SOLD! Taylor 214ce CF DLX Cutaway Steel String Guitar

Featuring a solid Sitka spruce top, layered Copaifera sides and back, Venetian cutaway and the Expression System 2 pickup system the Taylor 214ce CF DLX is a stage ready, reliable and great sounding guitar.

The Grand Auditorium body shape is an excellent general-purpose shape. Its width is similar to a dreadnought but with a much curvier shape which changes the response and dynamics. It is equally well suited to finger style or strumming so you can use it for many different styles.

The comfortable body shape, slim easy playing neck shape and Venetian cutaway provide a wonderful playing experience for beginners and professionals. And of course, the Taylor 214ce CF DLX includes the Expression System 2 pickup and preamp, with the output jack and battery holder integrated into the tail block.

The builder’s thoughts on the Expression System 2 Design:

“For decades, piezo-electric transducers have been positioned under the saddle of a guitar based on the long-held belief that the string and top vibration cause the saddle to “bounce” up and down. But Taylor’s electronics team, led by developer David Hosler, discovered that the vertical movement is actually heavily restricted, and that the saddle gets “locked down” due to the string tension’s downward pressure. That’s why a traditional under-saddle pickup with piezo-electric crystals often responds with a sound often characterized as thin, brittle, brash or synthetic, especially with more aggressive playing.

The saddle’s natural range of movement as the guitar is being played is actually back and forth like a pendulum. That revelation led Taylor’s design team to relocate the crystals from under the saddle to behind it. The new positioning enables the crystals to respond more naturally to the guitar’s energy as it is transferred through the saddle. Three pickup sensors are installed behind the saddle, through the bridge, with three tiny Allen screws that calibrate the position of the sensors in relation to the saddle.

Like the original Expression System, the ES2 features the same volume and tone control knobs. The preamp is similar but with a slightly different gain structure. As a result it will be about 25 percent hotter, which is more in line with other pickups. This makes it plug-and-play friendly both for artists and live sound mixers.”

Taylor 214ce CF DLX Specifications:

• Body: Grand Auditorium
• Top: Solid sitka spruce
• Back and sides: Layered Copaifera
• Neck: Sapele
• Scale length: 25.5”
• Nut width: 1 11/16”
• Electronics: Expression system 2