I don't feel the need to replace this 214ce anytime soon, when the time comes, I will definitely look at a 300 series and up Taylors; even though my dream guitar is an Ovation Adamas with a graphite top; but I will never sell or trade this guitar, this is something I can pass on to my grandson.

Sound
This guitar sounds fantastic; really. From gentle finger picking to full on strumming it's all there. I have always been an Ovation man, and this is not really better than the Ovation Elite that I returned to get this; it is just different; the highs are very well defined and shimmering; the mid range is clear and the bass is evenly distributed; there is no boominess at all, very impressive tone for a guitar made with laminate wood on the back and sides. I got this unit from Zzounds yesterday and I couldn't put it down for about three hours; I woke up this morning and the first thing I did was opened the case and play a few blues licks at low volume, wow man, I'm still in acoustic heaven; the tone is so sweet, I am very well pleased with the sound of this guitar, it is my first Taylor, and it will not be my last for sure; I should have gotten this from the start. The reason for the 9 rating on this category is because it doesn't have the snappiness that the Ovation has, but again, it is just a different animal.

Features
I might sound like a snob, but starting with the cardboard box, this guitar is quality all around,… read more no doubt; the box was staple closed from the factory, and imprinted with the logo and the "Taylor Quality Guitars" lettering; I was a bit disappointed to see the words: "Made in Mexico" on the box (as well as on the inside of the guitar on the neck block); but after doing some research on the Taylor website, I discovered that they have a plant on the Mexican border, in the city of Tecate; I have been there many times (that's where beer "Tecate" comes from) and the town has become a "maquiladora" center, most trans-national companies have plants there as well as in Tijuana; the Taylor factory is under the direct supervision of the managing staff at the El Cajon plant; and they use the same machines and quality control in both factories; if it wasn't for those "made in Mexico" labels, I would not have known or seen any differences from the American made units; the quality is really top notch, even better than the Korean Ovations I was dealing with. The packaging was just excellent, even the plastic (yeah, plastic, not foam) molds used to hold the guitar case inside the box had the "Robert Taylor" signature engraved on them, very nice detail. The case is made of hard foam covered in a very nice gold/tan colored fabric, similar to ballistic denier; it has a very nice handle and back-straps to turn it into a backpack; with an additional exterior pocket for accessories, the zipper is plastic but very thick and seems to be high quality, the tabs have a para-cord puller attached to each one of them; the name and the slogan of the company are nicely embroidered on the exterior; again, all very nice, the case retails for 149 dollars at Taylor.com. The guitar came with the warranty card and some tech sheets regarding relative humidity, which Taylor talks about a lot (watch their videos on their site, they will blow your mind), nothing else was included, nothing else is needed. The strings are Elixir nanoweb light gauge, which is fine, they are not my favorite but they do the job nicely; every string was perfectly smooth, no rust or grime anywhere like I usually see; later on I will try Martin SP strings and see how it sounds. The frets are all polished and smooth, the neck is perfect, and the bridge is at the perfect level with the fretboard, the action is low in stock form, but a little higher than what I like, so I adjusted the truss rod and it is now lower and without any buzz. This guitar doesn't use the Expression System, it uses the ES-T, which is very similar, but it only has the transducer under the pick up, with six elements, one for each string, similar to the Ovations. The controls for the pickup are three small round buttons located on the front of the upper bout. I haven't tried the guitar plugged in yet, but I have no doubts it will perform fine. The reason for the 9 in this category is the lack of an integrated tuner, which I have grown to be used to, on the other side, the lack of plastic plates on the side of the guitar adds to the beauty and simplicity of the instrument, it is really gorgeous to look at; the 9 volt battery is located inside a slide-out box at the bottom of the body; the electronics include a phase switch (for feedback) located inside the sound hole on the board. The top of the guitar is spruce, the back and sides are rosewood laminate (there are no braces on the back, kind of cool), and the neck is mahogany; the fretboard is real ebony (striped) as well as the bridge; not rosewood stained black like the Ovations. By the way, the back and sides are finished on satin, and the top in gloss, very nice.

Ease of Use
Nothing hard about using this guitar, fret a note or chord and pick or strum it, then experience acoustic nirvana. Anything related to care and maintenance is in the Taylor website; in fact they have a lot of videos of the factory and the manufacturing process, all their high tech machinery, like lasers, CNC, electrostatic painting, etc. Their videos about humidity are just awesome; every acoustic guitar player or owner should see what low humidity can do, it is all documented there, very nice, what a great company, I'm impressed.

Quality
Ok, I started by getting a Hohner, that had a cracked neck block, I sent that one back and got an Ovation 1778TX5 elite black, I loved it, but then it developed a weird stain around the bridge, I sent it back, I got a replacement with some really bad blemishes on the neck, I sent it back, I got another replacement which had a warped neck and it was unplayable; four guitars later I decided to just spend the money and get this Taylor; I should have done that from the start but I really like the Ovation's neck, it's awesome. This guitar is perfectly finished all around, there is not a single defect anywhere and I am completely satisfied with this purchase, even being made in Tecate, this is a Taylor through and through, like I said before, if it had a "USA Made" sticker on it, I would believe it, is that good. What really impressed me was the detail of finishing on this guitar; the binding (white plastic) is perfect everywhere, there are no defects at all either in the finish or the set up; the action was perfectly set at the factory and I could not find any traces of glue or dust anywhere, not a single piece of dust or grime, traces of paint, or roughness anywhere, wow, now that's quality control speaking. I am extremely satisfied with this kind of quality, I don't feel I wasted a single penny buying this Taylor.

Value
I really don't think that any guitar currently in production is worth the asking price, and definitely not the retail price; but this is the exception, This Taylor 214ce is worth every penny. It sounds like guitars that are priced twice or even three times as much higher. What makes this also a great value is the ability to brake the cost in four payments; for the little guy, like me, this gives me the buying power of someone who makes 100 grand a year, awesome. Thank you Zzounds, you guys rock, seriously.

Manufacturer Support
The 10 rating is definitely for Zzounds, I wish there was a higher rating so I could give it to them, really, they deserve it. In 15 years of doing business online, I have never found the level of customer service this guys provide; through my ordeal of getting defective guitars from Ovation, they never gave me a hard time, they worked with me and paid for all the return shipping costs and sent the replacements quickly; they even gave me discounts. They answered all my emails in a prompt and courteous manner, and every guy I talked to over the phone was extremely professional and understanding; I'm really blown away by this company and because of this, I will never buy any gear or instruments from anyone else (as long as they have what I'm looking for), I'm serious, I'm a customer until I die, I hope it's not soon so I can keep on playing the 214.

The Wow Factor
For looks, I don't think anything comes closer to that Ovation 1778Tx Elite; maybe Pam Anderson, but Natural color guitars are just beautiful, and this Taylor is like an Omega Seamaster, it looks expensive and it's flawless.

Musical Background:
hobbyist

Musical Style:
blues, classical, flamenco, rock, jazz read less