General Interest

In one of the more out-there collaborations of the year so far, Jackson and Malevolence guitarist Konan Hall have partnered with Blizzard Entertainment for a limited-edition World of Warcraft-themed Kelly model.

Fans lucky enough to have attended Malevolence’s secret set on the Avalanche Stage on Sunday at Download will have seen the guitar’s grand unveiling.

• READ MORE: “As far as the media goes, heavy music isn’t popular” Ozzy Osbourne thinks the mainstream press is ignoring the massive popularity of metal

The guitar – a Jackson Pro Plus XT Limited Edition Kelly KE HT6 Baritone – is adorned across its body and headstock with WoW-inspired artwork, but this is no gimmick. Hall is quite the self-confessed Warcraft enthusiast, and the artwork is inspired by his in-game character, a Dwarf Paladin named Thraiin.

“World of Warcraft and music are two of my favourite things’’, says Hall. “Playing with the Jackson guitar on stage will remind me of the hours I spent in the taverns of Azeroth.”

Azeroth, for the uninitiated, is the fictional world in which World of Warcraft is set.

Alongside the depiction of Hall’s in-game character, the guitar also features Warcraft’s legendary “W” emblem, as well as an Easter egg on the back, in the form of Hall’s favourite weapon type in the game, the Battle Axe.

Under the hood, the guitar arrives as an extension of the Pro Plus Series, and features a Nyatoh body with a three-piece maple thru-neck – graphite reinforced for “superior stability”, a 27-inch baritone scale length, 12”-16” compound radius ebony fingerboard with cloaked Sharkfins, 24 stainless steel frets, Luminlay side dots and Seymour Duncan Nazgul and Sentient pickups.

Konan Hall promises that fans will get to see the guitar if they come and see Malevolence at their upcoming live dates…

For more information, head to the band’s official website.

The post This insane Jackson Kelly guitar is inspired by World of Warcraft appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Despite record-breaking sales and sold-out stadiums, Ozzy Osbourne says heavy music is still being sidelined by the media – just as it was when Black Sabbath first started.

“As far as the media goes, heavy music isn’t popular,” laments the Price of Darkness in the new issue of MusicWeek. “It’s never been that popular with the media, though I think the 1980s was the closest it ever got. The media doesn’t write that there’s an absolute resurgence for this music right now, with bands headlining stadiums all over the world.”

• READ MORE: “I’m doing two sets of three-minute walks and weight training”: The “endurance training” regimen Ozzy Osbourne is following in prep for Black Sabbath’s final show

And he may have a point. In recent years, acts like Sleep Token and Ghost have topped charts on both sides of the Atlantic, pulling millions of monthly listeners and packing out arenas. Ozzy himself has sold over 100 million albums, won multiple Grammys (including one as recently as 2023), and was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ivors Academy in 2015.

Still, metal rarely makes front-page news.

“They never get written about because it’s not in vogue right now,” Osbourne says. “They focus on all the girls [pop stars] out there. I’m not taking anything away from them, as they’re there for a totally different audience and great at what they do, but it’s just like a box of dolls, very cookie cutter. Meanwhile, these bands – heavy bands – have always been the bastards of the music industry.”

Osbourne’s wife and longtime manager Sharon echoes the sentiment, noting that Black Sabbath’s musical efforts were rarely appreciated by critics, even back in 1970.

“You’ve got to remember, this is a band that started in the ‘60s – and they’re still here,” she says. “A lot of the bands who started in the ‘60s are no longer alive, or operating as they used to.”
She points to Rolling Stone’s infamous review of the band’s 1970 self-titled debut, written by music critic Lester Bangs, who dismissed the record as “a shuck”.

“And that was just the first album!” She laughs. “[Sabbath] stood up to everything that was thrown at them for being different. They just kept their mouths shut and just toured and toured and toured, and never gave up.”

Their perseverance has clearly paid off: Black Sabbath’s farewell show, Back To The Beginning, sold out in under 16 minutes earlier this year, with more than 150,000 fans scrambling in the virtual queue on Valentine’s Day. But fans hoping for more dates will be disappointed.

“It’s impossible,” says Osbourne. “Putting this show on in the summer, the busiest time with everybody everywhere in Europe doing festivals. The number of artists we were able to get for that one day was incredible, but you just don’t get that for two days.”

The post “As far as the media goes, heavy music isn’t popular”: Ozzy Osbourne thinks the mainstream press is ignoring the massive popularity of metal appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell has confirmed his cancer is now in remission thanks to a stem cell donor. He was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma back in 2013.

Confirming the news in an interview on Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk [via Louder], Campbell explains: “I did a PET scan in the middle of April, and I’m 100% clean, completely in remission for the first time in 12 or 13 years. And I’m obviously overjoyed. You couldn’t ask for more than that.”

• READ MORE: “I’d still be trying to kick some doors down”: James Hetfield says if Metallica never existed, he’d spend his life trying to make Metallica exist
  

The donor was said to be a perfect match with 10 out of 10 genetic markers, after several unsuccessful stem cell transplants. Campbell has said he’d love to thank the donor – a 21-year-old man – and “buy him a beer or two or three”. “After two years, they give you the option to contact your donor, so you can reach out to them,” Campbell says.

The generous donor “put his name on the donor registry, for no reason other than he’s a good person”. “There are a lot of good people out there, I’m glad to say,” he says.

Campbell also explains that his recovery was not initially smooth, and finding such a clear match was difficult to begin with: “I lost my donor 10 days beforehand, so that was a kick in the nuts. But I was very fortunate that they found me another one in December. And on New Year’s Eve, I went into hospital. I was in for about three and a half weeks, and I did what has turned out to be a really, really successful transplant.”

Back in April, Rick Allen expressed his hopes to Eddie Trunk that Campbell would be able to join them on tour. The success of the operation means, according to Louder, he will be joining Def Leppard on their summer tour this year, including headliner dates in both the US and Canada. Bret Michael and Extreme will also be joining Def Leppard on select tour dates.

For tickets and a full list of dates, head to Def Leppard’s official website.

The post “There are a lot of good people out there”: Vivian Campbell announces his cancer is in remission thanks to stem cell donor appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Before Eddie Van Halen changed the face of guitar playing, he was perfecting his craft behind closed doors – and sometimes, quite literally, with his back turned to the crowd.

In a recent chat with Get on the Bus, former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony opens up about the band’s early garage rehearsal days, when Eddie Van Halen was still developing what would soon become his signature two-handed tapping technique.

• READ MORE: “Oh man, I’ve really been playing a lot of cello!”: Sammy Hagar claims Eddie Van Halen was spending a lot of time playing an instrument that wasn’t guitar before he died

“We used to rehearse in this little garage when I first joined the band, and we used to rehearse there every day for a while,” he says [via Ultimate Guitar]. “That’s when Eddie was also developing his ‘hammers,’ his tapping style.”

“And it’s funny, because there were like two or three guitar players in the area that Ed was friends with, and they knew that we rehearsed there. And I remember one time we went to take a break, and we walk outside, and there were a couple of guys there like this, listening at the door, and they wanted to hear what Ed played.”

Concerned that Eddie’s technique might be copied before the band had released an album, Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth made sure to take protective measures to guard it from prying eyes – even on stage.

“There were gigs that we would play. We played a place called the Golden West Ballroom in Norwalk, California. And that was one place where we could play original stuff. And we opened up for UFO there. I think that was one of the biggest shows we ever did. It held about 1,500 to 2,000 people,” Anthony recalls.

“But when Ed would play a solo, Dave would tell him, ‘Turn your back to the audience, dude, because you got this thing, and you don’t want everybody to see it.’ So Eddie would, literally, play solos, and he would turn his back to the audience when he would be tapping. Which was really, really interesting.”

“And it wasn’t so much the tapping,” the bassist adds, “but the way he did it was different than what anybody else was trying to do.”

Also in the interview, Anthony reveals that the late guitarist actually had plans for a huge Van Halen reunion tour before he died. 

“Unfortunately Eddie and I never [made amends],” he says. “We had some issues, and I’m sure that if he had not passed when he did that we would’ve reconciled or we would’ve really calmed all that stuff down, because I did hear, and I’ve talked to Wolfgang about it, that they were planning on coming to all of us and putting together a big reunion tour with all of us.”

The post “Dave would tell him, ‘Turn your back to the audience, dude’”: Michael Anthony reveals the advice David Lee Roth gave Eddie Van Halen in his early “tapping” days appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Last month, Zak Starkey was still The Who’s drummer. Now he’s not – again. The veteran sticksman, son of Beatles legend Ringo Starr, has been ousted from the legendary rock band not once but twice in just over a month, and he’s finally shedding light on the confusion, frustration and clashing egos behind the scenes.

In April, The Who performed two charity gigs at London’s Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust. A fortnight later, the band announced a “collective decision to part ways with Zak” after more than 30 years, citing issues with his drumming. Starkey, blindsided, said he was “surprised and saddened”, only to be reinstated a few days later following what Pete Townshend described as “some communication issues.” The band explained at the time that Starkey had “made a few mistakes [at the Albert Hall] and he has apologised.”

But the reconciliation didn’t last, for on 18 May, Starkey was fired again.

• READ MORE: “Most musicians are not like me… I don’t like being on a stage”: The Who’s Pete Townshend explains why he doesn’t like performing

“What happened was I got it right and Roger got it wrong,” the drummer now claims [via The Telegraph], pointing to a disagreement over their performance of The Song is Over at the second Albert Hall show.

The rarely played 1971 track was suggested by Starkey as a “treat” for Who fans. But he says a lack of rehearsal and Roger Daltrey shortening the song led to the frontman “[coming] in a bar early” – and blaming him for the hiccup.

While there were no dramatic confrontations backstage then, a week later he got a call from longtime manager Bill Curbishley: “‘It’s my unfortunate duty to inform you… that you won’t be needed from now on. Roger says you dropped some beats.’”

On his part, Starkey says he reviewed the footage and couldn’t find any mistakes. “Then Pete had to go along with it because Pete’s had 60 years of arguing with Roger,” he adds.

The Who guitarist later called Starkey to ask if he’d fight to stay. The musician declined at first but he soon changed his mind: “I said, ‘I want my gig back.’”

Starkey rejoined after conceding he might have dropped two beats. But just two weeks later, the axe fell again. “‘Roger says he can’t work with you no more,’” Starkey was told, with the band requesting that he issue a statement claiming he was leaving for “other projects”. He refused, “because I wasn’t leaving [of my own volition].”

Asked why Daltrey felt he couldn’t work with him, Starkey replies, “They didn’t specify.” He says Daltrey later told him that “you’re not fired, you’re retired because you’ve got so many other projects”, one of which is his band Mantra.

But there’s a sting: Starkey had reportedly turned down the chance to drum for Oasis on their reunion tour – a gig he would’ve “of course” taken, had he known what was coming.

That said, Zak admits he holds no grudge towards the band. He calls The Who his “family” and doesn’t fault Daltrey or Townshend personally.

“I blame The Who because they’re unpredictable, aggressive and fucking insane,” he says. “And that’s why I love them.”

Meanwhile, Scott Devours has been appointed as The Who’s new touring drummer. Sharing his mixed feelings on landing the job, Devours said, “It really is a strange contradiction of emotions to have the greatest moment of my professional career also be one framed with some sadness and shadowed by someone else’s loss.”

The post “Pete had to go along with it because he’s had 60 years of arguing with Roger”: Zak Starkey reveals why he was fired from The Who appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

$359/£259, catalinbread.com

Being a 90s child, I have to admit – I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching the current shoegaze revival. Slowdive are my absolute favourite band, and for nearly my entire adult life, I’ve tried to emulate their dreamy, reverb-drenched, wall-of-sound textures – with varying degrees of success.

• READ MORE: Old Blood Noise Endeavors Dark Star Stereo review – taking immersive reverb to the next level

Now, with the introduction of the Soft Focus Deluxe, I find myself wondering: has Catalinbread finally crafted the ultimate shoegaze stompbox? Well, inquiring minds want to know – so let’s find out.

Catalinbread Soft Focus Deluxe – what is it?

So what is the Soft Focus? And what exactly makes this version so Deluxe? Here’s a brief explainer for the uninitiated. In 2022, Catalinbread released the vanilla Soft Focus, a pedal that emulated the reverb sound of the Yamaha FX500 – the very same FX500 that served as the secret sauce behind the reverb tone on Slowdive’s genre-defining album Souvlaki. The original Soft Focus pretty much nailed that album’s iconic tone, though it was noticeably lacking a few key features – namely, delay.

Enter the Soft Focus Deluxe – a dual-footswitch take on the original that further expands the capabilities of its much smaller sibling by offering several key upgrades. The Deluxe model adds one critical feature: the delay function missing from the original Soft Focus, bringing it more in line with the classic Yamaha FX500 patch.

For those who enjoy exploring the more distorted side of shoegaze, you’ll be happy to know that the Soft Focus Deluxe includes footswitchable distortion circuits that operate in either series or parallel. Six new presets are available via the rotary knob, along with Mix, Mod, Verb, Delay, and Time controls, a dedicated Distortion Level control, and a series/parallel mini-toggle switch.

As for connectivity, the expanded Deluxe edition also adds a highly requested multi-function jack, which can be used for expression control or tap tempo.

Catalinbread Soft Focus Deluxe – sounds

To put a heavily shoegaze-focused pedal like the Soft Focus Deluxe through its paces, I figured no guitar would be more appropriate than a Jazzmaster – paired with a big Fender-style ’60s black panel amp. So, the Player II Jazzmaster coupled with my Matchless Laurel Canyon seemed like the winning combination.

Let’s start with my favorite patch: number two. It delivers a huge reverb that perfectly captures everything from the experimental ambience of post-rock bands like Mogwai to the more atmospheric textures of Slowdive. This is, by far, the best preset to start with – it sets the tone for what this pedal is capable of without overindulging in a wall of sound that might turn some folks off.

With a touch of onboard delay and a bit of drive, I was grinning ear to ear at how effortlessly the pedal recreated the lush intro tones of Slowdive’s sensational Star Roving.

But as impressive as this is, we already knew this pedal would be a, ahem, shoo-in for any shoegaze aficionado. For those looking to add some warble and pitch-bending experimentation, the modulation in preset 3 delivers in spades – proving that this pedal isn’t limited to the shoegaze genre. It ventures confidently into the more experimental lo-fi textures of artists like Randall Taylor from Amulets.

As much as I loved everything else, the one area where this pedal falls short is the distortion. I found it too shrill and brittle for my taste, and more often than not, I ended up using one of my own dirt pedals for drive tones to supplement the onboard circuit.

In truth, the distortion feels more like an afterthought than a well-integrated feature – which is a bit disappointing for a pedal with “Deluxe” in its name. That said, it may still be serviceable enough for some users, and the odds of you buying this pedal without also having an existing drive pedal to go with it are surely pretty slim.

Catalinbread Soft Focus Deluxe – should I buy one?

The Soft Focus Deluxe is an ambitious upgrade to the original – some parts are awe-inspiring, while others are a bit head-scratching. Although the distortion leaves much to be desired on the drive side, the added delay functions bring a lot to the table, more than justifying its place as a shoegaze titan.

Still, I can’t help but feel that most casual fans would be better served by the original. Overall, I can’t shake the feeling that this is more like the guitar industry’s version of DLC than a true successor – and perhaps, that’s exactly what it’s meant to be. That said, it’s a bold step in the right direction and a worthy addition for any shoegaze enthusiast looking to channel their inner Slowdive and beyond.

Catalinbread Soft Focus Deluxe – alternatives

The world is not short of interesting post-rock vibed delay and reverb pedals, and one of the best is Old Blood Noise Endeavors‘ Dark Star Stereo ($299). Another new entrant in the field is Yvette Young’s fantastic new signature Qi Etherealizer from Walrus Audio ($449), while if you really want to get chaotic then Beautiful Noise Effects’ When The Sun Explodes ($AU350) is a lot of fun.

The post Catalinbread Soft Focus Deluxe review: “has Catalinbread finally crafted the ultimate shoegaze stompbox?” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

George Harrison’s melodic approach to slide playing was a quintessential part of his post-Beatles solo work. And his approach to harmony, using thirds and fourths, was a major part of his signature guitar sound throughout his career. In this video, Caitlin Caggiano shows you how to de-code the magic behind some of Harrison’s most signature leads.

Andy Powers’ influence on the substance and style of Taylor guitars has been truly significant. Over his 14-year tenure leading Taylor’s design efforts, he’s introduced entirely new bracing patterns and body profiles—never easy when working for a legacy brand in a tradition-oriented industry. In crafting the new Gold Label 814e Koa Super Auditorium, Powers might have created Taylor’s prettiest body shape yet—a blend of sweeping curves, airy lines, and graceful proportions that, like a river stone, appear as if shaped by water.

Stylish, for sure. But there’s substance in abundance, too. The ever-tinkering Powers reconfigured the V-Class bracing Taylor introduced in 2018 for the new Gold Label 814e guitars. There’s also a new glue-free long-tenon neck—significant news considering how large Taylor’s NT neck looms in the company’s identity. What’s interesting about those moves is that Powers was keen to bake a visceral sense of vintage-ness into this guitar. The Gold Label 814e doesn’t sound much like the old American flattops I run into, but it’s distinguished by sweetness, clarity, balance, and expressive range.

Presence and Proportions

The Super Auditorium body shape that debuts with the Gold Label 814e is a close relative of Taylor’s lovely Grand Auditorium shape, which, at 30 years old, is now a foundational part of Taylor’s line. In fact, the 814e Koa is just 3/16" longer and 1/4" wider than a Grand Auditorium. More obvious is the absence of a cutaway, and the symmetry of the curves highlight lovely, just-about-perfect proportions. It’s a beautiful guitar, but it’s probable the increase in dimensions has more to do with Powers chasing a specific sound. Certainly, more size could align with aspirations to the antique tone glow of a vintage American flattop.

The collective effect of the body dimensions (which live in a sweet spot between grand Concert and dreadnought size) and the modified V-Class bracing means the Gold Label 814e’s voice is distinctive rather than overtly “vintage” (a broad, unspecific term at best). At the risk of disappointing Powers and Taylor, I think the Gold Label 814e exhibits many classically Taylor tone attributes to excellent effect, and the snappy midrange and relatively even string-to-string balance at times evoke an acoustic that’s been EQ’d and compressed by a recording engineer. But what will resonate for many players is the way the Gold Label 814e complements the modern facets of its voice with toasty bass from the 6th string and a little less top-end brilliance from the 1st and 2nd strings—qualities you’re more likely to hear in a guitar with 70 years of toil baked in. In the Gold Label 814e, those tonalities are bookends for a broad midrange that is very present and very Taylor, and whether that whole suits your playing style has a lot to do with how much you can leverage its impressive dynamics. Heavy-handed strumming confirms that the Gold Label 814e is capable of being very loud. It also highlights a pronounced midrange that, for all the guitar’s string-to-string balance, can be a bully if you have a heavy touch. If your approach is more varied and sensitive, though, the extra volume becomes headroom and the midrange becomes a chrome shine set against a dusty desert patina. It’s a killer recipe for fingerstyle. A light touch can still generate detailed, complex overtone pictures, while the high headroom accommodates and inspires high-contrast high-intensity counter phrasings. There’s a lot of room to explore.

Grease the Runway

Playability is, as expected, a strong suit. The action feels extra-easy and encourages hyperactive playing styles as well as languid chording that utilizes the instrument’s sustain, range, and rich pianistic qualities. The 1:21 ratio Gotoh 510 tuners feel ultra-precise, making moves between alternate tunings easy and enhancing an already strong sense of performance stability. Flawless fretwork, meanwhile, feels fantastic and underscores Taylor’s super-high quality. A fatter neck profile certainly would have suited me, and even though you can feel the tiniest hint of a V-profile bump at the neck contour’s apex, it still feels a touch thin. Even so, a lack of hand fatigue and a sense of fleetness in the fingers make the trade-off worthwhile.

Appropriately, for a guitar that costs $4.8k, the Gold Label 814e is a feast for the eyes, but in a sneaky, not-too-extroverted kind of way. The Hawaiian koa back and sides, which are a $300 upcharge from the rosewood-backed 814e, are, along with the Continental inlays, the flashiest element of the instrument. And though the high-quality lumber elsewhere in the guitar (torrefied spruce top, ebony fretboard, mahogany neck, ebony tuning keys) all feel luxurious, the deeply figured koa adds an extra splash of bespoke flash. Seasoned Taylor spotters will also note that the lines of the koa sides are not cluttered with the controls of the Expression System 2 electronics, which have been replaced here by an excellent L.R. Baggs Element VTC system that utilizes controls tucked inside the soundhole.

The Verdict

Though the 814e Koa aspires to 1940s and ’50s American flattop vintageness, it doesn’t always deliver on that count. For the right player, though, the instrument offers a unique and complex voice with a super-wide dynamic range and soft-focus bass and treble tones that temper the midrange. The new glue-free, long tenon neck can be reset fast and inexpensively should that time ever come, which might make the sting of the hefty $4,799 investment feel less risky—at least in maintenance terms. Yep, it’s really expensive. But consider, too, the joys of beholding the 814e Koa’s graceful curves all day—you might be able to justify the cost as a musical instrument as well as art.

Andy Powers’ influence on the substance and style of Taylor guitars has been truly significant. Over his 14-year tenure leading Taylor’s design efforts, he’s introduced entirely new bracing patterns and body profiles—never easy when working for a legacy brand in a tradition-oriented industry. In crafting the new Gold Label 814e Koa Super Auditorium, Powers might have created Taylor’s prettiest body shape yet—a blend of sweeping curves, airy lines, and graceful proportions that, like a river stone, appear as if shaped by water.

Stylish, for sure. But there’s substance in abundance, too. The ever-tinkering Powers reconfigured the V-Class bracing Taylor introduced in 2018 for the new Gold Label 814e guitars. There’s also a new glue-free long-tenon neck—significant news considering how large Taylor’s NT neck looms in the company’s identity. What’s interesting about those moves is that Powers was keen to bake a visceral sense of vintage-ness into this guitar. The Gold Label 814e doesn’t sound much like the old American flattops I run into, but it’s distinguished by sweetness, clarity, balance, and expressive range.

Presence and Proportions

The Super Auditorium body shape that debuts with the Gold Label 814e is a close relative of Taylor’s lovely Grand Auditorium shape, which, at 30 years old, is now a foundational part of Taylor’s line. In fact, the 814e Koa is just 3/16" longer and 1/4" wider than a Grand Auditorium. More obvious is the absence of a cutaway, and the symmetry of the curves highlight lovely, just-about-perfect proportions. It’s a beautiful guitar, but it’s probable the increase in dimensions has more to do with Powers chasing a specific sound. Certainly, more size could align with aspirations to the antique tone glow of a vintage American flattop.

The collective effect of the body dimensions (which live in a sweet spot between grand Concert and dreadnought size) and the modified V-Class bracing means the Gold Label 814e’s voice is distinctive rather than overtly “vintage” (a broad, unspecific term at best). At the risk of disappointing Powers and Taylor, I think the Gold Label 814e exhibits many classically Taylor tone attributes to excellent effect, and the snappy midrange and relatively even string-to-string balance at times evoke an acoustic that’s been EQ’d and compressed by a recording engineer. But what will resonate for many players is the way the Gold Label 814e complements the modern facets of its voice with toasty bass from the 6th string and a little less top-end brilliance from the 1st and 2nd strings—qualities you’re more likely to hear in a guitar with 70 years of toil baked in. In the Gold Label 814e, those tonalities are bookends for a broad midrange that is very present and very Taylor, and whether that whole suits your playing style has a lot to do with how much you can leverage its impressive dynamics. Heavy-handed strumming confirms that the Gold Label 814e is capable of being very loud. It also highlights a pronounced midrange that, for all the guitar’s string-to-string balance, can be a bully if you have a heavy touch. If your approach is more varied and sensitive, though, the extra volume becomes headroom and the midrange becomes a chrome shine set against a dusty desert patina. It’s a killer recipe for fingerstyle. A light touch can still generate detailed, complex overtone pictures, while the high headroom accommodates and inspires high-contrast high-intensity counter phrasings. There’s a lot of room to explore.

Grease the Runway

Playability is, as expected, a strong suit. The action feels extra-easy and encourages hyperactive playing styles as well as languid chording that utilizes the instrument’s sustain, range, and rich pianistic qualities. The 1:21 ratio Gotoh 510 tuners feel ultra-precise, making moves between alternate tunings easy and enhancing an already strong sense of performance stability. Flawless fretwork, meanwhile, feels fantastic and underscores Taylor’s super-high quality. A fatter neck profile certainly would have suited me, and even though you can feel the tiniest hint of a V-profile bump at the neck contour’s apex, it still feels a touch thin. Even so, a lack of hand fatigue and a sense of fleetness in the fingers make the trade-off worthwhile.

Appropriately, for a guitar that costs $4.8k, the Gold Label 814e is a feast for the eyes, but in a sneaky, not-too-extroverted kind of way. The Hawaiian koa back and sides, which are a $300 upcharge from the rosewood-backed 814e, are, along with the Continental inlays, the flashiest element of the instrument. And though the high-quality lumber elsewhere in the guitar (torrefied spruce top, ebony fretboard, mahogany neck, ebony tuning keys) all feel luxurious, the deeply figured koa adds an extra splash of bespoke flash. Seasoned Taylor spotters will also note that the lines of the koa sides are not cluttered with the controls of the Expression System 2 electronics, which have been replaced here by an excellent L.R. Baggs Element VTC system that utilizes controls tucked inside the soundhole.

The Verdict

Though the 814e Koa aspires to 1940s and ’50s American flattop vintageness, it doesn’t always deliver on that count. For the right player, though, the instrument offers a unique and complex voice with a super-wide dynamic range and soft-focus bass and treble tones that temper the midrange. The new glue-free, long tenon neck can be reset fast and inexpensively should that time ever come, which might make the sting of the hefty $4,799 investment feel less risky—at least in maintenance terms. Yep, it’s really expensive. But consider, too, the joys of beholding the 814e Koa’s graceful curves all day—you might be able to justify the cost as a musical instrument as well as art.