Our 900 Series has long been admired as the most aesthetically refined rosewood offering within the Taylor line. Boasting an ultra-premium grade of Indian rosewood and sophisticated detailing, it’s rosewood and spruce dressed in evening formalwear.
Last year’s introduction of the Builder’s Edition 814ce (from our rosewood 800 Series) upped the ante on the rosewood Taylor experience, prompting some folks to ponder what a Builder’s Edition version of our 914ce might offer players.
The short wait is over. Thanks to the design efforts of master builder Andy Powers, we’re thrilled to unveil the Builder’s Edition 914ce, the latest addition to what has grown into a robust Builder’s Edition collection.
This masterfully crafted cutaway Grand Auditorium borrows the tonewood pairing featured in our Presentation Series — exquisite Honduran rosewood (configured in an elegant four-piece Simons wedge design) paired with a striped sinker redwood top.
Honduran rosewood, denser than its Indian counterpart, imbues the guitar with beautifully complex harmonic textures, delivering warm lows, piano-like trebles and a highly-refined response across the frequency spectrum.
Our sinker redwood is responsibly sourced from old-growth logs formerly submerged in Northern California riverbeds, a fate that pays dividends cosmetically in the form of a rich striping effect that dramatically highlights the tight vertical wood grain. This top-tier tonewood provides the warmth and touch-sensitivity of cedar, but with bolder projection and enhanced dynamic range.
Voiced with our innovative V-Class bracing, the overall result is a wonderfully high-fidelity tone profile with lush overtones, a high volume ceiling and pitch precision that makes every chord a joy to hear. Paired with our ultra-playable neck, the playing experience is remarkably responsive — notes jump out of the guitar even with a light touch.
As a Builder’s Edition offering, this 914ce also boasts signature comfort-enhancing woodworking nuances, including a sleek, beautifully sculpted beveled armrest and cutaway, chamfered body edges and a contoured Curve Wing bridge for a gentler picking hand experience.
Artful aesthetic refinements abound, featuring Hawaiian koa purfling with paua edge trim on the top and back; koa fretboard and peghead purfling; a single-ring paua rosette with ebony/koa/black purfling and an ebony-bound soundhole; an ebony backstrap; Belle Fleur fretboard/peghead inlays in paua and mother-of-pearl; ebony bridge pins adorned with green abalone dots; and premium Gotoh 510 tuning machines in antique gold. A heel burst complements the artfully hand-sprayed Kona edgeburst on the back and sides, all amplified by a lustrous gloss body finish. This gem of an acoustic-electric comes equipped with an onboard ES2 pickup and ships in a deluxe hardshell case.
In every facet, the Builder’s Edition 914ce is a testament to our unwavering dedication to sonic excellence, visual beauty, responsible tonewood sourcing and the most comfortable playing experience imaginable. This premium edition will replace our standard 914ce as the exclusive Grand Auditorium model within the series.
