Ben Morgan-Brown reviews 2018’s ‘big news’ from Taylor – the K14ce, featuring the maker’s new V-bracing.
Taylor’s early 2018 announcement that it was introducing a completely new style of internal bracing certainly set people talking. Why change the X- bracing construction that has served guitar makers for over 100 years? Well, Taylor argues, quite simply because V-bracing, devised by Taylor’s chief designer Andy Powers, offers many advantages. Taylor claims it delivers more volume, better sustain and even improved intonation. You can make up your own mind on that when you watch our review and you can hear what AR’s reviewer Ben thinks, too.
Specified and built to Taylor’s usual impeccable standards, with a torrefied Sitka spruce top, Hawaiian koa back and sides, ebony fretboard, Gotoh tuners, ‘comfort’ bevelling on the cutaway and arm rest on the body, an attractive fingerboard inlay and Taylor’s well regarded Expression system II electrics, the K14ce ‘Builder’s Edition’ is a luxurious, not to say expensive, Grand Auditorium guitar by any standards. Does it justify the sort of money that could buy you a custom handmade acoustic? Is the V-bracing really the breakthrough that some are claiming? All this and more are revealed in our review…
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Specifications
Taylor K14ce Builder’s Edition
UK Price: RRP £5,759
Top: torrefied Sitka spruce
Back: and Sides koa
Body Length: 20″
Body Width: 16″
Body Depth: 4 5/8″
Neck: mahogany
Fingerboard: ebony
Scale Length: 25-1/2″
Nut & Saddle: Black Graphite, Micarta saddle
Bracing: V-Class with Relief Rout
Truss Rod Cover: West African Ebony
Number of Frets: 20
Tuners: Gotoh
Case: Taylor Deluxe Hardshell Brown
