Taylor 224ce Deluxe Koa Grand Auditorium - Shaded Edgeburst

This is a B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L guitar. When I opened the box and then the guitar case, I caught a whiff of that new guitar smell. I didn't even know what a new guitar smell was, but as soon as I smelt it; I'm like "Yeah, this smell just seems right." The smell is actually like leaking through the case; it's that strong. Sorry for talking about the smell so much, I just really love it. The guitar sounds beautifully. I can't wait to see what it sounds like when it ages. The craftsmanship is in a class of it's own, it's just that good. The case is beautiful as well. Very sturdy, pretty inside (velvety), and has a nice handle. It plays awesome, looks amazing, and did I mention that it smells like freshly brewed coffee from Heaven!

This guitar arrived early in perfect condition. It is a beautiful guitar, and it played well right out of the box. I decided to return it for a Martin that I liked more. I had no problem with the return.

This is my third acoustic guitar I have purchased. I own a Dean Mako and a Mitchell MX 400 which is great cheap guitar for travel and camping. This new Taylor sounds amazing. Much deeper bass response and very balanced sound overall. I have been learning guitar for about 18 months and wanted something nice. The case excellent! This is made in Mexico but but I have read tons of stuff that say the two factories are only about 45 minute apart and some of the workers work in both places. All are supposed to be be true Taylor designed and made guitars. My only nitpick is the use of cheap plastic bridge pins and plastic truss rod cover. I replaced both with the ebony version. The stock Ping made tuners were fine but I had a set of Gotoh tuners that I replaced them with as that is what Taylor uses on the higher end guitars. I had to tweak the action a bit lower for my taste, but these are all minor details. Every one I know that plays guitar that comes over loves it too.

Let’s start with the good.This is a beautiful guitar.Without amplification, it has a big sound that I really like. The tuners and neck feel solid. The case is great.If I were going to hang this on my wall and revel in how beautiful this guitar is, then I’d be very happy.I am instead, a church musician and band leader. I teach 5 lessons a week. I play this guitar every day, often several times a day. I need it to be a workhorse.I’ve been playing 28 years.This instrument was a gift from my family when I was ordained a Lutheran Minister. This is my first foray into an American-made, professional level guitar. I have owned over a dozen other guitars in my playing career, but most of them I’d consider ‘gigging beaters’.So, here is what I want to warn folks about.A. The guitar came set up very badly. The amount of truss rod adjustment and bridge saddle sanding I did to get this guitar dialed into playability was off-putting. When I opened the box and tried to play it for my family at my seminary graduation, they could probably tell from my face that it needed work. Not a huge deal… I’m not a luthier, but I can dial a guitar in. It plays great now. (But if you’re buying this for a new player who wants to transition from their learner to a gigging guitar, this is probably a bad choice)B. The pickup system and EQ are super annoying and still don’t sound good. This is the crux of why I am writing this review several years after buying this guitar. Full disclosure, I sent the first guitar back because I thought it was a manufacturer defect. When the next one had the same problem, I realized it was ‘user error’ and I had work to do. The pickup system is set up between sets of two strings. When it arrived, the higher register strings (e, B) were not balanced with the rest of the guitar. To make an adjustment, (which Taylor is very proud that you can do), it required purchasing a super small hex key that the two hardware stores here in Kodiak, AK didn’t even carry. So even after buying the hex key and getting the string volumes balanced out, I don’t like how it sounds. It sounds tinny (despite lots of EQ adjustment experimentation on the guitar and experimentation with my Acoustic AG60 Acoustic Amp). I could probably get a better sound from my fishman sound hole pickup which looks dumb and has an attached instrument cable hanging out the front. Lame. I don’t want to do that. I could probably make it sound good with a high dollar pre-amp or some other pretentious work-around, but that’s a. Annoying and b. Not my style.Long story short, this thing has been a lot of work, and I’m still not happy. She was supposed to be my baby. Instead we have come to a mutual agreement where we tolerate each other, but I still choose to play gigs with a Dean PE BB and an Epiphone AJ200 that badly needs a fret replacement.

The guitar itself looks like a piece of art,just beautiful!While deciding to buy a new guitar, I wanted something special with a beautiful, natural look and I felt in love with Taylor’s guitars.They have a wide variety to choose from, then I came across the one I really wanted.I made the purchase without physically touching the guitar as i live DR Congo, Africa.A friend visiting her family in the US kindly brought it back to Kinshasa. While packing , she opened the box and was in awe of the beauty inside. She took great care while flying back and what a joy it was for me while receiving it. I felt like a kid opening a great Christmas present.It plays well and even my friends and guitar instructor won’t stop complimenting me on this purchase.I am fully satisfied and highly recommend Taylor’s guitars to whoever is looking for great products.

Great playing and sounding guitar & beautiful but I received it with a hair line crack in the neck , not sure if it’s from shipping or from the manufacturer so be aware, I’m sending it back.

The sound is beautiful, I love how it feels, and the case is excellent, however, I recieved a faulty one, out of the box/case, there was a large buzz coming from the bridge on all strings at the pitches of C# through E, no matter the string or octave the notes were played at. It only would happen in the regular playing position (if I played laying down it would be fine...) So after tinkering with the strings, the truss rod, and making sure there were no loose components inside or out (without actually removing parts), waiting a few days and repeating the process, and accounting for proper humidity, I've decided to just return it. I'll be going in-person to buy this one before spending the $1600 again for a gamble at the specific guitar's quality. If the buzzing didn't happen it would be an excellent guitar, but there must have been something done incorrectly with the bridge or the electronics at the bridge.