TAYLOR BUILDER'S EDITION 324CE

85
AUGUST 2020 GUITARIST
reviewTAYLOR BUILDER’S EDITION 324CE
PROS A well-built, tonally satisfying
instrument with its environmental
credentials well in place
CONS No left-handers and the
shock of the new might put some
players off
TAYLOR BUILDER’S
EDITION 324CE
PRICE: £3,239 (inc case)
ORIGIN: USA
TYPE: 14-fret Grand Auditorium
electro cutaway
TOP: Mahogany
BACK/SIDES: Urban Ash
MAX RIM DEPTH: 117.4mm
MAX BODY WIDTH: 406.4mm
NECK: Mahogany
SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
TUNERS: Gotoh 510 Antique Gold
NUT/WIDTH: Black Tusq /44.8mm
FINGERBOARD: West African Ebony,
Italian acrylic compass inlays
FRETS: 20, medium
BRIDGE/SPACING: West African
Ebony w/ compensated Micarta
saddle/56mm
ELECTRICS: Taylor Expression
System 2 w/ volume, bass and
treble controls
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2.1/4.62
OPTIONS: None
RANGE OPTIONS: The Taylor
Builder’s Edition instruments range
from the 324ce reviewed here through
to the 517 (£2,999) and 517e (£3,179),
the 652ce (£4,319) and extends to the
912ce (£6,479)
LEFT-HANDERS: No
FINISH: Tobacco Kona Burst
Silent Satin
8
is present as part of the sound picture?
It definitely has a few of the qualities of
mahogany and we don’t know exactly
what the V bracing is bringing to the sound
party, either. But whatever it is, we like
what we’re hearing.
The 324ce is equipped with Taylor’s
Expression System 2 and, plugged into our
AER Compact 60, it proves its worth with
little or no colouration to the purity of the
guitar’s acoustic sound. In fact, we were
able to leave the EQ on the guitar’s preamp
absolutely flat and still had a sound that we
wouldn’t mind gigging one bit.
Verdict
Adding all factors into the mix – that
is, the sustainable nature of Urban Ash
and the fact it would have ended up as
firewood or in a landfill site had it not been
repurposed as a guitar wood – we’d say it’s
another success for Taylor and the design
sensibilities of Andy Powers.
It’s a superbly made instrument with
a voice that’s simply enchanting, both
acoustically and through an amp. It could
work quite ably in the hands of a singer-
songwriter and even hold its head up high
in the instrumental field, too.
It’s fairly pricey at north of three grand
and might be out of the question for the
casual strummer, while others may think
an untried wood is taking too much of a risk
considering the investment that’s necessary
here. But the more versatile a guitar is, the
wider its appeal to the marketplace as a
whole and we think that the 324ce Builder’s
Edition ticks a great many boxes. And, as
a potential all-rounder, will still expect it
to enchant both the hands and ears – and
hearts – of a great many players.
Turn to our Blueprint feature on p110 to
read more about Taylor’s journey with this
sustainable new guitar-making wood
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GIT461.rev_taylor.indd 85 10/06/2020 12:20