Six String Acoustic

  • Acoustic Guitar Reviews
  • Buying Guides
    • Choosing a Guitar
    • Choosing Strings
    • Acoustic Amplification
    • Choosing Guitar Accessories
  • Tuning, Care etc
    • Tuning
    • Restringing
    • Care and Maintenance
    • Setup
  • Tips/Lessons
    • Basic Techniques
    • Chords
    • Scales
    • Rhythm
    • Theory
    • Reading Music and Tab
    • Other Lessons and Tips
  • Online Lessons Reviews

You are here: Home » Taylor 114ce review: Acoustic Guitars Under $1,000

Taylor 114ce review: Acoustic Guitars Under $1,000

Last updated: January 7, 2022 by Nate 1 Comment

Hey! This site is reader-supported and we earn commissions if you purchase products from retailers after clicking on a link from our site.

Hello and welcome to my Taylor 114ce review.

This review will look at Taylor 114ce in terms of:

  • The Tone;
  • The Playability;
  • The Materials the 114ce is made from;
  • Who the 114ce is best suited to;
  • The 114ce’s value-for-money
Taylor 114ce 100 Series Acoustic Guitar, Sapele, Grand...

I’ll also provide video of the 114ce in action so that you can get an appreciation of the tone for yourself and some user reviews so you can read about other people’s opinions.

O.k. let’s get right into it.


Contents hide
1 The Tone
1.1 The Materials
1.1.1 Electronics
1.2 Videos
2 Playability
2.1 Action
2.2 Nut Width & Neck Profile
2.3 Fretboard (fingerboard)
2.4 Scale Length
3 Who this Guitar is Most Suited to
4 Value for Money
4.1 More Info and Where to Buy

The Tone


acoustic guitar's tonality

The 114ce is part of the Taylor’s 100 series of acoustic guitars. These guitars have laminate Sapele back and sides. This makes them slightly warmer in tone compared to their older brothers in the 200 series.

When comparing the 114ce side-by-side with the 214ce I could definitely notice the difference. In comparison to the 214ce, the 114ce was a warmer sound with less overtones. It was more mid-rangey and had trebles that were less shimmery and less pronounced lows than the 214ce.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. This might be the sound that you prefer. I often prefer a warmer more-subtle tone. And the 114ce isn’t by any means super-warm or super mid-rangey. It still has a solid sitka spruce top (a mahogany top would make it more-so).

On a scale of 1-10 (with 1 being the warmest and 10 being the brightest) I’d say that the 114ce would be around a 5. The 214ce would be around a 7.

Also because it’s the Grand Auditorium shape, it brings in a nice balanced tone and a good middle ground between responding to a light touch (loud enough even if you play lightly) but also being quite loud if you really strum it hard.

The Materials

Taylor 114ce 100 Series Acoustic Guitar, Sapele, Grand...

Shape: Grand Auditorium

Top: Solid Sitka Spruce

Back & Sides: Laminate Sapele

Bracing: Forward shifted scalloped X Bracing

Bridge: Ebony

Saddle: Tusq

Nut: Nubone

Electronics

The 114ce is fitted with Taylor’s Expression System 2 electronics. This is an acoustic-electric model guitar.

Videos

Check out the videos below to get an idea of the sound for yourself.

The next video compares the 114ce to the 214ce

Can you pick the difference? Which one do you prefer? Feel free to leave a comment at the end of this post.


Playability


The 114ce plays rather nicely. All Taylor’s, even their lower end models tend to play fairly similarly. And, in my opinion, well.

Action

The action felt pretty good as it was. I’m fussy and like my action quite low, so I might have played with it to adjust it down a little bit if I bought it but it was pretty good overall.

Nut Width & Neck Profile

The 114ce has a 1 11/16″ (43mm) nut width. This is standard and felt nice. I like the feel of Taylor’s necks and this was no exception.

Fretboard (fingerboard)

The fretboard is made from ebony as is the case with all Taylor’s. This is my favorite fretboard wood so I was definitely happy with this aspect.

Scale Length

It has a 25 1/2″ (648mm) scale length. This is a full scale-length. Scale length effects the tension (a shorter scale length has less tension). The tension felt like what you would expect from a full scale-length. For me it was easy enough to fret but you if you have hand issues or if you are a beginner, then you might want to consider a guitar with a shorter scale length.

Who this Guitar is Most Suited to

This guitar is most suited to anyone who:

  1. Is someone who tends to play a bit of everything – fingerstyle, strumming and flat-picking. The Grand Auditorium body shape is a great all-rounder for this
  2. Is an intermediate to advanced level player: Wouldn’t be bad for a beginner at all – but there are better options for a beginner.
  3. Likes the tone of the guitar

Value for Money

It’s an acoustic-electric guitar with a cutaway, it feels nice to play and the tone is pretty good. For a guitar that costs less than $1,000 you could do a lot worse than the 114ce.

If I was looking for a new guitar in that budget range, the 114ce would be on my short-list, for sure.

More Info and Where to Buy

Disclosure: Links below are affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you.

Taylor 114ce 100 Series Acoustic Guitar, Sapele, Grand...

If you are interested in learning more about the 114ce or want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.

  • Taylor 114ce at Amazon.com

Thanks for reading and I hope this review has helped you to learn more about the 114ce.

Filed Under: Grand Auditorium Reviews, Guitar Reviews, Guitar Reviews Under $1000, Laminate Back and Sides Wood, Sapele Patterned Laminate Back and Sides, Sitka Spruce Top Wood, Solid Wood Top Wood, Taylor Acoustic Guitars

Comments

  1. Francis R Guyton says

    July 25, 2019 at 8:15 pm

    I like the sound of both the 114 and the 214, but I think you just sold me on the 114. It sounds quite nice, and would be easier to budget. Personally I have not played in many years due to a shoulder injury, and will consider myself a re-beginning player?
    Thank you for the comparison. You played the same music on both guitars whereas other comparison videos I have seen a different selection would be played on each guitar.How do compare sounds when they didn’t play comparable music? Again thanks for the comparison.
    Francis

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Acoustic Guitar Reviews

  • ~ By Price Range
  • ~ By Series
  • ~ By Brand
  • ~ Top 5s
  • ~ By Top Wood
  • ~ By Back & Sides Wood
  • ~ By Shape/Size
  • ~ All

Recent Posts

  • Gibson Guitar Values: How much is an old Gibson worth?
  • How Many Strings Are On a Bass Guitar? [Answered]
  • Are Zager Guitars Any Good? The Truth Will Surprise You
  • How Much Is an Electric Guitar [2023 Price Guide]
  • 5 Ways to Play the E chord on Guitar
  • Taylor 214ce Review: Acoustics Under $1500 Reviews
  • 5 Ways to Play the B chord on Guitar

Categories

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

GDMDMHDS112727425

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

sixstringacoustic.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc or its affiliates.

Copyright © 2015 - 2023 - SixStringAcoustic.com - Privacy Policy