Taylor 314C Low Output from pickup

[Davis Webb]

Way lower then all my other guitars. Do I have to pre amp it?

[pieterh]

Originally Posted by Davis Webb

Way lower then all my other guitars. Do I have to pre amp it?

It’s not normally needed. Which pickup system is it? Have you checked battery etc?

[Marty C]

Is this the ES2 that has the 3_little screws behind the saddle?

[Bob Womack]

If this is an older 314c with ES1, there's a good reason for it: The first version of the ES had a balanced output. If you plugged in with a standard 1/4" two-conductor TS guitar cord you got half of the signal, unbalanced, at -10. If you used a TRS three-conductor cord and plugged into a balanced input, you got a +4 professional level balanced signal. They were trying to improve the guitar system* but it ended up being a minus for typical user and few but techies understood it.

Bob

* One complaint about electrified guitars from the beginning has been that the unbalanced signal system they use is subject to far more induced noise and requires shorter cables than a balanced system. Guitars were designed unbalanced from the beginning in order to save money. Face it, most guitarists aren't rich. designers including Les Paul, Rupert Neve, and Bob Taylor have tried for years to create balanced systems to increase the quality of guitar signals but they've all come a cropper. Guitarists ended up preferring the simple unbalanced system.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

If this is an older 314c with ES1, there's a good reason for it: The first version of the ES had a balanced output. If you plugged in with a standard 1/4" two-conductor TS guitar cord you got half of the signal, unbalanced, at -10. If you used a TRS three-conductor cord and plugged into a balanced input, you got a +4 professional level balanced signal. They were trying to improve the guitar system* but it ended up being a minus for typical user and few but techies understood it.

Hi Bob
One of our Worship Team guys had one of these, and it was a hassle to remember to bring the adapted cable, and if he didn't have it, he sat out for that day.

He finally just started carrying a gear bag everywhere along with the guitar case (which was a good thing in retrospect).

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Davis Webb

Way lower then all my other guitars. Do I have to pre amp it?

A Taylor 314c model designation would indicate the guitar was made without a factory-installed pickup/preamp system. Did you add a pickup/preamp system of some sort to this guitar? Would your guitar actually be a Taylor 314ce model that came with a Taylor Expression System? If so, is it an ES1 or the newer, since late-2013, ES2?

[Davis Webb]

purchased in 2021 as new, may be a 2020, has pickup

[pieterh]

Originally Posted by Davis Webb

purchased in 2021 as new, may be a 2020

We still need to know which pickup is installed. Is it factory installed then it is the ES2. If not it could be anything and that makes it hard to guess what the issue is.

For example, if it is a Baggs iBeam passive then yes, it would benefit from a preamp. If it is a K&K Pure Mini then I would guess it’s bad installation as they usually have plenty of output. If it is an ES2 it might be that the sensors need adjusting - but go carefully, a quarter turn of the screws in either direction go a long way… or it’s just bad battery (ES2 have a better light inside the body where the preamp circuit board sits).

[Marty C]

Since it is new, Check the three screws behind the saddle. If those are loose, it can result in low output. It takes a small Allen wrench, maybe .050".

Here is a link explaining how to adjust them

https://www.taylorguitars.com/suppor...ssion-system-2

I do find this ES-2 system has a lower output than some Fishman factory installed systems as well as the K & K I installed in my Martin.

Maybe general stuff that you already know and tried, but it never hurts to be thorough.

[rmp]

Originally Posted by Marty C

I do find this ES-2 system has a lower output than some Fishman factory installed systems as well as the K & K I installed in my Martin.

Agree 100% the ES2 in my 814ce is anemic as well sounds good but, needs more volume to match my other acoustics w/pickups

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Davis Webb

purchased in 2021 as new, may be a 2020, has pickup

It's the newest ES2. You can contact Taylor, as I did, and they'll likely send you a circa 2016, full-size, real Expression System 2 preamp board that you can swap out for the current factory-installed smaller, less powerful ES2.

[AeroUSA]

Just run the volume on max and add a preamp or volume boost pedal if you need more.