Taylor Guitars Next Gen 314CE 300 Series V-Class Grand Auditorium Acoustic/Electric Guitar 314CE

Taylor Next Generation 314ce — Sapele Acoustic-Electric Guitar (Natural)

Every guitar player has a workhorse. The one that goes everywhere, handles everything, never complains, and somehow keeps sounding better the more you lean on it. For a generation of players across every genre and skill level, that guitar has been the Taylor 314ce. It's one of the best-selling American-made acoustic guitars ever built — not because of hype, not because of marketing, but because it simply does everything well and does it beautifully. The Next Generation 314ce takes that already formidable foundation and gives it three of the most meaningful upgrades Taylor has introduced in years.

Sapele and Spruce: A Pairing That Punches

Sitka spruce and solid sapele is one of the most satisfying tonewood combinations in acoustic guitar — different in character from the darker richness of rosewood, more complex and organic than maple. Sapele brings a warm, woody midrange punch that feels immediate and present, with vibrant trebles that shimmer and sing without tipping into harshness, and a low end that's full without being muddy. Pair that with a responsive Sitka spruce top and you get a guitar that's bright enough to cut through a full band, warm enough to feel intimate around a campfire, and balanced enough to work for fingerpickers and strummers in equal measure. This is what versatility actually sounds like.

Scalloped V-Class: The Low End You Didn't Know You Were Missing

Taylor's V-Class bracing transformed how acoustic guitars perform — delivering superior pitch accuracy, volume, and sustain compared to traditional X-bracing in a single architectural leap. The Next Generation 314ce goes one step further with Scalloped V-Class, where a carefully carved scalloped profile added to each brace unlocks a warmer, deeper low-end response and a richer open-string resonance that makes the guitar feel more alive and expansive under the hands. The clarity and projection that V-Class is known for stays completely intact — what changes is the bottom-end weight and warmth that fills everything out. Chords feel fuller. Single notes sustain longer. The whole instrument breathes more freely.

It's not a different guitar. It's a better version of a guitar you already love.

Action Control Neck: Your Setup, Your Rules

Here's something that's frustrated acoustic guitar players for as long as acoustic guitars have existed: getting the action exactly where you want it means a trip to a luthier, a few days without your instrument, and hoping the setup holds through seasonal humidity changes. The Action Control Neck solves all of that in one elegant design. A simple bolt adjustment — accessible right through the soundhole, no string removal required — lets you micro-adjust the neck angle precisely and independently, dialing in your preferred action in seconds and adapting on the fly to different tunings, playing styles, or changing conditions. Low and fast for a recording session. Slightly higher for a big strumming gig. Right back to where you started, instantly.

The long-tenon joint at the heart of this system also improves the physical coupling between neck and body, channeling more vibration into the guitar's voice and adding warmth and low-end depth that you can feel as much as hear.

Claria: The Pickup System That Finally Gets It Right

Under-saddle piezo pickups have always had a reputation — and not a great one. Thin, harsh, plastic-sounding. A pale imitation of what the guitar actually sounds like in the room. Taylor spent two years rethinking the entire system from the ground up, testing in real live environments with touring artists and front-of-house engineers until they got it right. The result is Claria — a redesigned transducer paired with a proprietary preamp and three soundhole-mounted controls that let you shape your amplified tone in real time. Volume, Tone, and Mid-Contour, right at your fingertips. Whether you're playing a small café set or a large festival stage, the 314ce plugs in and sounds like itself — warm, balanced, and natural.

Built to Look as Good as It Sounds

The Next Generation 314ce wears its workhorse identity with confidence. The full gloss body in natural finish lets the sapele's straight, consistent grain show through cleanly. Black body binding gives the edges sharp definition. The firestripe pickguard is a classic touch that's become part of the 314ce's visual identity. New Weathervane faux pearl inlays on the ebony fretboard bring a refined modern elegance to the neck. A single-ring white rosette with black and white purfling ties it all together. Nickel tuners hold pitch reliably from the first string to the last gig.

Ships with a Taylor deluxe hardshell case.

The Details