Taylor 714ce, Next Generation — 700 Series

Taylor 700 Series

Western red cedar's warmer, faster-blooming response sits underneath Indian rosewood's harmonic complexity in the 700 Series, a pairing built for players who want immediate responsiveness the moment a string is struck without giving up the low-end depth rosewood is known for. Cedar is a softer, less dense top wood than the Sitka spruce used across most of Taylor's catalog, which means it takes less string energy to get the top moving — a light fingerstyle touch produces a fuller, more present tone right away, rather than needing a harder attack to open the guitar up the way a stiffer spruce top often does. Set against Indian rosewood's dense, complex cell structure instead of the more common sapele or koa pairing, that immediacy gets layered under a deep, ringing low end and a wide stack of overtones rosewood is prized for.

The 714ce Next Generation launches the series at $3,199: a Grand Auditorium body with Scalloped V-Class bracing and a Relief Rout, Taylor's Claria acoustic pickup system, and a Cedar Top/Natural finish that leaves the top's true color and grain visible rather than tinting it.

7

Reading the wall: every model here starts with 7

That first digit means solid Indian rosewood back and sides in vintage-leaning trim. The second digit tells you strings and top wood; the third is the body shape.

Decode the full number →

714ce

1 product

*Pre-Order Deposit ONLY* Taylor 714ce Grand Auditorium Acoustic-Electric

$3,199.00

Cedar and spruce start from different physical properties, and that difference is what defines how a guitar feels to play, not just how it sounds on a recording. Spruce is stiffer and denser, which means it takes more string energy — a harder pick attack or a stronger fingerstyle touch — before the top really starts moving and the guitar opens up. Cedar is softer and lighter, so it responds to less energy: a light fingerstyle touch produces a fuller, more present tone immediately, without needing to dig in. That's usually described as cedar having a faster response, and it's the reason fingerstyle players have gravitated toward cedar tops for decades — the top does more of the work at lower playing volumes.

The tradeoff historically was headroom: a cedar top pushed hard by a strong strummer compresses and can lose definition sooner than spruce does. Pairing cedar with Indian rosewood back and sides is a deliberate answer to that tradeoff, not an accident of the model number. Rosewood's dense cell structure generates a wide stack of overtones and a deep, ringing low end that most builders reserve for their most harmonically complex instruments — laying that resonance underneath cedar's immediate, responsive top gives the 714ce Next Generation both halves of the equation: the touch-sensitivity a cedar top delivers at low volume, and the low-end weight and sustain rosewood adds as the player digs in harder. Scalloped V-Class bracing with a Relief Rout reinforces that further, redirecting the top's vibrational energy for more even response across the whole fretboard and adding headroom that a standard X-braced cedar top wouldn't have.

That combination is built specifically for fingerstyle players — anyone working close to a microphone or a pickup, who needs a guitar that responds to dynamics and touch rather than requiring a hard strum to sound full. It's a different priority than the 600 Series' maple-driven transparency or Gold Label's vintage-adjacent mahogany warmth: the 700 Series is built around immediacy and depth together, not clarity in a mix or a specific vintage voicing.

See the 714ce Next Generation model page for full specs, or browse the complete Taylor Guitars collection for the rest of the lineup. Every 714ce Next Generation that leaves The Acoustic Shoppe ships under the Dread-Not Guarantee and our full 23-point professional inspection.

The Acoustic Shoppe is an Authorized Taylor Premier Dealer and Gold Label Advantage Dealer. Every instrument ships after a full 23-point professional inspection by our in-house repair tech. As a nine-time consecutive NAMM Top 100 Dealer, we handle warranty concerns directly on your behalf.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes the Taylor 700 Series different from the 600 Series or Gold Label?

The 600 Series pairs Sitka spruce with Big Leaf Maple for a bright, transparent voice built around note separation. Gold Label leans into mahogany and rosewood for a warmer, vintage-adjacent tone. The 700 Series pairs Western red cedar with Indian rosewood instead — cedar's fast, responsive attack layered under rosewood's harmonic depth, built for fingerstyle players who want immediacy without losing low-end weight.

Why choose a cedar top instead of spruce?

Cedar is softer and less dense than spruce, so it takes less string energy to get the top moving — a light fingerstyle touch produces a fuller tone immediately instead of needing a harder attack to open the guitar up. That faster response is why fingerstyle players have favored cedar tops for decades.

Does pairing cedar with rosewood cause the guitar to lose headroom under a hard strum?

Rosewood's low end and harmonic complexity add weight and sustain that offsets some of a cedar top's earlier compression point, and Scalloped V-Class bracing with a Relief Rout adds further headroom by redirecting the top's vibrational energy more evenly. It's still a guitar voiced primarily for touch-sensitive playing rather than aggressive flatpicking.

Who is the 714ce Next Generation built for?

Fingerstyle players and anyone working close to a microphone or pickup who wants immediate responsiveness at lower playing volumes without sacrificing low-end depth — a different priority than the 600 Series' clean note separation or Gold Label's vintage-adjacent warmth.

Four people sit around a wooden table with microphones, laughing and talking in a cozy, rustic studio. Musical instruments and vintage decor are visible in the background, including a large sign that reads TAS.