Taylor 314 ce or 312 ce?

AndyT
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Sun Aug 23, 2009 12:47 pm

I heard that United will ship it for you at a good price......


goldleaf
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Sun Aug 23, 2009 2:27 pm

Mike, thanks for the heads up. San Diego is my home town (live in Grass Valley CA now a 10 hr. drive to S.D.), I should have known. Anyway I am going right through El Cajon CA where the Taylor factory is. I'll be staying with my Sister in Alpine, about 15 miles past there so for sure I am going to make that tour. I looked it up online and the tours are 1:00 pm M-F, closed Sept 7th. Thanks Gary


Catman
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Sun Aug 23, 2009 2:57 pm

BigBear wrote:
Catman wrote:
I'm also looking very carefully at Taylor for my next guitar (with managerial approval).
[snip]
I will also look at Breedlove, Martin, and maybe Takamine, but I haven't had a chance to play any of these yet.
You know you can order a 314ce from Guitar Center and have it shipped right to you. They sell for $1,649 plus shipping which is way below list price. I would use FedEx or UPS for shipping, they both do a great job!

Here's the link: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Taylor-314c ... 1148428.gc

I have a Guitar Center a few miles from me and I shop there all the time!! Good store. It's a big toy store for musicians!

Breedlove is going to be harder to come by because they aren't as widely distributed and I don't know of any resources on line. Plus you really need to play a Breedlove before you buy it. Martin and Tak are pretty easy get on line.


BTW- where do you live? Are you in England? Good luck and cheers! :cheer:
Rick, I'm in Israel, not England.

I do realize that I could buy online and ship, but it's a delicate situation. I could find myself shut out of the Taylor service if I bypass the importer and ship a guitar direct. And in any case, I still have to try before I buy with any brand, including Taylor.

Since I am a repeat customer (I bought my Les Paul Studio at the same store), I'll get a reasonable price.

I visited a Guitar Central store near Sunnyvale, Ca. when I was last in the US on business, and although there was a plethora of wonders on display, I found it very difficult to get any help from the salespeople. I did have a lot of fun playing around with a guitar-synth.

Thanks,
David


BigBear
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Sun Aug 23, 2009 4:31 pm

Catman wrote:
Rick, I'm in Israel, not England.

I do realize that I could buy online and ship, but it's a delicate situation. I could find myself shut out of the Taylor service if I bypass the importer and ship a guitar direct. And in any case, I still have to try before I buy with any brand, including Taylor.

Since I am a repeat customer (I bought my Les Paul Studio at the same store), I'll get a reasonable price.

I visited a Guitar Central store near Sunnyvale, Ca. when I was last in the US on business, and although there was a plethora of wonders on display, I found it very difficult to get any help from the salespeople. I did have a lot of fun playing around with a guitar-synth.

Thanks,
David
David- sorry, I forgot you live in the Holy Land! I really need to get there some day!

All your concerns about your distributor are certainly valid but I'll bet you that if he can get the 600, 700 series Taylor guitars he can get anything he wants to. The problem there is if he special orders a 314ce for you, you have to take what you get. If you don't like the wood for example you're stuck! That's not usually a problem with Taylor because they do a great job of matching woods.

One thing to note is that all Taylors play the same in my book. I've owned a 314ce, a 710ce, and an 855. And I've played every other series from 200 thru 900. They all played identical. They don't all sound the same, far from it, but they all share very definite Taylor characteristics, like a bright forward sound, and good balance. And the necks are identical regardless of series.

My advice would be play any Taylor you can get your hands on. Then order the one that best fits your budget. A sapele 314 won't sound the same as a maple 614 but then the 614 is twice as expensive as the 314! But it will still sound great and give you a lifetime of playing pleasure!

Good luck! :cheer:


goldleaf
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Sun Aug 23, 2009 5:14 pm

David, if your local music store is a Taylor Distributor but chooses to only stocks the 514ce or 814ce, which both sell for about twice to cost of the 314ce, it would seem that the store should stock the most popular model (314ce) probably because of price point and it has the Expression electronic and is just a more basic model. It's like the store makes more profit on the 514 & 814 but for 1/2 the cost the consumer can get the basic Taylor which is much more affordable. Seems like if you ordered online from a Taylor dealer the warranty should be good at any Taylor Dealer. I understand there could be an issue of the store owner being a little upset because you didn't buy from them, but if they don't stock the most popular and affordable model of Taylor, they are ripping you off in a way. At least they should service your warranty covered Taylor regardless of where you bought it. It's their choice, which models to carry. IMHO they almost force you to shop elswhere to save $1,200 - $1,400, thats not chump change! Best of luck what ever you decide. Gary


Catman
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Mon Aug 24, 2009 3:47 am

BigBear wrote:
David- sorry, I forgot you live in the Holy Land! I really need to get there some day!
If you do, drop me a line--we can have a beer and humus together!
My advice would be play any Taylor you can get your hands on.
That's just what I'm doing. I've already played a 214ce. I'm investigating other brands too.
Then order the one that best fits your budget.
The budget may depend on what I hear when I play the fancier models (it worked that way for my mountain bike) :)

Thanks,
David


Chasplaya
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Mon Aug 24, 2009 3:54 am

David,

As TAYLOR dealers they obviously place orders every now and then, can't they order in one to your specs. I'm not sure about consumer law in Israel but if it arrives and its still not right you shouldn't feel obligated to buy it. I did that about a 18mths ago here in NZ I ordered a Greg Bennett Royale semiacoustic and the finish was terrible the owner of the shop also a professional musician was a bit embarrased by the condition for a new guitar but didn't object when I said no thanks. The Greg Bennett Royale is still in the showroom duh! Irrespective if they are registered taylor dealers then they are obligated to honour warranty repairs/service.


Catman
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Mon Aug 24, 2009 3:55 am

goldleaf wrote:
David, if your local music store is a Taylor Distributor but chooses to only stocks the 514ce or 814ce, which both sell for about twice to cost of the 314ce, it would seem that the store should stock the most popular model (314ce) probably because of price point and it has the Expression electronic and is just a more basic model. It's like the store makes more profit on the 514 & 814 but for 1/2 the cost the consumer can get the basic Taylor which is much more affordable. Seems like if you ordered online from a Taylor dealer the warranty should be good at any Taylor Dealer. I understand there could be an issue of the store owner being a little upset because you didn't buy from them, but if they don't stock the most popular and affordable model of Taylor, they are ripping you off in a way. At least they should service your warranty covered Taylor regardless of where you bought it. It's their choice, which models to carry. IMHO they almost force you to shop elswhere to save $1,200 - $1,400, thats not chump change! Best of luck what ever you decide. Gary
Gary, I agree with your points, and with many products I do buy online and bypass the local distributors. But I am a bit hesitant to do the same with an expensive guitar. I still have to decide which model to buy, and that's the fun part!

David


goldleaf
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Mon Aug 24, 2009 6:28 pm

David, I agree with that. I'm looking forward to going for a tour at the Taylor factory the first or second week of Sept. to really get a good idea of what they produce and what the differences are. I know the 514's & 814's have upgraded inlay and maybe bindings, one is Rosewood B&S which costs more. I'm also going to San Diego Old Time Music sdoldtimemusic.com as they stock a wide variety of high end guitars so I can actually compare side by side. I'm particularly interested in playing a Breedlove as they are somewhat in the same pricerange and look awesome. Let you know what I find out after my vacation and tour, be back mid Sept. Gary


Catman
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Tue Aug 25, 2009 2:58 am

Enjoy the vacation! I'm envious.


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