A New Take On The 814: Bigger Voice, Golden-Age Warmth
If you love the feel of a Taylor but always wished for a little more depth, bloom, and old-world character, this Gold Label 814e SB hits that sweet spot. It keeps the effortless Taylor playability and adds a richer, more heritage-style voice that feels like a broken-in favorite from the first chord.
Super Auditorium: Familiar Comfort, Deeper Low End
This is not your standard Grand Auditorium. Andy Powers reshaped the classic outline into a Super Auditorium with a touch more air in the body and no cutaway, which lets the whole box move and breathe. The result is a tone that feels deeper and fuller than a typical GA while still keeping that focused, articulate Taylor midrange.
Strumming feels bigger without getting boomy, and fingerstyle lines have more natural sustain and body. Real talk: it still feels like home if you are used to Taylor ergonomics, it just sounds like the guitar finally grew up.
Honduran Rosewood And Torrefied Spruce That Sing
The tonewood recipe on this one is pure luxury. Honduran rosewood back and sides deliver lush overtones, piano-like lows, and a smooth top end that never gets harsh. On top you get a torrefied Sitka spruce soundboard, which behaves like a well-loved vintage top: quick to respond, dynamically rich, and already “opened up.”
That full-body gloss Gold Brown sunburst on the top with natural back and sides is not just eye candy. You can feel the body resonate against your chest, with notes that bloom and hang in the air. Chords sound orchestral, single notes stay clear, and the guitar rewards every little nuance in your right hand.
Fanned V-Class Bracing And Long Tenon Neck For Power And Clarity
Inside the box, Taylor’s V-Class bracing gets a fresh twist with a fanned variant and tonal routing. You hear it immediately: more headroom, stronger fundamental notes, and impressive sustain, all while staying in tune up and down the neck. Big strums stay clear, and dropped tunings still feel focused and punchy.
The new long tenon neck joint is a huge part of the recipe too. More real estate where the neck meets the body means better energy transfer and a more connected feel from the first fret to the last. It also gives Taylor even finer control over neck angle adjustments, so the setup can be dialed exactly where serious players want it.
Stage Ready With LR Baggs Element VTC
Instead of the usual Taylor electronics, this Gold Label 814e SB ships with an LR Baggs Element VTC system. That means a warm, organic plugged-in sound that feels like your acoustic tone, not a plastic overlay on top of it. The Element tracks your dynamics beautifully, from delicate fingerpicking to heavy strums.
Discrete soundhole-mounted controls keep the top clean while still giving you quick access to volume and tone when you need it. Whether you are running straight into a PA, an acoustic amp, or a studio interface, this rig is ready to go without a pile of tweaking.
Gold Label Details, Taylor Playability
All the little details add up. You get .080 inch grained ivoroid binding with round-over edges, a custom bound soundhole rosette, the new Continental inlays on the West African Crelicam ebony fingerboard and peghead, and an engraved ivoroid/tortoise pickguard. Gotoh 510 antique chrome tuners with ebony buttons look classy and keep things rock solid in the tuning department.
The neo-tropical mahogany Standard Carve neck with a satin finish and 15 inch radius ebony board feels fast and relaxed at the same time, exactly what Taylor players expect. At around 4 lb 13 oz, this Super Auditorium feels light on the strap, balanced on the lap, and ready for marathon sets. It ships in a Taylor deluxe hardshell case with a British Cocoa exterior so it arrives ready for the studio, the stage, or that next road trip.
Questions about this guitar or how it stacks up against other 800 series and boutique acoustics? Call (888) 794-8482 and talk to a real player on our team.
