buying first guitar... is Taylor 814 too much?

[jasonfodor]

Hey ya'll!

Always wanted to play the guitar and now I have some free time before med school, I want to pick up on it!

Don't know much, just like country music, so I google'd some of their guitars and those are all $4,000+ so that didn't help lol.

I was looking for (1) something good (better than beginner level maybe around $1,000) and (2) something main stream... in that if i don't like playing or don't find myself the time to play during med school, I can easily sell it.

Loved the taylor 614ce but the ones I found are a bit outside my budget, decided on a taylor d-16, but a 814ce came up from a guy I tutor's dad it's expensive but but seems like a good deal.

Questions are:
(1) never bought a guitar before, what should i look for? I've attached pics, it's older but doesn't seem damaged
(2) it's older...is that a bad thing? is it less desirable? harder to sell? sound different from current ones?
(3) he said he'd sell it to me for $1600...is that a good idea? in that if I don't like it, I can put it on craigslist for $1500 and it'll sell in a week or is it going to sit around for a while (i.e. rare hard to sell, older guitar, priced too high, etc). I don't mind losing a hundred or two hundred in the process of picking up on a great hobby, but I can't afford to lose more or spend months selling it









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[Shades of Blue]

Welcome!

As long as you can afford it, I don't think any guitar is out of the question. The nicer and more you like the guitar, the more likely you are to learn and stick with it. A guitar becomes like a friend or family member and you'll pick it up just to spend time with it!

I'd branch out from just Taylor though. You can contact one of our forum sponsors here and get a Martin 18 or 28 series for a great price. Also, check out some Gibsons. Nothing wrong with Taylor, but a major mistake of a new player is to not try out difference brands and get a feel of what you like!

[SprintBob]

It will inspire and motivate you.

[HOF dad]

Welcome to the forum.
To give a little perspective on your value question:
The model you have pictures of is a 2001.
I see a couple of the same guitars from 2001 and 2000 that have an asking price of $2100 of Reverb (they'll probably sell for a little less).
If the one you are considering is in good condition (hard to tell from the photos) then $1600 seems like a good price.
Taylor 814's are really nice guitars too.

[backdoc]

Just taking a peek on Reverb.com to see what they go for and it sounds like that is a very competitive price. I'm not the biggest fan of the Taylor sound, but they are well built and highly regarded by many.

If you're going to spend even that much on a guitar, make sure you do some reading about how to care for it. Humidity levels too high or too low can wreak havoc on a solid wood instrument like that if you aren't aware.

[Jim in TC]

Buying a really nice guitar to start on can be a real benefit, since it may well be easier to play than a 'budget' instrument, and will often look and sound better than a cheaper model. And a larger investment is a sort of incentive for keeping at it, right? So I think you are on the right track there.

This has all the appearances of a really good price - a quick search on used of that model show that they tend to start around $2k and go (well) up from there. New this is a pricey guitar.

I like Taylor, and the Grand Auditorium is a nice, comfortable size for a lot of folk (I like them even a bit smaller, but there is a LOT of personal taste in sizing).

All that said, as a beginner you may not know how to evaluate a used guitar (I have been playing a long time and would not be good at it). It may need a bit of setup for your needs (not expensive) but could have other issues that would not be inexpensive to deal with. Can you have the guitar evaluated at a local shop, or have someone with experience look it over?

[lovgren]

The Taylor 814ce is the quintessential Taylor guitar. To many people, it's a high-end guitar that they coddle. To others it's a workhorse that they play live. I'm in the second category. My Taylor 814ce is my primary guitar that will end up showing signs of use and perhaps just a hint of abuse.

It's hard to go wrong with a Taylor 814, especially if you like country music. If it was owned by someone's dad, and he's an honest person and generally takes care of his belongings, that would be enough evidence for me of its condition.

He's right about the Craigslist sell price. It should fetch $1500 for the rest of its days, assuming it just shows signs of normal use and a few minor dings and light scratches (vs more serious problems).

[DenverSteve]

Welcome to the forum. Congratulations on deciding to take up the acoustic guitar. If you are going to med. school you already know that’s a smoking deal and that you can sell it quickly for at least that price. If it’s in your budget, I would grab it and move forward. If you don’t grab it, have your student’s dad email me and i’ll Likely buy it. Good luck.

[markrj]

Great guitar and a good price if the condition is good and it feels and sound good to you.

I say go for it, but I would also advise that you go play a lot of guitars if possible, as well.

$1,600 will a lot of very nice, brand new guitars. Try a Larrivee OMV-40 or similar.

[6L6]

ALWAYS buy the best you can afford. Great guitars inspire you to learn to play!

[bluesfreek]

I'd say that any Taylor would be an excellent choice for a first guitar. If you can afford it and if it's what you want than by all means get one. One suggestion if possible would be to bring a guitar playing friend along to evaluate the guitar for you.

Best of luck!

[martingitdave]

If your passion is country music, and you're looking to save money, look for an entry level Martin dreadnought. You can get a Mexican made one for less than $1000 that will sound great and play well. It will also have more bass and projection for flatpicking, if that's what you're eventually going to get into. I'm not making my comment because I think Martin is better than Taylor (I own both). I'm suggesting the Martin dreadnought because you stated you're into country music. Set aside a little money to have a competent tech set it up with light strings.

Also, I'm more pragmatic when it comes to beginners. Lot's of people take up guitar and quit. I don't think the quality of the instrument (beyond being well made with a comfortable neck), or the price, (there are excellent guitars below the $1,000 price point) is going to make you more motivated to play and learn. If you keep at it, step up to a professional guitar later. For instance, you don't run out any buy your child a $5,000 saxophone to start 3rd grade band class. And, it's not just because they're young.

If you quit, it easier to sell off a $850 guitar on Craigslist to all the experienced players (some on this forum) who like to swoop in and pickup a bargain at your expense.

[HodgdonExtreme]

Nothing wrong with buying a higher end guitar for your first. A high quality guitar with a good "setup" (done by a guitar technician for ~$50-75) will be much easier to play and learn on than a cheapie...and be a lot more rewarding to learn on.

I think you can be fairly confident you can re-sell that guitar for within a few hundred of what you paid. However, the market for used guitars is pretty soft and it takes time to sell. People aren't going to be beating down your door to come buy this guitar unless you price it really low. One caution, is that guitar has the early "expression system" electronics. If that is not working, you'll have to either live without it, delete it and somehow plug the three holes for the knobs, or upgrade to the newer ES2 system, which will set you back ~$400 - so that could strongly affect its value!

Assessing the condition of a guitar is difficult for a newbie, aside from the general outward appearance of dings, scratches, etc. Here are a couple things to check out:

1. try to slip a sheet of regular paper under the bridge, from the side away from the strings. Test all the corners. You should NOT be able to get the paper under the bridge, aside from maybe it *just* starting under the back corners. We're talking 1mm or less on the corners. You should not be able to get the paper under there at ALL directly across from the strings themselves. A luthier may charge up to ~$200 to re-glue a bridge.

2. Assess the "action height". This is how far above the frets the strings are. You should be able to very easily press the strings down against the frets and get the string to ring out. If the strings are high above the frets, they can be adjusted, if....

3. The saddle is still sticking out of the bridge a bunch. The saddle is the white plastic strip the strings go over, immediately after coming out of the bridge. If the saddle is barely sticking out above the bridge, the guitar likely needs (or will soon need) a neck reset - which means the neck needs to be removed from the guitar and re-installed at a slightly different angle. A fairly easy task on a post year 2000 Taylor, but you'll still need to pay somebody that knows what they're doing to do it.

4. Strum all the strings without fretting any notes. Make sure you hear no buzzes or rattles. Continue testing all the strings while fretting notes up the neck and listen for buzzes and rattles. It shouldn't have any.

5. Plug the guitar in and check the electronics. It shouldn't hum or crackle at any time, including plugging in, adjusting the knobs etc. Make sure each knob is actually changing the sound of the guitar.

6. Best bet, if possible, is bringing a friend that plays guitar and knows these things to help you test/inpsect.

[RockyRacc00n]

Go for it!!! And when you become doctor, you can do music therapy for your patients.

[vindibona1]

$1600 is a fabulous price for that guitar. And if you can afford it that would be a great guitar to begin (and possibly end) with. If in good shape it will more than hold its value in case you wanted to sell it for something different down the road.

The one thing I'd ask of the seller is if you can have a week with it to have a luthier/guitar technician check it out. They may find some things that would sour the deal, but if it is a private seller you know it's probably ok. But you want to be sure that if any work is needed you'll know how to figure that in. Used 814's are going for over $2000 here, so it's a little underpriced...which could be a great thing for you.

Good luck