Taylor 314e: X or V?

[Lodos]

hi friends, i just need a few opinions, moderators can remove the thread after a few posts if they want to.

both guitars are brand new and sound great, as far as i can tell the x one seemed to have a little more bass response, and the v one sounded kinda brighter to my ears, not sure though, maybe it's psychological, played them only for a few minutes and i loved them both.

do you think that the v bracing is worth the $550 difference?

[TBman]

I'd get the X braced.

[sstaylor58]

I don't think it is worth the extra money. But I like good bass in my guitars. My x braced 314ce is a great guitar, that I really love. I've played a v-braced 314ce, and I couldn't tell much difference, but I agree with you that the bass didn't seem as pronounced. But I was playing a new v braced and comparing to my 2012 314, so the wood aging might have more to do with the sound than the bracing. Good guitars whatever you choose. Good luck.

[jklotz]

Personally, I'd go X braced. The V's sound anemic to me.

[zmf]

Hmmm. "More bass" vs "kinda bright". When a Taylor sounds brighter than you expect a Taylor to sound, the choice should be easy.

I like the x-braced 314's I've played. Honest, woody tone.

[Dbone]

X

Without a doubt.

[Matts67]

I've preferred the revoiced later model X braced guitars to the V braced ones I've played.

[RockerDuck]

Go for the X braced you'll be glad you did. My 314e x braced only gets better over time.

[jsanfilippo5]

I have been really liking the x braced over v braced. The 314 was on of my favorite taylors and when I played teh v braced, I was underwhelmed. Same iwth the 714 - which is the only taylor i own. The x braced just sounds better to me. ymmv, but give them both a try!

[Rev Roy]

The only models I like the V-bracing in are the Grand Pacifics. Makes sense because it’s the model Andy originally designed the new bracing for. Though I do sometimes wonder what they’d sound like with X bracing. Guess we’ll never know...

[Dbone]

Originally Posted by Rev Roy

The only models I like the V-bracing in are the Grand Pacifics. Makes sense because it’s the model Andy originally designed the new bracing for. Though I do sometimes wonder what they’d sound like with X bracing. Guess we’ll never know...

This I agree with without a doubt. I played 2 GPs on a recent guitar shopping trip. Not sure what is going on there, but something good is happening with those guitars relative to others in their line with v class... at least to my ear...

[Mindful67]

My buddy liked my 2006 314 (X braced of course) so much that he ordered a new 314 recently. He didn’t really know about the new V bracing. I haven’t played his new guitar yet but he tells me he is quite disappointed in how different it sounds from mine. That may have something to do with my guitar being 14 years old however as opposed to bracing changes.

[Mark Stone]

$550 difference in price? X it is!

[vindibona1]

Originally Posted by satrionic1

both guitars are brand new and sound great, as far as i can tell the x one seemed to have a little more bass response, and the v one sounded kinda brighter to my ears, not sure though, maybe it's psychological,

No, it's not psychological. The difference is real. What you're hearing in terms of brightness is the presence of more harmonics, which is the promise of the V-bracing, changing the balance because you're hearing more high overtones because of the tonal alignment (or perhaps minimized inharmonicity). The bass response is reduced in many models, but I believe can be enhanced to a degree with string selection and selective bridge pin swaps. But in terms of what you hear, the balance has shifted to have less bass, which for some players is a plus, and others a minus. I'm in the latter category.

When the V's came out I played as many as I could find, and had the luxury at the time of being able to test several V vs X side by side. In almost every instance the X sounded better to me. I think the one exception that I recall was the 714ce. The GP's are excellent with the V bracing, but I believe that the GP's were designed around the V-bracing while all other models were "retrofitted" (and personally think was a sonic mistake with many models).

$550 difference???? The X is a steal.

[Lodos]

i was already leaning towards the x but really needed to hear all this, doubts are cleared now thank you all so much..