TAYLOR

Builder's Edition 814ce

- JIMMY LESLIE

IT'S HUGE NEWS when a company introduces a new version of its main model, and the Builder's Edition 814ce is exactly that for Taylor. The Grand Auditorium cutaway body style with a modern neck profile not only put the company on the map, it also made Taylor the acoustic king of the West Coast. The standard 814ce with solid Indian rosewood back and sides coupled with a Sitka spruce top has been Taylor's flagship since Moby Dick was a minnow, and now there's a fresh take on the classic design, sporting top-shelf ergonomics and appointments, and with an upgrade to an Adirondack spruce top. The kicker is that the top is made of four pieces, marking the first time Taylor has done so using spruce.

The overall aesthetic of the BE 814ce is sleek and sophisticated. It boasts a beveled armrest and cutaway, a subtle alteration in the body taper and a refined gloss finish that helps highlight supple body contours. That's a first for a Builder's Edition. The back is seamless, gorgeous dark rosewood with a Kona edge bust presentation. Antique gold Gotoh 510 tuners are a hardware highlight, and a contoured Curve Wing bridge, exclusive to Builder's Edition models, provides a lovely dock for the black pins with abalone caps. The shape of a thin rosewood pickguard echoes the curvaceous body, bound around the top with alternating maple and black purfling, with rosewood edge trim. A stunning rosette made of just-the-right seashells in a stained-glass style setting provides the perfect complementary pink, green and blue hues, set in the bold white wood.