Taylor 814ce V-Class Bracing

Several years ago, it was difficult to imagine anyone improving upon Taylor's vaunted 800 series. Most people would be terrified to try and fix something so decidedly unbroken, but Andy Powers is not most people. He built his first guitar at age eight, and he's had his nose to the grindstone ever since. So, the redesigned 800 series is a celebration of a storied tradition by a builder with twenty years of experience, but it it also injects that tradition with oodles and oodles of youthful energy. This combination of innovation and experience has resulted in a truly stunning final product.

To start, they recalculated the ideal thickness of every top, back, and side of every guitar, and they decided to finish each piece of wood with a very thin polyester gloss finish to optimize projection. Also, each body size features side bracing to help improve connection between the top and back to increase frequency response. Speaking of which, Taylor only utilizes protein glue for the 800 series, which creates the strongest possible connection between each piece of wood to ensure maximum volume and resonance. This doesn't even take into account the redesigned ES-2 System--which delivers truly incredible plugged-in tone--or the stunning new aesthetic updates like figured maple binding, an Indian rosewood pickguard, and an abalone rosette.

Now, this modern classic has been given yet another upgrade: Taylor's revolutionary V-Class bracing! V-Class bracing solves a major problem with acoustic guitar design. Typically, guitar builders must make a choice between sustain and volume. More flexible wood leads to greater volume, while stiffer planks result in greater sustain. Reconciling these two opposing truths to make a guitar that sustains AND projects has been the fundamental quandary of acoustic guitar construction for most of the history of lutherie. Now, we no longer have to trade one for the other thanks to V-Class bracing!

V-Class bracing controls the way the top flexes in order to make the vibrations "rock" back and forth in across the top in a more orderly manner. By controlling the way the top flexes, the bracing allows the guitar to sing loud and proud with a focused yet sonorous voice. The bracing also makes the center of the top more rigid, which keeps the strings vibrating longer, which gives you a ridiculous amount of sustain. So, players are able to have their cake and eat it, too! You get endless, Spinal Tap-worthy sustain and serious volume in the same guitar--a truly rare feat!

We are so proud to showcase these magnificent acoustics for our exceptional customers, and we hope you find their recent refinements as inspiring as we do!