My old Taylor sure gets around!

[KenL]

I spotted this Taylor 514c on one of the Facebook guitar-selling sites yesterday. I thought, "Well, look at that, a Taylor with a K&K!" Handsome thing too.

And then I remembered that I once bought a Taylor 514c on eBay, mainly because it had no "e" and I could put a K&K in it. When it arrived it was cruddy dirty, absolutely filthy, with ancient strings on it. I spent about 3 days just cleaning and polishing it while I waited for the K&K to arrive. When it did, I installed it, put on some Elixirs, and was done. It turned out really nice.

The other odd thing about it was that the label inside was incorrect. It showed the guitar as being a 514ce, which it obviously was not.

This was back in 2008 or so. I didn't keep the guitar too long, because I didn't care for the tone or the neck. I sold it to somebody in Omaha, I think, because I don't remember shipping it.

So 16 years later, this one appears on FB. The more I looked at it, the more sure I became that this was the oddball Taylor that I rescued way back when. I contacted the seller, who lives in the Denver area (I'm now in Colorado myself) and was a very nice guy. He said he bought it from a guy who lived north of Denver; so that's at least 4 owners that it has had. His ad has a video (which may or may not show up in the link) of him playing it, and he is a very good fingerpicker and the guitar sounds very good.

What are the odds? My old guitar was within reach! I asked him about the neck, as I recalled it being slender, as they were in those days. He agreed that it was pretty skinny, otherwise I would have considered buying it back.

And I checked it out this morning, and it was sold. That old guitar is quite the vagabond!



https://www.facebook.com/commerce/li...are_attachment

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by KenL

The other odd thing about it was that the label inside was incorrect. It showed the guitar as being a 514ce, which it obviously was not.

Back at the turn of the century they were still making up separate labels for guitars without pickups those that had them from the factory with their proper designations. Then guitars started showing up without the pickups but with the E suffix. I'm not sure they ever went back!

Bob

[KenL]

It certainly can be confusing.

I have a Taylor now, all-mahogany. I bought it online from Gryphon. They advertised as a mislabeled 516, should have been a 526.

That didn't sound right to me, so I contacted Taylor and was told that it was a "Custom" 516. The mahogany top was the custom part.

And it's a 2013, but the fret markers, which are really cool, were from 2012. So it's probably one of a kind.

And it's got the fatter neck from that era, as opposed to the skinny neck on the earlier one. It's become one of my all-time favorite guitars.

[KenL]

This is the video that caused me to go searching for a Taylor 514. I might have seen it first right here on the AGF.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou_WwEWSy5g

[Bowie]

I always enjoy that stuff. These days, it's sometimes possible to trace a history of guitar ownership online via search engines. I had a Larrivee SD that I was able to track through 6 owners. It was a great guitar too and proof that the ones that get passed around aren't necessarily the bad ones.
I found one of my classicals was owned by a well-known musician who used it on many recordings.

[Acousticado]

Fwiw...I’ve owned a 2002 814c since new. 1-3/4” neck. In fact, I ordered it specifically because I didn’t want barn door electronics. Despite that, the label reads 814ce. I’ve since installed a Baggs Anthem.

[KenL]

So now, Tom, the label is correct!

Glad you could clean that up!

[zombywoof]

When I started playing there were only two guitars I can think of which sported electronics - the Gibson 160E and Harmony Sovereign H55. They were truly rare and wonder things to behold.