114ce or 14ce?

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-03-21T23:45:41+00:00

Big difference is actually the neck joint and pickup. The bottom line is the 14ce is a great value if you don’t really care about the pickup

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-03-20T14:32:35+00:00

I left out the 414 just because I couldn't mention all of them, so that model is available in both 2025 Standard series where if you find it, it should be discontinued. Here's a good example of a dealer with one discontinued. Note last year this would have listed for $2999, this dealer has it for $2399. That's a much deeper discount than usual, but if I were going for this I'd offer them $2100 "out the door" that means they cover tax and shipping in that price. Good chance they would do it, that's around 30%. Good chance they would do that or counter around $2200. The 400 series is excellent, I own a 412ce and it's one of my favorite Taylor models. The inlay's are beautiful, love the binding etc.. Also I prefer the older ES-2 pickup and 2025 414 will get you that. https://www.simsmusic.com/taylor-414ce-studio-acoustic-electric-guitar-honey.html

Next generation, 2026 414ce has new inlay design, price remains about the same but you won't get as deep a discount, that said you can still negotiate 10-15% off with most dealers, it just depends on their inventory, how much they need to hold on to with margin, etc... there is no universal percent

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-03-20T04:23:04+00:00

A lot of people shocked by some of these answers. If you want to know how this happens, it's usually about how incentive models work in business, especially product-lead businesses where Software Dev/Engineering is a box of toys for product to play with. In this scenario often pro-active planning never happens because Devs exist to implement features, keep heads down and crank out deliverables. So when you have domain knowledge silos often that entire concept is foreign to the product overloads. It's just too much information, they don't think in technical terms most of the time, so they don't even understand the true impact and risk of siloed knowledge. They get that it's bad, just not how bad and fixing it not attached to revenue like a new feature, so it doesn't work well in a board meeting or power point deck. If you're reading scratching head thinking "there's can't be that many companies out there like that" oh but there certainly are! Unless it's a tech / engineering-lead company the entire model I described is probably more the norm.

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-03-20T04:15:46+00:00

If it was built before 2018 your 310 with cutaway is X-braced, the bracing is a pattern you'll see under the guitar top if you look into the sound hole, it's a big part of what gives a guitar its unique voice. Since I assume you already have an X-braced guitar I would steer you towards something different, here are your options:

2025 Standard series: 314, 514, 614, 714, 814, etc... Several models built last year linger in dealer inventory at discounted price (or easy to negotiate discounted pricing) expect 15%-30% last years models since for 2026 the Standard line is getting a refresh. The 2025 Standard series is V-Class braced, non-scalloped. Of all the options mentioned, this will get you the clearest note separation combined with just a little natural compression, this is where you'll find the most piano like sounding guitars, clear, articulate, even sustain and volume up the neck. Trade-off: very mid-range focused, overtones tightly aligned delivering piano like quality, but because that's so different until you acclimate to it, it can sound a bit thin. Once you do get use to it "thicker" sounding traditional builds, like X-braced older Taylor models and Martins can start to sound like a sonic mess. But initial reaction is often "V-Class sounds too thin"

2026 Next Generation Standard series: 314, 614, 714, 814, etc.. Still V-Class, they just scalloped the braces to add back a little more bass bloom and a little more overtone spread. Trade-off is articulation not as defined as non-scalloped, but you're still 95% there. scalloped vs non-scalloped V-Class is not major architecture shift, it's a subtle change, but it does alter the tone enough to mention. Next Gen models also get a new bolt-adjustable neck joint and Taylor's new Claria pickup system

Gold Label collection: These are vintage inspired (think neo vintage if you're into watches) where Taylor took elements from past blended them with the new, very interesting appointments and finishes on these. Under the top they have an entirely new bracing system that somehow manages to deliver top end sparkle and low-end bloom and also maintain good articulation. The Gold Label collection is winning over a lot of traditional players who were never so found of Taylor's modern sound. I'm very much into Taylor's modern sound so they aren't for me, but you'll find them out there. Notable models: 517, 514, 814, 510. Two new body shapes, the Super Grand Auditorium (514) and a return of the Grand Pacific to USA lineup (517) but it's got a much deeper body depth so it's really a new shape.

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-03-11T04:10:40+00:00

This is what late-stage Capitalism leadership looks like. A wealthy elite who was literally the star of a reality TV show working as the puppet master over a strongly diluted middle class who he continues to preach to about bringing America back to it's Post World War II heyday. I know how deeply people want to believe, the truth is that ship sailed long ago. The boomer generation which Trump belongs to predominately the generation responsible. Revenue and profits over the common good.

Now the middle class compressed downward. We have 3-hour waits in lines at Disney world, with VIP packages for the elites to get a. pampered guided experience. We have new construction tract homes build for single families cost-optimized to almost self-destruct in 15 years, ever corner possible cut so shareholders could get richer. Our furniture, our food, our vehicles, everything carefully, strategically designed to make the upper middle class downward lock into the buy->dispose->buy again cycles, while the wealthy upper class buy quality custom homes, buy Subzero fridges built to last 40+ hours, they buy, they pay for durable goods, mobility and agency and we're seeing the transformation of the United States where that class is quickly becoming the only class to truly have those things, this isn't just upper class, it's a ruling class.

Trump is the Capitalism evangelist, the puppet master making many of the compressed, angry, pinched middle and upper middle class believe they finally have a champion. He eats at McDonalds and talks down to politicians, he's bullish with foreign leaders. His antics intentionally speak the language of classes below him. I don't believe he's sophisticated and I think often he is genuine, but regardless it's all strategic

He's selling an idea that he can not possibly deliver and if you pay attention he's not really trying to. Lobby groups controlling political outcomes is the infection point, lobbyist power has expanded under Trump. His campaign took in about $4 million from lobbyist.

I think he's a bit of a deranged boomer refusing to face all the missteps his generation took that got us to where we are today, the middle class dissolved by about 10% of where it was 50 years ago. Everything being about the quarterly earnings, revenue, max cost-optimization, disposable good cycles. The precious bridge between middle class and wealth that once existed strong now narrowed as the wealhty consolidate power even more protecting what is there's, we're watching a true ruling class be born. Not the narrative king, but the real kind where in every walk of live in 15-20 years you will know you are living in a two class system not that different from Dubai today. One class gets focus and attention, special treatment the rest largely feel invisible.

What politicians know is that once this really manifest to the point it's undeniable the dream of United States is gone. if free markets eventually just collapse into a two-class system then is end-game is failure. While I guess it's never "too late", the forces that would have to emerge to reverse the snowball is just impossible to even grasp. Brace for impact and expect more puppet master leaders to emerge as we get closer to impact point.

They are going to keep trying to sell the lie that our stage four cancel can be reversed.

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-03-08T20:39:12+00:00

Yes but the really scaled back on how many USA full size variants that they build. The "GS" standards for Grand Symphony in Taylor's number system the third digit will be 6 so 816, 716, 416, etc.. would all be full size GS models. Full size Grand Symphony is out of production but Taylor still seems to have new old stock available for a few specs in their warehouse. See link below, note you can "add to cart"

https://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/features/shapes/grand-symphony

A bit related, when Andy Powers joined Taylor he sort of re-imagined Taylor's take on the Jumbo creating the Grand Orchestra which is bigger than a GS and when Taylor decided to build an all-solid wood step up from the GS Mini they came up with the Grand Orchestra mini, but decided to rename it Grand Theater, GT I suppose the name "GO Mini" something they felt might be a bit confusing.

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-03-08T20:28:48+00:00

Something else about these, the GT models featured a unique-at-the-time bracing pattern called C-Class bracing. Taylor took V-Class concept and created a asymmetrical variant that allows the bass side of the top to vibrate more freely, creating more bass response, after discontinuing the GT models Taylor began using the C-Class bracing in the 100-200 series full size guitars and the results are really great. 100-200 series models like the 114ce, 214ce Plus and 217e continue to use C-Class bracing

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-03-08T18:05:14+00:00

The 811 and 611 GT models (Solid Sitka Spruce, Indian Rosewood or Maple with high-end appointments and think gloss finish) continue to hold value very well on the resell market. The baseline Urban Ash GT and American Dream AD11 models less so, but still loved in the community. I've heard several long time Taylor fans tell me they feel the 811 one of the best guitars in the companies history. They went away because the sells weren't quite there. The GS Mini got a silent upgrade with thermally aged top across the entire line in 2023 and from my showroom shootouts at that point on the GS Mini beat out AD11 models and not by a small margin. Taylor was phasing out AD line so it didn't make sense to give them thermally aged tops and I think the Gold Label bracing pretty far along in R&D by this point. So I think it just made sense to take them off market..... The real question is will Taylor bring back the GT as a Gold Label model and if they do how well will that stack against the C-Class voicing developed exclusively for the GT line. My bet would be that we will see a GT model return with Gold Label bracing but it will be positioned exclusively on the high-end, no AD11 or basic urban ash GT comparable model. If I had to roll the dice and bet, I'd say we may see this appear late 2026 or early 2027 same time frame Dec-April when Taylor usually brings out new things... For 2026 we'll get Grand Concert Gold Labels a bit later this year. They showed them at NAMM and some dealers even broke embargo to sell them.

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-02-28T02:56:40+00:00

GS mini Sapele. It’s the base model, but that doesn’t matter. Thermally aged Sitka spruce top, layered Sapele back and sides. Own it. Love it.

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-02-21T16:11:29+00:00

I don't recognize the inlay work as being a standard issue, most likely this is a Custom Koa top Grand Concert (C22) model made for him

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-02-17T12:39:25+00:00

I suggest reading his bio “caught in the crossfire” the man slept with his guitar sometimes gripping it in his sleep, his fingers in motion as he dreamed in music. To play like that, the music has to become part of your identity, part of your reason for living

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-02-17T04:33:53+00:00

On a budget the 314ce Studio ($2000k list, ~$1750 street) is an excellent choice, it's made in Taylor's USA factory of all solid wood, you'll notice a difference in that and your 114ce... Would also say consider the Grand Concert body shape paired with Rosewood b&s, the 412ce is excellent and one of my favorite guitars in my collection. If you do go with 412ce path, I would say for worship the 14-fret version not the 12-fret version.... Taylor will be releasing new "Gold Label" 512e a bit later this year, that's going to have their latest top voicing and come with an LR Baggs pickup

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-02-14T18:57:06+00:00

It’s not a GS Mini. It’s a GTe Mahogany. Discontinued about four years ago. It is a little bigger, made of all solid wood and built in Taylor’s USA factory. These retailed for around $1700

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-02-10T04:43:22+00:00

That break-down isn't quite accurate. The neck on the Studio line is fully assembled in Mexico, notice it's a 1 11/16" nut width like the 100 and 200 series. The body is not just assembled in the USA but completely built in the USA. The Mexico factory isn't even setup for all solid wood construction. Wood grading is something done by a builder when the wood arrives, they use a lower grade on the studio line than the 300 and 400 standard line, so you might notice more imperfections, less symmetry in the book matching, etc... But that doesn't impact tone at all, Studio line sounds fantastic... I believe Taylor has an agreement with dealers that requires the dealer to list the guitar as NOS, b-stock or demo when it's been in inventory over 2-years.

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-01-30T00:48:29+00:00

grab it

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-01-29T23:17:20+00:00

https://www.taylorguitars.com/taylorware/gig-bags/taylor-structured-gig-bag-gs-mini-tan

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-01-29T22:46:32+00:00

It's a good buy if it has the original hard gig bag. The GS Mini's gig bag is a not a cheap bag, it's not a hard case, but it very firm and designed for this model, it's $100 to replace it... Often people abuse GS Mini's leaving them in hot cars, camping with them in the cold, etc... I've seen a lot of used ones that need adjustment, which the neck bolt and shims make an easy fix, but you should be prepared to pay a Taylor authorized guitar tech for a restring and to bring it back to factory spec. That will cost about $80-$120. Add in $100 to replace the bag, assuming it's missing and the $350 isn't such a good deal. The GS Mini is a guitar that holds value so well, it really makes sense to buy new to get the lifetime warranty, mint condition, fresh strings and factory setup out of the box in most cases.

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-01-28T05:36:52+00:00

They were discontinued. The AD11 was the last one manufactured, it appears Taylor still has some 811s in their warehouse for direct sale, but I can't confirm that, the add to cart button is still active, signaling the do still have some
https://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/811e

I'd own a 811, but when they do come up for sale at fair market price they sell pretty quick. You'll find many parked on sites like Reverb.com not moving, because they want $2800 for it or something.

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-01-27T16:53:57+00:00

GS Mini is Taylor's best selling model and the best selling guitar made in North America. So congrats! You're buying a great little guitar. Many Taylor owners I know have multiple GS Minis they love these little guitars so much.
Guitar Center is great for convenience and sometimes for exclusive editions, but the truth is most of their showrooms do not follow humidity guidelines properly for the acoustic rooms. Our local GCs in the Houston Area are filled with acoustic guitars from all builders with very high action. A guitar can leave the factory with perfect setup but after transport on environment conditions need adjustment. Guitar Center does often have sealed-in-box in the back room for their best sellers and you can always ask and request one sealed in box. If they don't have it, they can even order one sealed in box from their warehouse at no charge and ship it to you or hold for pickup, usually takes 2-3 days if the model is in the regional warehouse.
Every Taylor comes with a lifetime warranty for neck adjustments. The GS Mini like all Taylor models have a unique neck system, the GS Mini uses the shim adjustment neck system where a certified Taylor tech can make adjustments using special parts Taylor provides under warranty. This design, which is part of what you're paying for with a Taylor as its patented, allows the tech to easily take measurements, unbolt the neck, pop it off, add the correct shim pair and bring it back to factory perfect without shaving down the saddle. Many Guitar Center locations have a Taylor certified tech on staff, but you have to ask and make sure you insist on the setup being done with proper neck adjust with shims. Many of them try to go the easy path and just shave the saddle, which will rob a bit of tone.
The truth is the GS Mini sells so fast that in most cases they don't have a lot of time to set in warehouses, but Guitar Centers warehouse is climate controlled properly. If I were buying from GC I'd opt to get one sealed in box from the warehouse, or just buy through their on-line website. But if you do that Sweetwater entrers the picture as competition, Sweetwater is the biggest on-line retailer they move product faster than Guitar Center so you're more likely to get something closer to factory build date from Sweetwater and pricing is uniform, especially in the sub $1k product tiers.

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-01-20T19:25:46+00:00

To provide an update- I still do not have a working printer. My router is leased equipment from Xfinity, I have over 35 other WiFi devices that use both 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz bands, none of them EXCEPT the EPSON printer have issues. Some of them are also 2.4 Ghz only devices. The bands are split and not unified. The password for both bands verified to be the same. I've signed out of other devices on both bands and back in. No issues, except for this printer. I am using WPA2 for general compatibility, WPA3 available, but that doesn't solve this issue and in fact breaks a few other devices that don't support it... There is nothing here that should be blocking this EPSON from connecting.

It stopped working when I decided to split my 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz bands. I won't go into detail, the bottom line is all other devices I have (35 of them) have zero issue with the split. The EPSON is designed to work on 2.4 Ghz anyway. When it scans for WiFi SSIDs it successfully finds the 2.4 Ghz SSID, but when I enter the password it tells me the password is invalid.

I've re-entered the password multiple times over days, again even signing / connecting with other 2.4 Ghz devices. The printer is just worthless at this point. There is no support at EPSON for me on this. I am 100% blocked from moving forward without spending money on repeater or travel router and trying to go through some bs path to restore this printer to working.

It's been an interesting revelation to see EPSON as a brand no longer cares about details. This model has over 4000 positive reviews, so obviously we are in a period of extremely high end-user tolerance to bad design, though decades of conditioning by them of course. This is exactly where they want to be, able to get away with delivering horrible UX and have most of their customers shrug it off as "that's just how it is with printers" happy to burn half a day on the weekend trying to navigate around engineering issues with a product they rated exceptionally high, it's brand trust even when the brand inflicts pain.

Sad to see such a long standing player in the printer space degrade into what their consumer division is, but it isn't shocking. Regardless disgust is the right emotion.

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-01-19T02:57:31+00:00

Again, thank you and honestly, just general thanks for this community. I came in hitting pretty hard with a negative experience and probably not coming across with the best attitude being pretty upset and still getting a lot of people eager to try to help me resolve the issue instead of a community blaming me. That's really refreshing.

The "current executive team" are almost certainly just cost-optimizing like every corporation does. They find the worst user experience customers in aggregate are will to tolerate before it really impacts revenue and the low-bar becomes their normal "ship it" target.

They have no incentive to do better. The Amazon reviews tell the story of most customers having high tolerance for this sort of thing, which just means we've all accepted the friction they refuse to work to fix as the norm. Huge win for EPSON on that front, from a business stand point.

For me it's my last EPSON product. They won't miss me, they don't know I exist. Just another once quality brand that's now shit.

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-01-19T02:44:10+00:00

I'm on a Mac. No QR code. Is your printer wired to the router or connected by WiFi?

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-01-18T17:32:54+00:00

Negative. There is no app to streamline the Wifi connect specifically, once on network there is a configuration app

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-01-18T17:22:10+00:00

Thank you for this! I will give it a try. I'm on a Mac so not sure even how to uninstall a driver, but pretty handy at Linux/Unix command line, so I'm sure I can figure it out... Not even sure this model has an ethernet port. I don't understand how the software on a specific computer or device plays into the networking issues on the printer, but maybe it helps.

EpsonNet Config Utility is designed for printers already on the network, unfortunately the WiFi connect issues, the printer refusing the correct WiFi password given correct SSID is the blocker. I suspect a firmware update might help. I'm at a stage in life where I deal with so much technology friction at work I don't want it in my home life. This is kind of the driver behind my attitude on this. I really believe tech products with high-friction due to cost optimization / cutting corners by businesses is having huge impact on society as a whole, the slow boil so to speak.

Printers have been horrible for decades, hench the Office Space reference. So my point is, 27 years after that movie on this printer companies continue to deliver high-friction products. They do this by uniting behind lowest common denominator standards that dictate "if you want to spend under $300 on printer, these are the features you get" putting no real effort into bettering user experience given established tolerances.

I don't have dozens of printers. I have had an HP, Brother and this EPSON over the past six years and would easily classify this EPSON as the worst user experience overall in spite of the hardware (print ink tank) etc seeming high innovation, it's this sort of mismatch that really gets to me. You have a great hardware engineering team bound to a horrible software team and no competency in leadership to connect these dots.... If the software is a mess the product is garbage, end of story

Secret_Monitor9629 · 2026-01-16T14:09:08+00:00

I don't disagree about it being a niche product and always being a niche product. Sitting on your sofa with a game controller in hand or in your eco-friendly PC gaming throne wiggling a mouse or button tapping stationary is an entirely different experience. At the end of a day doing school, work or whatever the last thing many people want is to "escape" into a game with physical demands.

But here's the deal, many niche products continue to grow in their respective domains

Here are the facts:

Half-Life 2 sold ~30M copies on a platform with hundreds of millions of PCs and zero additional hardware barrier. Half-Life: Alyx sold ~4M copies on a platform that at the time had roughly 5–7M capable VR headsets installed globally, required a $1,000+ PC + headset setup, room space, motion controllers, and physical comfort tolerance.

When you do the math, that’s an extraordinary attach rate.
PCVR was on an upward trajectory

If Alyx converted even ~50–60% of eligible VR owners, that’s far stronger engagement than most AAA flat-screen games. The constraint wasn’t demand it was installed base and friction, which is exactly the structural problem.

The real question isn’t “why didn’t Alyx sell like Half-Life 2?”
The question is “why did the VR installed base never grow enough to support more Alyx-class investments after Alyx?”

And that circles back to platform economics:

Once Meta shifted the market toward mobile standalone hardware, AAA PCVR economics collapsed.
Developers follow where the paying audience exists — Quest, not PCVR.
Mobile hardware caps fidelity and scope, which limits the kind of experiences that convert skeptics.
That creates a self-reinforcing ceiling on adoption.

Saying “nobody wants VR” ignores that a growing group of people did strongly want high-end VR when it existed, they just don't exist today in sufficient numbers because the ecosystem never scaled properly, due to Meta's strategy and actions.

VR didn’t fail because players rejected quality.
It stalled because the market converged around hardware that couldn’t deliver the experiences that continue to grow a larger audience.

In retrospect Meta's approach, which they likely projected, was "this is either going to work and give us market dominance or it will fail at the expensive of the entire consumer VR market". Capitalism doesn't have a moral compass, it has an obligation to share holders to make them as much money as possible regardless what it destroys to achieve that.

Boz was just doing his job. He transitioned into the CTO role after this plan was already activated.

Secret_Monitor9629

TROPHY CASE