Taylor

Of all the body sizes manufactured by Taylor, the Grand Auditorium reigns supreme.  The popularity of the design can largely be attributed to the inherent versatility it offers.  The body shape itself could be described as that of a dreadnought that went on a diet, in that the upper and lower dimensions are consistent with a dreadnought, but the waistline is more indented.  This results in a body that still has much of the dimension, power, and depth of tone associated with a dreadnought, but the balance, clarity, and more refined presence of a smaller body. 

Though not as showy and ornate as the 900 Series, the Koa Series falls into a similar price point in the Taylor line, and thus could be considered the top of the line, after the Presentation series.  Much of this cost is, of course, attributed to the premium associated with Koa.  Native only to Hawaii, Acacia koa is a very scarce resource, as much of Koa in Hawaii is protected (despite being the second most common tree in the archipelago).  As a result, most Koa on the market comes from private sources or reclamation.  Meanwhile, for more than a century, Koa has been a very popular and sought after tonewood among certain lutherie circles.  Bob Taylor could definitely be counted amongst the builders who have powerful Koa lust —so much so, that is rumored at the Taylor factory that, whenever a Koa tree falls, Bob can hear it from across the Pacific while blasting across the Baja in one of his vintage Land Cruisers, stops to down a cappuccino from the machine that is installed in said Land Cruiser, beelines it back to San Diego to fire up the company Gulfstream to dart over to Hawaii to buy that sucker!  But, can you blame him?!  Not only is it a beautiful material to behold, but Koa offers a unique tonal palate to manipulate.  Koa shares some tonal qualities with mahogany—both are bright, crisp, and very clear—but it has a warmer edge to the note and a little more overall sweetness.  Koa is also known to undergo a more dramatic expansion of frequency response over time, which is to say its maturation is more apparent and gratifying than that of some other tonewoods.

It has long been our opinion that Taylor’s cedar-topped models are some of the most well-rounded for fingerstyle and melodic applications, as the softer nature of cedar tempers the inherent brightness in the Taylor voicing, adding enhanced warmth and a quicker response.  The cedar-Koa pairing, is particularly appealing as the reflective but sweet nature of Koa pushes the cedar in a manner that produces clarity and balance without being overly assertive.  The result is a guitar that speaks up and then speaks with a direct and yet mesmerizing vocabulary.  As such, the K-14C is undoubtedly one of Taylor’s greatest contributions to the modern acoustic guitar market.

Condition

Though very well kept overall, with not major structural issues to report, this K-14C does exhibit a fair amount of play wear.  This play wear is almost entirely concentrated on the guitar’s top, where we see numerous dings and dents in the pickguard area  as well as other bumps and dents elsewhere.  The most significant of these was a finish chip on the treble side lower bout—this has since been filled, but appears darker than the surrounding finish.  Otherwise the back and sides are very clean, but do have some lacquer sink/orange peel to note.  Finally, a Fishman Natural active pickup has been installed.  VERY GOOD condition

• Grand Auditorium 14-Fret Body Size
• Solid Western Red Cedar Top
• X-Bracing
• Hawaiian Koa Back and Sides
• Full Gloss Body Finish
• Faux Tortoiseshell Binding
• 4-Ply Top Purfling
• Simple 2-ply Side Purfling
• Single Ring Abalone Rosette
• Satin Body Finish
• Single Piece Mahogany Neck
• Ebony Fingerboard
• Mother of Pearl Koa Series Fingerboard Inlays
• Ebony Headstock Veneer
• Mother of Pearl Headstock Logo and Flourish
• Satin Neck Finish
• Ebony Bridge
• Gold Grover Rotomatic Tuning Machines
• TUSQ Nut
• TUSQ Saddle
• Ebony Bridge Pins with Abalone Dots
• 1 3/4” Nut Width
• 25 1/2” Scale Length
• Fishman Active Pickup Installed
• Original Deluxe Hardshell Case