenn that sound would be much more important. It isn't a "defect" or a "problem", it's natural art. As Brad Paisley says, "She sees a priceless French painting, I see a drunk naked girl." It's ok if you don't like it and want to send it back, because you have to choose what's important to you in the overall purchase and ownership experience, but if it were me, I'd play it and go from there. You may get a guitar with a top you find beautiful, but it may have a sound that doesn't inspire you.

[zhunter]

I'd rather have the wrong case and the peeling pick guard.

hunter

Originally Posted by Jim

It is way ugly and I do not know why Taylor and some other companies insist on using wood with such blaring visual defects other than they want to maximize their profits by using every scrap of wood. It is especially disturbing that they would use this kind of wood on a higher end guitar rather than a 100 or 200 series one.

If that happened to me I would return it without a second thought and insist for one with a visually and tonally perfect top. I would also place a good deal of the blame on MF for having sent that to you without first checking with you since they would have seen the problem before they shipped it.

It is NOT considered a visual defect in the guitar world. At least, not anymore than either straight-grained or highly figured backwoods would be considered "defective" by the respective fans.

When I recently commissioned the Charis GC in my signature from Bill Wise, he asked me if I liked bearclaw, which implies that he had some Sitka tops with bearclaw on them. Trust me, he doesn't accept wood shipments with "defects."

Personally, it's not exactly my cup of tea, but that doesn't mean it's a defect (since the world doesn't revolve around my personal tastes). Neither is quilted maple, but a lot of folks go wild over that stuff. I can see the beauty in it, but recognize it's just not my taste in beauty

[zoopeda]

Originally Posted by mcbean

The interesting thing about Taylor is that they don't seem to have adjusted their prices in accordance with the increased use of some less expensive wood. But, maybe I'm just ignorant and prices have increased on streaked ebony at a matching rate to the rest of the wood world.

It's impossible to know what their prices would be if they were only using jet black ebony and perfectly clean sitka spruce. The cost savings just so happens to dovetail with their push toward sustainable harvest and selection. Bottom line for me is that if the whole industry used more visually imperfect tops, we'd be wasting a lot less wood. Someday we won't have so many trees. Profit or not, I respect Taylor's move to use any wood that passes muster for being sonically superior, despite any claw markings or streaks. It's like saying you won't befriend anybody with a birthmark--sure it's possible, but there's more to life than what we decide is visually attractive and you'll miss out on a lot of good ones in the mean time. Returning the guitar would be petty, but keeping it and grumping about it would be worse. HOW DOES IT SOUND?

[ewalling]

Originally Posted by Bad Poppa

I agree. For $300, I can gamble. For $3000, I want it in my hands for a visual and audible "inspection".

There's no real risk with MF. If we don't like it, we can send it back, no questions asked. We would have to pay shipping for merely disliking a guitar, but that seems a reasonable trade-off to have the opportunity of getting something we may not be able to find locally. Consider also that being online, there's no tax included, so it's coming at quite a hefty discount already.

[s2y]

Further proof that Taylor ruins everything.

[ewalling]

Originally Posted by Jim

It is way ugly and I do not know why Taylor and some other companies insist on using wood with such blaring visual defects other than they want to maximize their profits by using every scrap of wood. It is especially disturbing that they would use this kind of wood on a higher end guitar rather than a 100 or 200 series one.

If that happened to me I would return it without a second thought and insist for one with a visually and tonally perfect top. I would also place a good deal of the blame on MF for having sent that to you without first checking with you since they would have seen the problem before they shipped it.

No dealer that I've ever heard of warns customers about the color of the top. I once ordered a 000-42 from one of our most respected sponsors that had a striking amount of run-off on the top. Neither Martin nor the dealer saw fit to alert me about this "visual defect," as you call it, on a guitar costing considerably more than a Taylor 600 series. The reason is, of course, that they do not consider variations in color to be a defect.

[skitoolong]

Originally Posted by Jim

It is way ugly and I do not know why Taylor and some other companies insist on using wood with such blaring visual defects other than they want to maximize their profits by using every scrap of wood. It is especially disturbing that they would use this kind of wood on a higher end guitar rather than a 100 or 200 series one.

If that happened to me I would return it without a second thought and insist for one with a visually and tonally perfect top. I would also place a good deal of the blame on MF for having sent that to you without first checking with you since they would have seen the problem before they shipped it.

Disturbing?

It's wood, naturally occurring and subject to a wide range of variation that is certainly not a "blaring visual defect".

If a person has specific appearance requirements, then that person has a responsibility to verify the appearance of the item prior to shipment, or have one built according to taste.

[$ongWriter]

Originally Posted by sled

I like it and would have considered myself lucky to get it...but, personal tastes and all....

I agree...love love the bear claw...also..remember this is a "torified" top....I love it....played one of these this past week...best sounding Taylor I've played in a long time...

[sled]

I've already picked up a 618 1st Edition but I'll give ya 500 dollars for it....

[AmericanEagle]

I personally think the top looks very good.