Taylor’s Gold Label Collection harkens back to an earlier age of acoustic guitar building, merging the heritage sound and style of 1930s- and 1940s-era flat tops with Andy Powers’s boundary-pushing 6-string philosophy. It all starts with the Super Auditorium body — a shape that modifies Taylor’s flagship Grand Auditorium with both a larger profile and a deeper, fuller sound. From the fanned V-Class bracing to the long-tenon neck joint, this 6-string leverages a plethora of golden-age features to send its sound back to the steel-string acoustic’s formative era. A torrefied Sitka spruce top and figured Hawaiian koa back and sides only compound the 814e Koa’s old-school character with crisp highs, sweet lows, and the dynamic sensitivity of a perfectly played-in instrument. Plus, the 814e Koa’s Standard Carve mahogany neck, 15-inch-radius ebony fingerboard, and LR Baggs Element VTC electronics retain the effortless playability and stage-ready sound that’s cemented Taylor as the benchmark for modern acoustic-electric performance. A smattering of charmingly old-school cosmetics round out the Gold Label 814e Koa with golden-era style, including a revamped headstock shape, a handsome script logo, and “Continental” inlays.

For much of Taylor’s half-century history, the brand has served as a beacon of 6-string progress. From their innovative advancements in bracing to their time-tested bolt-on neck joint, Bob Taylor, Andy Powers, and the rest of the Taylor crew lay claim to many of the most lauded acoustic enhancements since the prewar era of acoustic guitar building. However, what if Taylor were to turn back the clock to the 1930s and 1940s, incorporating the most cherished elements of those trailblazing instruments with their own boundary-pushing approach to guitar building? That’s the philosophy behind Taylor’s Gold Label Collection, with each instrument sporting three key sonic ingredients to separate these prestigious instruments from your typical Taylor: a long-tenon neck joint, fanned V-Class bracing, and the introduction of the Super Auditorium body shape.

Still, these three qualities are only the beginning of the Gold Label Collection’s golden-era appointments — these instruments boast a distinct aesthetic personality to mirror their singular sonics, consisting of a fresh new headstock shape, a reimagined Taylor logo, a Honduran mahogany Curve Wing bridge, a captivating “Continental” inlay motif, and (of course) a golden label laid into the soundhole. The result is a stunning series of instruments that proudly borrows both sonically and visually from the age of prewar flat tops, mandolins, banjos, and archtops, then elevates it with over 50 years of Taylor’s uncompromising and cutting-edge approach to acoustic craftsmanship.

Capturing the complex voice of a vintage golden-era acoustic guitar is no simple task. Even with the world’s finest tonewoods, brand-new instruments often require years of playing to match the level of response of a 6-string that’s been strummed for decades. To speed up the process, the Taylor Gold Label 814e Koa wears a Sitka spruce top that’s been subject to the brand’s torrefaction process — in essence, a form of roasting that transforms the very structure of the timber. The benefits of this process are by no means limited to vintage-obsessed guitarists, and scores of Taylor fans of all backgrounds have come to favor torrefied tops for their warmer voice and smoother, “aged-in” character. Complete with a set of figured Hawaiian koa back and sides, the Gold Label 814e Koa resounds with a crisp and articulate tonality that ideally pairs with its low-end heft.