Taylor 314ce / 514ce equivalent

[newpicker]

I have been visiting local shops lately and have played the Taylor 314ce and 514ce and really like the Grand Auditorium size and sound. The 314 has a spruce top and sepale(sp?) solid sides and back and the 514 has solid mohogany with a cedar top. Both play so similar that I feel comfortable linking them for a comparison. What Gibson model would fit this category? Locally have a few Taylor dealers but only GC has a descent inventory of Gib acoustics. Wanted to get your opinions before I go in for a test drive.

[EuroAussie]

Err, there is no Gibson comparable to a Taylor. Apples and oranges.

[jdd707]

Err, there is no Gibson comparable to a Taylor. Apples and oranges.

 

 

Yeah, what EA says.

 

Do yourself a favor and find a good Gibson J45 TV and start your love affair with Gibsons. And welcome to the forum.

[BigKahune]

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Here's a sweet Givson - should match right up. . B)

 

 

 

 

Just a bit of naughty fun.

[57classic]

I'll echo the previous 2 posts in that there really isn't a Gibson equivalent to those wood combinations. More importantly is that Taylors and Gibsons are different in virtually every respect beyond both being made of wood with steel strings. All 14 series Taylors will play the same as each other. I'm a former owner of a 314ce and an 814ce. Different sound but due to the Sapele vs EIR but otherwise played the same. They are very consistent. Welcome to the forum.

[newpicker]

Thanks for the replies. Like the J45 and might lean that way.

[j45nick]

Thanks for the replies. Like the J45 and might lean that way.

 

 

You'll get a lot of encouragement to do that here.

 

Gibsons are to Taylors like Harleys are to Hondas: rougher, maybe less sophisticated, but oh so much more distinctive and full of character.

[newpicker]

You'll get a lot of encouragement to do that here.

 

Gibsons are to Taylors like Harleys are to Hondas: rougher, maybe less sophisticated, but oh so much more distinctive and full of character.

 

Great analogy. That does explain it being a former Harley owner. I think I just liked the size and body style of the Taylor Grand Auditorium verses a dreadnought.

[MissouriPicker]

Yeah, I agree with the J45 comments. I've had mine less than a year and it definitly is a sweet guitar. No doubt about it. I don't play it any more than my Hummingbird or J150, but I do play it every bit as much as these two keepers. This is my first J45 in over 45 years of playing and I must admit that it really does live-up to the hype(facts) about it.

 

On the Gibson/Taylor thing----If one wants a Gibson, they need to buy one. If one wants a Taylor, they need to buy one. To me, aside from both being guitars, they are worlds apart. Taylor is the girl you take home to meet your folks. Gibson is the girl you take to the bar. Taylors are clean and pristine. Gibsons are roughcut and a bit on the raunchy side if necessary. I guess to a degree it's kind of a personality thing. It's who we are personally. I guess I could consider the different woods and combinations of wood used, but that is far more techical than I can really discuss. There are folks in this forum who are very knowledable and can really go into detail on that particular subject. I just have to go back again to personal thing. If I feel the guitar is "me," then I'll likely bond with it and play it a lot. I feel that Gibsons are "me." Gibsons are different. From one J45 to the next J45. From one Hummingbird to another, they're different. Lots of human touch still goes into building a Gibson. That helps make each one unique, yet, they all seem to suggest tradition, the good old days, history. That's how I see Gibsons.

 

If you get a Gibson, I hope it's the guitar you want and need. Taylors are very nice guitars. So are Gibsons, and in their own individual ways.

 

Oh, and BTW, welcome to the Gibby forum.

[rar]

... really like the Grand Auditorium size ... .

Gibson doesn't make many wide-but-shallow models, but there are a few out there. One possibility is the J-180 Everly Bros/Billie Joe Armstrong model. Another, a little wider in the waist than a J-180 but quite shallow, is the Advanced Jumbo Concert model . You're not that likely to run into either, but you might get lucky.

 

-- Bob R

[Markini]

Well Gibson did make a CSM (Concert Series Model?) built in Canada. BTW the only Gibsons ever manufactured outside the USA. I have one. It is dreadnaught sized with a shallow body. Sitka top, rest mahogany. This guitar looks like a Taylor, down to the bridge (not a belly up) and even the pickguard is classic Taylor.

 

 

I jam with a pro (serious player 40 years) and he really likes that guitar. 1. The tone is sweet, not a Taylor Tone but a Gibson tone. 2. Ergonomics are excellent (shallow body) and nice neck ala Gibson ( but 25.4" not 24.75"). 3. Though she runs 12 guage

strings the tension is loose and relaxed, did I mention real real real low action.

 

Many folks dis this guitar but I really like it, sounds nice with my Birds too.

 

But the guitar was discontinued I think in 2010, but you can still find them online for about 700 to 900 dollars with case.

 

Anyway may not sound like a Taylor but looks just like one.

[onewilyfool]

I can't really keep up with Taylor changes in model nubers.....same with Martin.....what the hell is a "Martin GPCPA 1"????? Likewise, what is a "Taylor GC3" as if their previous numbering system wasn't confusing enough.....

[newpicker]

After a lot of searching and youtubing, I think either the J-165 or 185 EC Rosewood will be my next gas relief. Went ahead and bought the Taylor 314ce for now. So many guitars, so little time.

[Rambler]

Gibson had the Songmaker for a while (15.5 wide shallow body, a made-in-Canada production @the former Garrison factory). Mixed reviews, from what I've read. Your can find them for under 1k. They also had the CJ165 (same width, deeper body). Better reviews but hasnt catch fire in a big way. It's a good body shape, but Gibson has tended to roll either with jumbos (16-17") or concert models (14.25" L00/LGs).