Taylor 214CE-G Acoustic-Electric Guitar

Here's a fine made-in-Mexico acoustic-electric that not only has the looks; but plays just as well. It was brought in for cleaning and polishing, fretboard reconditioning; as well as a setup. The guitar was nestled in a sturdy plush foam-lined "Taylor Quality Guitars" gig bag that could best be described as a semi-hardshell case. 

Curious about its specs, I did some research online and found lots of useful information on Taylor Guitars and Reverb. Strangely enough, there's no information on the kind of wood used for the bridge. I'll hazard a guess that it's some species of rosewood or ebony. Well then, let's take a look at some of the more pertinent characteristics of the Taylor 214CE-G.

Body
Shape: Grand Auditorium with Venetian Cutaway
Length: 20"
Width: 16"
Depth: 4-5/8"
Top: Solid Sitka Spruce (Natural Gloss Finish)
Back/Sides: Layered Indian Rosewood (Satin Finish)
Bracing: Forward Shifted Pattern
Soundhole Decoration: Three-Ring Rosette
Pickguard: Faux Tortoiseshell
Binding: Black/White/Black(Top), White (Back and Heel Cap)

Neck
Material: Tropical Mahogany (Satin Finish)
Width: 1-11/16"
Joints: Neck/Headstock - Scarf Joint, Neck/Body - NT Neck Joint
Heel Length: 3-1/2"

Fretboard
Material: West African Crelicam Ebony
Nut: Nubone
Scale Length: 25-1/2"
Radius: 15"
No. of Frets: 20
Inlays: 4mm Dot Italian Acrylic

Headstock
Peghead Overlay: Layered Indian Rosewood
Tuners: Die-Cast Chrome
Truss Rod Cover: Rosewood

Bridge
Material: Solid Wood
Black Bridge Pins
Micarta Saddle

Electronics
Taylor Expression System® Preamp
9V Battery Box/Endpin Jack Combo

 

 

A Rather Nice Acoustic-Electric Guitar

This guitar has me stumped. Right off the bat, the spelling error on the label raises a red flag. An exhaustive online check on the model name has turned up loads of acoustic-electrics with Zebrawood tops, backs and sides; but none that resemble this. Then, there's the matter of the serial number drawing a blank on the usual sites I rely on for verification. A well-made knockoff? Your guess is as good as mine. It came in for an electronics check after a fall. Turned out to be a disconnected ground. Fixed that.

The top appears to be spruce. The neck, back and sides could be some species of mahogany. The fretboard and bridge look like rosewood. Frets are nicely crowned and the ends smoothly dressed. In terms of looks, there's black body binding and faux tortoiseshell purfling, a black heel cap; and Florentine cutaway to boot! Long story short, it looks good, feels good, plays good, intonation is spot-on; and the preamp works as it should. What's not to like?

Takamine D Series ED2NC Acoustic-Electric Guitar

Preamble
Work done on this Indonesian Takamine ED2NC acoustic-electric beauty included fretboard reconditioning, restring/tune; and setup. The owner also needed a fix for the D, A and low E machine heads (tuners) as they were somehow missing their nylon washers. Turns out he bought it (used) that way. Shame on the seller for taking advantage of an inexperienced player!

Fixed the tuner problem somewhat by substituting Vape machine OCC (Organic Cotton Coil) silicone ring washers for their missing nylon counterparts (I've also used this solution while restoring an SX Standard Series Strat-Style guitar). Gave him a packet of spares just in case, and treated him to one of my three-minute sermons. I don't think he'll be buying his next used guitar without checking the condition of the tuners first.

To be fair, other than the tuner issue; this baby was in good condition, the electronics worked; and it sounded great either amplified or on its own. Click HERE to watch a YouTube review of the Takamine ED2NC by Melodramatic Music Store.

Last but not least, let's take a look at some specs; courtesy of Rockshop New Zealand. Sad to say, there isn't any information on the ED2NC or D Series at the official Takamine website. I guess they're not manufacturing them any more.

Specifications
Body Shape: NEX Cutaway
Top/Back/Sides: Spruce/Mahogany/Mahogany
Binding: Black
Rosette: Concentric Rings
Neck: Mahogany
Fretboard: Rosewood/dot inlays/20 frets/25.5" scale
Nut/Saddle: PPS (Polyphenylene Sulfide)
Truss Rod: Two-way Adjustable
Bridge: Rosewood pin-bridge
Color: Natural (NAT)
Finish: Gloss
Electronics: TP-4T 3-band preamp/end pin jack socket

Martin DX1RAE Acoustic-Electric Guitar

Overview
The Martin DX1RAE is a non-cutaway dreadnought-sized acoustic-electric guitar that scores high in terms of looks, sound and playability. The sound is rich, full, and tonally balanced, either on its own or plugged into an amp. Let's take a look at some specs now.

Top
Solid Sitka Spruce, clear finish.

Back & Sides
HPL (high pressure laminate) Indian rosewood.

Neck
Rust Birch Laminate, hand rubbed finish. "Rust Birch Laminate" is a Stratobond® product "composed of dye impregnated wood veneers." I've no complaints here. The neck feels solid and the hand rubbed finish is nice and smooth.

Fingerboard
FSC® Certified Richlite, 25.4" scale length, 20 frets. "Richlite" looks and feels like ebony, but is in fact "an incredibly durable, extremely versatile, and highly sustainable material made from resin-infused paper."

Bridge
FSC® Certified Richlite, Compensated White Tusq saddle.

Electronics
Fishman Sonitone Onboard Preamp System. This preamp features a "Sonicore pickup, battery bag and endpin jack." The rotary controls (volume and tone) and 9V battery bag are easily accessed through the soundhole.

References
DX1RAE
Martin DX1RAE Review: Acoustics under 1000 Review Series | Six String Acoustic
What is "Stratabond"? 

Pics