trade my 514-C for non-cutaway version?
 

Wanna trade?

This may be a crazy proposal, but does anyone out there have a non-cutaway 514 that you wish had a cutaway? I have a fantastic 514-C (no electronics), but wish I had a non-cutaway version. Long shot, huh?

One special note: Mine has the narrower dreadnought-width neck, 1 and 11/16-inch. Also special-ordered with no pickguard installed, but I have the pickguard if you want to stick it on.

I don't have a guitar to swap, but could you share with us why you had a change of heart of C vs. non-C? Is it for sonic reasons or do you simply not need access to those frets and feel you'll get a bit more tone/volume?

Thanks,

Brad Hartman

Although the "official" Taylor response is that a cutaway has little effect on the sound, it just seems logical that if you take a chunk out of the soundboard and body, something will change -- not necessarily for the worse, but it will sound different than a non-cutaway version.

I think a non-cutaway might have just a bit more bottom, maybe even volume. And yes, I don't spend much time past the seventh fret -- I thought that having a cutaway would inspire me to learn how to play down there, but it hasn't.

Also, I was originally drawn to this model when I played the original grand auditorium design on the 20th Anniversary models -- the mahogany-cedar combination knocked me out. When the 514 was added to the regular line the next year, but with a cutaway, I never asked about ordering it without the cutaway, like the GAMC I liked so much.

It's really a pretty minor point, and I do still love the 514-C. I was just sending up a trial balloon on this trade idea, but I realize it's a long shot.