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Anyone Here Try A V- Class?


BluesKing777

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Interesting writeup below of a Builder's Edition V Class Taylor with the new bracing system. They went like hot cakes at the shop near me...everything else gathering dust. From the article, it appears they are moving more towards a Lowden type guitar.

 

 

 

https://www.musicradar.com/reviews/taylor-builders-edition-v-class-k14ce

 

 

 

BluesKing777.

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I tried one a few weeks back and posted this over at the AGF:

 

Hey acoustic folks! I've been itching to try one of the new Taylor V class guitars.

 

Taylor 714ce V Class

 

My guitar shop (Long & McQuade Calgary) just got a new 714ce V Class in AND had a regular X braced 714ce right beside it so I was able to do a very enlightening comparison.

 

The best phrase I can use to describe the V Class is "warm balance". The guitar resonates very EVENLY all the way up and down the neck. The sound just seems to envelop you more. I couldn't find any of the claimed intonation differences between the X and the V brace but I was in an acoustic room where there was other noise and never got a chance to put a capo on and play it quietly up the neck.

 

I CAN say there is a definite difference between what are essentially identical guitars but for the bracing patterns.

 

I was surprised the V Class guitar was $400 (Cdn) less expensive than the traditional one. Go figure.

 

Still, since I have a Martin 000-28vs for fingerstyle and a Gibson SJ200 for strumming, there isn't a niche that this guitar fit (especially at that price) but I found the A/B'ing of the two guitars very interesting. Andy Powers is definitely on to something here.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've got a 914ce V-Class that is really nice. I've only had it about a week so am still getting acquainted. But I haven't found anything about it that I can complain about. I have not A/B'd it with an x-braced 914, so can't say exactly what the new bracing brings. Supposedly improved tone, volume, sustain and better intonation up the fretboard. Don't ask me to explain how bracing can improve intonation. The only other Rosewood guitar I've had is a J-45 Custom and the 914 V-Class competes well with it. The Gibson has a little more volume and balance, the Taylor seems bigger at the top and bottom ends, with crazy sustain. It definitely doesn't have the woody grit and growl that a lot of Gibsons bring, but is warmer and more piano like or modern sounding. I have always thought a lot of Taylors sound thin and almost shrill (could be my ringing ears), but I definitely don't get that with this one. It has a long scale but still feels a little slinky and is very comfortable to play right out of the box. It seems a good all arounder.

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I test drove an 814cd Dlx V-Class. It is everything they said it was. Hype has a way of letting us down, but it was not the case. The 9th thru 12th frets seemed too good to be true. It projected VERY well. It sounded very clean, as if it had been processed in a studio. The studio is probably where this one will shine. Maybe a live setting when not a ton of mojo is preferred.

 

My main uses are either sitting here on the couch strumming away or in the home project studio. This would be perfect, right? It seemed to lack that character thing. I dig into my 614ce and I know it. I jump on the bird or ride her lightly and I know it's the bird. I didn't get that with this.

 

Taylor's 614ce V-Bracing verses X-Bracing video shows some of the differences. The low-mid projection was much better on the x-bracing guitar when he got into a heavier playing. The V-Series shined in the 8th-12th fret playing. For my casual playing, the x-bracing guitar, which is what I have, is still the one for me. For studio playing, the V-Bracing would be much easier to tame in the "studio". (btw - the Maple back and sided 614 with the torefied top 2015-2017 models are real tone boxes for those who like to dig in with some hybrid flat picking, but can be hard to tame in a small room for big strummy passages.)

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