The fact that you’re here means that you’re searching for the best acoustic Taylor guitar review in 2022. Most, if not all string instruments enthusiasts know that the Taylor brand remains one of the most sought string instrument manufacturers in today’s marketplace. That too, for good reasons. They not only showcase the latest innovative manufacturing techniques but also proudly display their unique wood collection of different tones. And that’s not all, Taylor acoustic guitars are also renowned for their impressive sounds, are easy to play, making them ideal even for beginner players.
So we totally understand why you want to own one.
But to get the best guitar that suits your needs, you have to understand the different types in the marketplace and make the right purchase. And that’s where we come in.
Read also 7 Best Yamaha Acoustic Guitars for 2022!
In today’s article, we take you through comprehensive coverage of the various types of acoustic Taylor guitars, through our detailed review and buyer’s Guide. We also answer some of the frequently asked questions, to keep you well informed. Let’s go!
Best Taylor Acoustic Guitar Reviewed In This Guide
Best Taylor Acoustic Guitar List
This is probably the best Taylor Acoustic Guitar. Tylor GS Mini-e Koa is naturally welcoming at first glance. Its beautiful tone will make you want to get right into action right away.
It gives you the richness of mahogany decorated with the radiance of maple. This GS Mini-e piece from Taylor features a solid smooth Hawaiian koa all around (back, sides, and top) for a comfortable feel. It might be smaller than your standard acoustic, but don’t let the size discourage you, it sounds fuller, and the strings are of high quality.
The Tylor GS Mini-e Koa is an ideal pic for individuals searching out for neither a full-size or mini acoustic guitar. It’s the best “in-between.” Like other Taylor guitars, this piece is easy to play thanks to its ebony fingerboard and Sapele neck. You can comfortably take it to the stage or in-studio.
It also features an ES-B pickup system, which offers amazing tone controls, complete with a built-in tuner. This piece’s low battery indicator also comes in handy to ensure you don’t get caught off guard during a gig.
Taylor 614ce Builder’s Edition is a true representation of the Taylor brand’s top-notch craftsmanship. It features a combination of premium ergonomics and aesthetics to enhance its appealing tone. This piece is made of V-class bracing to boost its volume, making it reliable for big auditorium performances. This provides harmony between your notes, making the chords release well-tuned splendid sounds. A great balance between stiff and flexible.
The Taylor 614ce Builder’s Edition Taylor acoustic guitar features a spectacular combination of four tonewoods ( ebony, Sitka spruce, bigleaf maple, and bookmatched marble). They work together to trigger its ultra-responsiveness to touch. So you can play with ease and enjoy your performance.
This piece’s Taylor ES2 pickup system contains a phase switch to help you control any potential feedback.
If what you want is a great combination of electric, classic, and acoustic guitar, the Taylor T5z Classic is a perfect choice. This piece gives you the right touch of a solid body electric guitar, with its thin body and the 12”ebony fingerboard.
The guitar’s jumbo frets make things even better. They allow you to bend strings with ease. So you can play for long without straining. It’s the ideal Taylor acoustic guitar if you have been in the electric world for long and would like to upgrade your collection with an electric/acoustic piece.
Also, the electronics of this Taylor T5z Classic Hollowbody Electric Guitar are out of this world. Its 5-way switch conveniently located at its side allows you to choose the tones with ease. This piece’s two pickups (the invisible neck and the visible bridge humbuckers make an incredible combination of electric guitar tone range.
You also get to play around with the volume controls and decide how much bass or treble you need.
Read also Cheap Electric Guitars!
This is a small package Taylor Baby Mahogany BT2 acoustic guitar that makes a perfect travel companion for guitar enthusiasts. Also, its size makes it the perfect pick for young beginners or small-handed individuals.
The piece proudly displays its attractive traditional dreadnought shape, with its top being made of tropical American Mahogany. You will love how the warm tone of this authentic wood gives balance to this Taylor guitar.
The side and back finishing of this beginner-friendly acoustic guitar is made of layered Sapele, while the neck is made of mahogany and the fingerboard ebony. The materials are durable and appealing. Plus, you won’t have to spend as much as you would have with other Taylor pieces. It’s much affordable at under $400, but effective.
If you’re starting on acoustic guitar or are a seasoned player, and would like a high-quality piece at an affordable price, the Taylor Academy 12 is your best bet. A good quality guitar such as this one gives you momentum to keep trying even when things seem hard.
You will appreciate its high action, Taylor’s perfect intonation, and superior sound to get you looking forward to hitting those strings like a pro. All this, thanks to its thin, tone-enhancing varnish finish, which is equally beautiful.
This Taylor acoustic guitar also comes with a unique armrest that guarantees a comfortable hold, helping you withstand long practice/playing sessions. Its grand concert size makes it suitable for players with a preference for fingerstyle guitars.
As a growing acoustic guitar player, what you need is a high-action guitar to help you build your expertise with ease. Taylor brand never disappoints with its range of string instruments, and the Taylor Academy 10 piece is no different.
It comes at an affordable price, making it suitable for intermediate players working on a tight budget. The best thing is that this standard dreadnought Taylor guitar doesn’t compromise on quality. So it’s a win-win situation as you will get the best acoustic guitar for the money.
Like other best Taylor guitars, this piece proudly features an ebony fingerboard, a hard rock maple neck, well-layered Sapele sides and back, and a solid Stika spruce top. The result is an impressively balanced top-quality projection and resonance to wow your listeners.
Yes, the guitar might be missing some fine details, such as electronics, but it sure is worth the price because the manufacturer did put more effort into ensuring the sound quality remains top-notch.
But still, you get to enjoy the built-in armrest to ensure you’re comfortable whenever playing. Plus, the short neck, and light gauge strings enhance playability.
The Taylor 314ce Acoustic-electric Guitar is the best bet for a percussive rhythm player, who wants to add an acoustic guitar to this collection. This Grand Auditorium body best Taylor acoustic guitar allows you to strum with ease while letting you concentrate on the rhythm.
It comes with a beautiful slim waist, which you can hold with ease. And the projection and depthless of this Taylor piece resemble that of a dreadnought guitar. Its stylish satin gloss top finishing makes it a beauty to behold. You will be looking forward to your playing sessions.
The manufacturer also used the V-bracing on this acoustic guitar, which guarantees you a high-quality volume. Its Sapele sides and back work to enhance the 314e’s sound. You can even fine-tune as you please.
The Taylor 314ce Acoustic-electric Guitar comes with an E2 pickup system, which makes it easy for your guitar to release a natural acoustic sound during those aggressive strumming sessions. Whether you love jamming alone or in a group, this best Taylor acoustic guitar will meet your expectations.
Yes, it might not be as cheap as the Taylor Academy 10, but this acoustic guitar’s high-quality construction, effort placed in enhancing sound projection, plus all the attention paid to the elements, makes it a worthy purchase.
The Taylor 814ce-N guitar might be coming with nylon strings, but the quality of the strings and the versatility they offer is outstanding. At first touch, your hands will most likely fall in love with the thin well-fastened neck, complete with an ebony fingerboard. You will not only want to get right into action but keep at it!
This best Taylor acoustic guitar comes with a superior quality Grand Auditorium body similar to other pieces in this article. As mentioned earlier, this body is great for enhancing the tone quality, taking entertainment to another level.
It also features an ES-N electronic system that organically amplifies sounds to make them more rich and sweet for the ears. Vibrant will be your style, whenever you strike this entertainment piece’s nylon strings.
To maintain uniqueness and display their expertise in acoustic guitars, Taylor enhanced the thickness of the wood used in the construction of the Taylor 814ce-N. The bracing patterns are also eye-catching, making this piece one of the best-designed addition you would want to add to your collection.
The finely detailed visuals are not only classy but also breathtaking. And it won’t take long before it completely sweeps you off your feet and gets stuck in your heart.
The Taylor 214ce is another incredible dreadnought-shaped piece in Taylor’s acoustic guitar collection. It’s a premium product of the innovative nature of Taylor with a slender neck and perfectly traced outlines. This gives it a small instrument appearance while enhancing balance for a better and richer sound.
Plus, this body design helps in sharpening the definition of each note. Therefore, you can use it for strumming or fingerpicking according to your preference.
Think of it as small-bodied individual speaking in deep bass or a big unexpected sound. Expect the same effect on your audience. This is one of the many reasons this Taylor guitar is preferred by sound engineers.
It also features a Sitka spruce to offer the much-needed strength and elasticity, and rosewood on the sides and back to enhance the sound frequency. This makes the Taylor 214ce a preferred choice for solo performances or in vocal accompaniment gigs.
There’s also a built-in ES2 electronic system for enhanced versatile tone balancing to take your on-stage experience to another level.
A touch of class with the right skills goes a long way into ensuring your audience is well entertained. The Taylor K14ce Builder’s Edition will help you steal the show and keep everyone hooked to the end.
It proudly displays a sophisticated dark brown ebony board, intentionally laid out vine inlay, and gold tuners to offer a striking feel. Like its counterparts in the V-class series, this best acoustic guitar doesn’t shy from showing off its other innovative features such as the distinctive bracing design.
Taylor included two more long braces in a V shape to support the tone of the vibrating strings, and enhance rich volume production. If you have always wanted to invest in a high-quality smooth guitar, this Taylor K14ce will take you a notch higher.
But that’s not all. Taylor K14ce Builder’s Edition acoustic guitar is simply elegant. It’s a visual masterpiece that you would want to showcase with pride. It’s blingy and exquisite. So if this is your style, you won’t regret buying this guitar.
However, be ready to dig deeper into your pockets as it doesn’t come cheap. But if you’re a guitar enthusiast or are planning on kick-starting your professional journey, you will appreciate the value it has to offer. Not only in outward beauty but also in the incredible sound quality.
Check also 10 Best Electric Guitar Packages for Beginners in 2022!
Taylor Acoustic Guitar Buyer’s Guide
Things to Consider When Purchasing a Taylor Guitar
Now that you have gone through the reviews section above, you might be thinking of purchasing one of the guitars on the list. While that’s a good step, you need to equip yourself with more tips to ensure you make a perfect choice.
There are various factors to consider before closing a sale, and they include:
Playability of Taylor Acoustic Guitar
The guitar should naturally be easy to play. If you’re a beginner, the best thing you can do is get a beginner-friendly piece, whose strings and entire body design will make it easy for you to learn.
If you go for a stiff-strung or too wide and big guitar, chances are that you will get bored before long and might stop trying after a few sessions. The guitars reviewed in this article are the best in each category and are very comfortable to play.
Price of Taylor Acoustic Guitar
There is no level ground when it comes to the pricing of products. And the same case applies to the best Taylor guitar. Ensure you identify the most suitable budget to work with and search out for a guitar within that range.
We have reviewed various guitars, in several pricing categories, and we hope you will find one that fits your budget.
Also, if you’re starting, it’s advisable to start with a cheaper guitar, then invest in a better one with time. That way you to climb the price ladder as you advance your skills. It also won’t hurt as much if you mishandle a cheaper guitar as you learn the ropes.
Quality
The Taylor brand is widely known for its range of quality instruments. No matter how affordable their guitars might be, they always ensure to maintain a certain level of quality. Therefore, this shouldn’t be a worry.
A Taylor guitar can last you for years. Of course with good maintenance.
New or Used
Sometimes you don’t have enough money to purchase even the cheapest new best Taylor guitar, and your desire to start playing can’t allow you to wait to save up. In such circumstances, the only option you might have is to buy a second-hand guitar. While we don’t recommend this, it’s advisable to purchase from a trustworthy dealer or someone you know.
Avoid buying a used Taylor acoustic guitar online. Instead, consider getting one from your local music store, if they do stock some. That way, you can easily go back in case it develops problems. Also, ensure you get a signed agreement in case you need to take some legal action.
But if you can get one from a close family friend, the better it will be.
In other instances where money isn’t a problem, we encourage you to purchase a new guitar. Truth is, they offer good value for money, and most of the time, buying a second-hand instrument is risky.
Common Questions About Best Taylor Acoustic Guitar
What Best Taylor Guitar Body Shape Fits Your Needs?
Apart from the above important factors of consideration when buying Taylor acoustic guitar, you should also know how to select the perfect body shape to suit your needs.
Remember, each guitar’s different body design directly impacts the tone, because they’re all unique. Plus, the feel of each shape is different in your hands.
Therefore, here is a general guide on what to expect from each body design:
The Grand Concert: this is the smallest body size in Taylor’s range of acoustic guitars. It’s, therefore, most suitable for young players, or small-handed guitar enthusiasts. It releases much focused sounds, making it ideal for solo performances or when being accompanied by group voice singing.
The Grand Auditorium: as you can gather from the above reviews, this is the most used body design by the Taylor brand in their range of guitars. It is an “in-between” piece, given that it isn’t compact or large. Just somewhere in between. A great balance if we may say.
This is a guitar you can comfortably hug, making it a perfect performance partner in both large and small auditoriums. And because of the deep design of this guitar, it releases a well-balanced tone across the entire space range.
The Grand Symphony: is the perfect pick to add a little bit of low and high ends provided by the Grand Auditorium. As its name suggests, it’s large and good for strumming. So if you love rhythms, this body shape is your best pick.
The Grand Orchestra: if the larger it’s the better, then you will love the grand orchestra guitar design. It enhances the highs, lows, and some midranges. It’s the most powerful body shape you can get in the marketplace, and it produces a rich complex time. Best suitable for grand gigs.
The Dreadnought: this is one of the most common guitar body shapes. It’s popular worldwide and produces bold tones. The dreadnought shape offers a comfortable hold and is suitable for both bold and punchy sounds. So if you often switch between strumming and flat-picking, this design is your ideal pick.
Choosing the Best Tonewoods for your Best Taylor Guitar
The overall performance and tone of your acoustic Taylor guitar largely depend on the type of wood its body is made from. Also, wood directly affects the pricing of guitar’s pricing and the overall look.
Here are some of the most commonly used tonewoods by the Taylor brand:
Layered Tonewoods: this includes layering woods to create the guitar’s side and back. Taylor is best known to utilize the combination of various tonewoods such as koa, and Sapele, among others. The outcome might not be as pleasing as solid wood, but it offers durability, with a touch of stiffness. If you’re always on the move, this would be ideal. The guitar can withstand some abuse, which it’s likely to experience as you move around.
Ovanglok: this wood might not be so commonly used, but it is so similar to rosewood. Like rosewood, it offers a clear top and some bits of low end, while adding some mid-range.
Blackwood: if you’re sourcing out for tone wood that will produce a bold top, and clarity in the midrange, the Blackwood is for you. Taylor features it in most of its 300 acoustic series, together with the warm mahogany on the sides and back.
Koa: this is the fastest-growing tone wood in the acoustic guitar marketplace. Maybe it’s because of its amazing capability to create impressively unique body shapes. It’s such a show-stopper when combined with the caramel color. And it boosts the production of a well-balanced tone.
Rosewood: this tone wood is popularly used on the back and sides of the best Taylor guitar. Its chocolate tone is captivating to the eyes. The rosewood produces powerful tones, with some bits of low and crispy high ends. There’s some unique liveliness this wood brings to the table.
Mahogany: like rosewood, mahogany is one of the most popular tone woods in the acoustic guitar industry. It’s readily available across the world, hence the preference. You can easily recognize its golden touch even from a distance. As for the impact on the sound, it’s often warm within the mid-range, hence preferred among rhythm players and songwriters.
Figured Maple: Taylor uses this tone wood in its 600 series. It’s so bright and definitely striking. It’s known to release the most natural tones. You can easily hear all the top-end details as you play. A true reflection of your style.
Which Best Taylor Guitar Series is best for Your Needs?
The Taylor acoustic guitars are grouped into various series, according to their features. They mainly range from series 100-900. There are some stand-alone which are unique in specific ways or are meant for a specialized target market.
Read also 8 Best Cheap Acoustic Guitars!
Here’s how to choose the best Taylor guitar series for you:
Presentation: they’re the finest products of Taylor and are produced occasionally to remind the world of their innovativeness, and top-tier quality. They are best suitable for guitar collectors.
Koa: they display a perfect combination of all Taylor’s unique features. Adding the irresistibly beautiful Hawaiian koa and other critical wood details.
800: this series line is made of rosewood tone. It proudly displays the advanced performance bracing, with an ultrathin finish, and wood glues. Everything has been optimized to create the ideal Taylor tone. Also, this series has some of the most outstanding aesthetic touches.
900: this Taylor 900 series presents the most beautiful, yet simple acoustic guitars. They are characterized by comfortable ebony armrests, fingerboard inlays, elegant edge treatment, and a little more perfect finishing on all ends.
700: the 700 Taylor series is mainly made from rosewood and some lutz spruce. Its top-notch touches are unforgettable. You will be wowed by the reflections inlay, and the gorgeous performance bracing.
600: the Taylor 600 series is best known for its most authentic sounds. The construction of these gorgeous Taylor guitars is maple, which captures low keys and all other characters with impressive clarity. There’s evidently recommendable effort featured in the production of this series.
500: when you think of mahogany, think of the 500 Taylor acoustic guitar series. They produce an incredibly warm spectacular tone. Most of them feature mahogany on the back and sides.
400: these series consist of the traditional solid tonewoods such as the ovangkol or rosewood. They focus on the ornamental touches, making them great for showcasing your style.
300: they feature the most solid wood constructions. They mostly combine the use of spruce and Sapele or mahogany with black wood. They offer durability and will last you a lifetime. Of course with proper care.
200 DLX: they are characterized by a white body binding and spruce tops which are perfectly layered with Kao on the sides and back. Their finishing is usually made of full gloss. So smooth and bright!
100: they are known for their impressively slim necks, and beautifully walnut layered sides and back.
Academy: they are categorized as budget-friendly, and can comfortably offer a pro-level performance. They feature solid spruce tops, complete with a comfortable armrest. Their tone is quality and impressive.
GS Mini and Travel: popularly known as the baby series, these Taylor guitars are meant for young players and beginners. But can perfectly meet the needs of small-handed individuals or everyone who won’t mind a small guitar. They are currently being used even by professional players across the world. They are compact and travel-friendly.
Best Taylor Acoustic Guitar Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)
Are Taylor guitars better than Martin’s?
Both brands have their distinctive featured serving the needs of their specific players. So you can’t conclusively compare them.
Where Are Taylor Guitars made?
Taylor guitars are made in the USA. Particularly in San Diego in El Cajon, California
What strings do Taylor acoustic guitars come with?
This depends on the model of the guitar. But the common strings include steel, nylon, and ultra-thin NANOWEB.
Enjoy Your New Taylor Acoustic Guitar
Looking through some of our favorite Taylor guitars was a lot of fun. It was always going to be difficult to pick just one winner because they’re such a global company with so many items. However, if you’re looking for a great beginner’s alternative or something at the lower end of the price range and don’t mind the smaller size, the Baby Taylor is hard to beat. As long as you’re dedicated to properly caring for and preserving this model, you’ll enjoy a great portable guitar for a long time!
Despite its attractiveness (which is undeniable), we couldn’t choose anything except the flagship 814ce as our overall winner since it creates beautiful tones and stays in tune for long periods of time, making it ideal for both novice and intermediate players. This can be exactly up your alley if you don’t mind paying premium pricing but are satisfied with what Baby Taylor has to offer.
Get yourself the best Taylor acoustic guitar now!
