If you were to buy a Taylor acoustic

How does one even try an acoustic out properly? If I'm playing the guitar, I'm not hearing the same tone a microphone positioned in front of the guitar would pick up.
 
How does one even try an acoustic out properly? If I'm playing the guitar, I'm not hearing the same tone a microphone positioned in front of the guitar would pick up.

My feeling is if you really like the sound of the guitar as you are playing it, the microphone capturing process is solely your best attempt to capture that sound you're hearing. I use a Neumann KM 184 Stereo Set of microphones in an X/Y stereo configuration and I feel like in the sweet spot, they capture what I'm hearing from the guitar. Of course studio gear can do it's thing, but capturing what you are hearing from the guitar is the initial goal.

I would keep to the basics in trying out an acoustic. Is it comfortable and easy to play so you play your best, does it sound and react well as you play it, do you connect to it and does it have that certain mojo? Those are my requirements anyway. When I played my K14CE I knew in the first song I played I wasn't leaving without it.
 
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So, OK, 814CE looks good to me. Any model years to prefer/avoid? Or should I just get a new one?
The guitars after 2013 (I think) will have the E2 pickup system, which I much preferred to the Fishman Matrix. You might want to double check that year, but the E2 system is worth searching out.

Not to throw a wrench into your search, but the reason I haven't replaced the 814CE is that I played a 2016 Martin HD28 and I had to buy it. Hands down the most even toned acoustic guitar I ever played. I added an LR Baggs M1A pickup for when I need to electrify, and my acoustic guitar shopping days were ended. In full disclosure, I had to do some adjusting to get the action where I liked it, which is always a plus for Taylors... great action right out of the box. Martin's version of perfect action is a little high for my electric guitar player tastes. But the tone won me over, and this is from a Taylor player who never owned a Martin. It's worth a look before you buy. Not that you'd regret an 814CE, it's a wonderful instrument. Just throwing my experience out there.
 
I have a Taylor GA-k. It was almost twice what I wanted to pay but soon as I picked it up I knew it was coming home with me.
I played a bunch of acoustics at the time and i noticed that the CE's and the ones with the electronics changed the tone of the guitar, so for me, I don't like any of that stuff.
I don't think you can go wrong with any Taylor but just something that i perceived.
 
I will say this for Taylor guitars: you're not really sacrificing tone if you end up not going for the top-of-the-line model. I've played the whole line at guitar stores multiple times and while the guitars got fancier the higher up you go in the model range, the cheaper guitars hold their own sonically IMHO. I ended up choosing a Breedlove, but Taylor was a close second.
 
... I was dead set on a 614. I thought I wanted the bright sound from the maple. After trying a couple, it was just too bright....

I have a 614CE and while it sounds great amplified on stage, played acoustically it's too bright for my taste. I paid like $1450 for it and it's in great shape, so I couldn't pass it up. Thought it would grow on me more. But I string it with a really light set of D'Addario "Silk and Steel" and that really mellowed the tone. Easier to finger too.
 
I will say this for Taylor guitars: you're not really sacrificing tone if you end up not going for the top-of-the-line model. I've played the whole line at guitar stores multiple times and while the guitars got fancier the higher up you go in the model range, the cheaper guitars hold their own sonically IMHO. I ended up choosing a Breedlove, but Taylor was a close second.

Agreed, when I bought my 214ce, it sounded better than a lot of other stuff in that price range, and while the nicer ones were better, it wasn't a huge gap.

Which Breedlove did you get? I am really wanting one of the Concertina bodies in Myrtlewood.
 
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