And now for something completely different… For anyone that’s ever appreciated the looks, playability, and plug-in-and-play ability of a Taylor yet yearned for a tone that’s a bit less bright on top and warmer in the mids with a bigger bottom end, read on because the Gold Label Collection is a complete re-imagining of the contemporary Taylor sound.
The San Diego-based manufacturer celebrated last year’s 50th anniversary with monthly limited editions and then culminated with new Legacy models to honor the roots of its iconic Bob Taylor designs (see our review of Legacy 514ce Grand Auditorium). Now Taylor is branching out more than ever. The Gold Label Collection is built to deliver the sound and style of a guitar from the classic pre-War era while maintaining qualities such as the holistically in-tune and harmonically balanced aspect of the modern V-class marvels created in this era under company captain Andy Powers.
He says, “I wanted to create an instrument that had a totally different type of sound than what Taylor is known for while retaining the kinds of attributes we love as a modern Taylor guitar.”
The novel body style is Taylor’s first-ever Super Auditorium, which is slightly larger than the flagship body style with rounder curves and no cutaway. This new design also marks the introduction of a new neck attachment system to customize your setup. It begins with a pair of 800 Series models, available in either Honduran rosewood or Hawaiian koa. Both feature torrefied Sitka spruce tops available either in either natural or sunburst finishes with street prices ranging from $4,499 for rosewood in natural to $4,999 for koa with sunburst. We were thrilled to get an advance of the Gold Label 814e SB ($4,699 street).
From an industry perspective, it’s interesting to see the big dogs try to take bites out of their competition in the marketplace while still retaining their core identity. At last year’s NAMM Show, Martin introduced the very Taylor-like GPCE Inception, while Taylor has explored uncharted territory with guitars such as the funky AD27e Flametop. Its major debut for ’22 was almost the antithesis of what we’d come to expect. The Gold Label 814e isn’t that radical, but it’s not like any Taylor I’ve ever experienced.
Part of the fun with this review was at first there was no documentation, and I was trying to size it up before having a conversation with Powers. Clearly, it was a little bigger than a Grand Auditorium and there was no cutaway or obvious electronics. The sunburst finish on its Sitka spruce top and the strikingly beautiful grain pattern in its solid Honduran rosewood back and sides are gorgeous, and the symmetrical shape makes its bodacious body appear quite sexy. The cut of its unique headstock crown slants backwards. To my eyes, the script logo and Continental inlay on the headstock appeared custom, as did the matching design engraved into the pickguard.
Powers confirmed that saying, “I created the logo and the central design specifically for this model, drawing on an old design from my pre-Taylor life. Starting from the headstock on down, this guitar needed to look different because the sound is different.”
It took one strum of a G cowboy chord to know that Powers had done something extra special to this Super Grand Auditorium. The tone was more voluptuous. I practically fell backwards laughing as I instinctively launched into a bit of Bob Seger’s “Night Moves.” The Gold Label 814e SB simply has that hearty wow factor that makes you want to strum something straightforward and revel in the resonation.
Powers confirms, “It only takes one chord to recognize this is not a subtle shift. The Gold Label is sort of a crossover amongst different acoustic designs.”
To my ears, it’s as if a Taylor Grand Auditorium got genetically spliced together with a Gibson J-45 for some balanced jangle, a Martin D-28 for a hearty kick, and perhaps even a Santa Cruz OM Grand for its practically custom-shop feel and nuanced tonal sensibility.
The more you try other approaches, such as delicate fingerpicking or hybrid chord-melody lines, the more you realize that the Gold Label 814e accommodates all of it. The guitar seems to give back every ounce of whatever you put into it plus a little lagniappe—an extra level of rich, sustaining overtones. So, exactly what is going on under the hood?
“The inside of this guitar features a revised V-Class bracing design to create this sound specifically. I adapted little pieces of the bracing architecture, pulling some influence derived from the fan-braced design of the classical guitar tradition. That creates a new sound with an altered overtone structure. The way that it hits you with this mid-range response and low-end richness is totally different than what we’ve done in past.”
Another significant development in the Gold Label design lies in the neck. It’s not so much about the profile, but you notice a unique feel and a resonance under your fingers. I immediately noticed that there was something about this setup that was low enough for easy playability, but also high enough to accommodate a more aggressive attack. Notes are true and bold, and you don’t have to worry about holding back. There’s no brittle top end or dreaded fret splat. That made me want to dig in and play some blues, with heavy note-bending a la B.B. King. On a fancy new Taylor, I don’t normally gravitate towards that kind of thing. So, what’s going on?
“The difference isn’t so much in the shape,” Powers says. “The way the strings feel under your fingers feels a bit different because of the voicing and whatnot. But let me back up a little bit and describe it this way.
“For the first 25 years, Taylor used some hardware to attach the neck heel to the body, and then glued on the fretboard. That was a big improvement from a construction and serviceability standpoint over conventional designs like a tapered dovetail. Around year 25 we developed the Taylor neck, or sometimes called the NT neck, where the entire thing is ultra-precisely controllable to minute gradations of a degree. That was a big improvement. A neck reset without the glue and everything takes me about 20 minutes.
“This neck is the next step forward. It’s long tenon design with a deeper heel that can contribute a sound like a traditional acoustic guitar neck, but it’s fully adjustable via a single screw located at the end of the heel block, and there’s no glue. So, a neck reset on this guitar takes about 20 seconds. You never take the strings off. You never even have to retune the guitar. Simply turn the adjuster screw to dial in the string height after dialing in the neck relief with the truss rod.”
Another immediately noticeable departure on the Gold Label 814e SB is its lack of a Taylor Expression System 2 with the requisite holes for controls cut into the upper bout. Instead, it features an L.R. Baggs Element VTC system consisting of an undersaddle piezo with flywheel controls for volume and tone tucked away inside the sound hole.
“To me, this guitar was an acoustic experience first and foremost,” explains Powers. “So, it didn’t feel right to drill holes into it for electronic controls. Lloyd Baggs and his company have been good friends of ours for years and built some of the first pickup systems Bob Taylor ever put into his guitars. The Element VTC pickup matches the way a lot of players would want to use this guitar for a variety of styles on different stages, so it seemed like the right choice.”
I took the Gold Label 814e out on a couple of solo shows playing through a Universal Audio Max preamp and compressor pedal into an L.R. Baggs Synapse Personal P.A. I found the pickup provided a wonderfully full tone and feel echoing the guitar’s acoustic personality. I especially appreciated its tone when slack-tuned a bit to Drop D for tunes such as “Black Water” by the Doobie Brothers or to open G for some Stones. The Super Grand Auditorium body sounded devilishly deep and lush.
The Gold Label 814e SB Super Auditorium is the most remarkable Taylor I’ve reviewed in the near decade I’ve been doing this gig as Frets Acoustic Editor. It’s got the Taylor hallmarks of impeccable craftsmanship, superior playability, holistically in tune with dynamic response and prolonged sustain—plus a very welcome warmth, vibe and sense of sonic soul. Taylor took steps in this direction with the Grand Pacific body style, but as Powers says, “That was a high-fidelity form of an older guitar. It was designed to sound like a studio presentation of an older sound. For the Gold Label, I wanted the acoustic experience to take me someplace new, or perhaps revisit someplace that I used to be.”
I’d recommend the Taylor Gold Label 814e SB Super Auditorium to practically anyone looking for a top-tier acoustic experience. It delivers custom shop-like quality in a production guitar that’s perfect for the studio, the stage, or simply sitting around the back porch strumming on a sunny day. Taylor fans should love it, and I’ll bet that a lot of Taylor critics will embrace this model as well. I expect to see the Gold Label concept catch on and be applied to many more guitars across the Taylor range.
SPECIFICATIONS
Gold Label 814e SB
CONTACT taylorguitars.com
PRICE $4,699 street, deluxe hardshell case included
NUT WIDTH 1.75″, white Tusq
NECK Mahogany, 25.5″ scale
FRETBOARD West African ebony with Continental mother-of-pearl inlays
FRETS 20
TUNERS Gotoh 510, Antique Chrome with ebony buttons
BODY Solid Honduran rosewood back & sides, solid torrefied Sitka spruce top (fanned V-class bracing)
BRIDGE Honduran rosewood “Curve Wing” with compensated white Micarta saddle
ELECTRONICS L.R. Baggs Element VTC with sound hole-mounted volume and treble controls
POWER 9V battery pack
FACTORY STRINGS D’Addario XS Coated Phosphor Bronze Light gauges .012 – .053
WEIGHT 4.9 lbs. (as tested)
BUILT USA
KUDOS The richest tone Taylor has ever produced on an instrument with a stunning classic aesthetic and fine playability
CONCERNS None
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings