Hello JG Gang,
Iām thinking about getting a new acoustic guitar and as there are so many out there i thought iād ask you guys for your thoughts. Iāve been playing my lovely Lag (his name is Lalvin Lag) for 15ish years. Heās got a solid sitka spruce top and laminated sapelli back and sides. Iām now thinking iād like an upgrade. Iāve been looking at the Faith Blood Moon and the Taylor 214 ce. Iām most into fingerstyle but i also love a good old strum and a sing song. Is there anyone out there with these guitars who could give me a bit of an insight ? Or has anyone got any other suggestions i could look at? Budget up to around Ā£1000. I need to play them and see which one grabs me so iām planning a trip to a PMT store but they are a long way away so i thought iād put this out there first as the JG community is full of wise words. Thanks all.
Hi Shell, have a check out of my posts in this thread. Iāve got a Venus cut Blood Moon and cover my experiences buying and owning it so far.
Regardless of that though yes do absolutely go and play them, appreciate itās a journey but itād be worth it for sure.
And a shameless AVOYP plug which is my only public recording with it so far!
@Shell you guys are really making me want to try Faith Guitars. 
The Taylor 214 is a very nice sounding Taylor I think it sounds better than a lot of Taylorās more expensive ones.
As for Faith I canāt help you but as you will see if you read the thread Notter linked Iām going to track a dealer down and try some out. Heard nothing but Good things about them and am dying to take one out for a test drive.
This is the best thing to do. Even better if you can play them side by side.
Shell,
I just purchased a Louden Sheeran S02. Amazing tones and depth. Also has the connection for electric AMP. Right in your price range too. I did side-by-side comparisons with Taylor and Martin Guitars. The Louden, to my ear and playing style (finger and strum) it outperformed both of them.
Your "I need to playā¦) method will definitely get you into the right guitar for you and your ear.
Thanks ever so much Mark. Ive read the thread and watched your avoyp. Very impressed with the performance and the guitar is beautiful. Does she have a name? All guitars need names. Iām still too shy to post a video! My lovely local guitar shop has a venus blood moon in but no Taylors so i thought if i went to a pmt i could try them side by side like you did then get my local guy to sort me out with the one i decide on. Itās a nice dilemma to have!
A lovey dilemma to have!
Sheās not named yet, no, although with my experience buying it and for a few other reasons Iām inclined to call her āFateā. My creativity in naming is pretty shameful 
Thanks Rick. Yep i keep hearing good things about Faith too thatās why i started looking at them. They are also based not too far from where i am and i like supporting local stuff. God to hear about the Taylor. I do like the look of the more expensive ones but iām just not sure i want to pay that much. Iām sure Ā£1000 is enough to get a lovely addition to the collection. Thanks again.
Thanks Barry. Donāt know much about Loudens so will have fun looking them up! I have tried some Martins but they werenāt for me. I knew as soon as i played them. Right Louden research for me then. Fun fun fun.
I went for a Venus Hi Gloss which I like but I am really tempted by a Neptune Bloodmoon. Is there a reason you want the Venus? The Neptune sounds like it is good for fingerstyle and people that play both Venus & Neptune seem to prefer the Neptune.
Now that is interesting. Itās about size really. My Lag is quite small bodied and i suppose iāve just got used to it so i was looking for something similar. Itās a good point about the Neptune. Just hadnāt thought beyond the venus. Now i think iād like to try them both. Good call. Thanks Leon. 
If you feel confident to recognize flaws in a guitar like high action or a twisted neck, consider getting a second hand model. You can certainly save heaps and get something that would be out of your price range in a new model.
I gather youāre from rural England, anywhere near enough to Stratford to visit a shop there?
If so visit Richards guitars, he has an outstanding selection of premium guitars in your price range; I have been there and tried a few and to be honest theyāre stunning and extremely difficult to decide which! Anyway, hereās a selection to look at if you could get there (probably for a day )
Iāll put a tuppence opinion here as I actually played both a Venus and Neptune when in store. Whilst the size difference isnāt massive I found the Venus a much better fit for me, the Neptune was that tad little bit too big. I canāt say I noticed a discernible difference in sound or playability (other then the size).
Thanks Tony. Not overly confident with those things but i know a man who is. Defo up for second hand. I have had a look on reverb. Happy to give a used one a new home.
Thanks ever so much Darrell. Will have a look at that site. Iām in Herefordshire pretty much on the welsh border. Stratford is probably easier to get to than pmt shops and nicer! A whole day in a guitar shop. Oooooo. Doesnāt get much better than that. Did you buy one when you were there?
Tuppence! Love it! Havenāt heard that for a while. Thanks Mark. Good to know. 
Nope, couldnāt make my mind up, will go back again nearer to Christmas 
Haha, nor me - in our neck of the woods itās ātwopenethā (Black Country dialect)
I was in my local PMT music store today, as you may be aware I was trying to decide between a entry level Martin and the Faith. I did what @Notter did too, tried the Neptune and Venus models and just like him, I donāt think there was much difference between them in either tone or playability. Both sounded very good, and both were easy to play. I would say the Neptune edged it on the tone. I prefer bigger guitars to hold too so for me that was the best. You may prefer the smaller Venus since I think you said your current guitar is a smaller size. And as far as I know, the Venus is the most popular one.
And as it happens, I also saw a Taylor 214, the one you mention in your post subject, and I wondered if that would be worth considering for myself. It played nice too, so Iād say itās worth considering in your case too. Both that and the Faiths sounded nice. The Taylor was on the smaller size (not by a lot), so I ruled it out for myself. And itās tone is a bit brighter so maybe good for fingerstyle more than strumming?
Iāve gone for the Faith Neptune Legacy version, as i wanted a wider neck. But the Blood Moon venus and neptune were both fantastic and look awesome. I love the blood moon looks. I wish they had it in Legacy. For my ear, the Neptune sounds the nicest of them all. But not much difference with the Venus.
Hope this helps.
P.S. Iām sure youāve seen all of these already, but just in case, thereās a few comparison videos here on youtube - and the video by Richards Guitars is quite interesting too āFaith Venus vs Neptune + Neptune Body Wood Comparisonsā
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=venus+vs+214
There are more things to look out for than just the two I mentioned. Great if you have a friend who can look at it for you.
Hey Shell, I recently got myself a new acoustic - and had a lot of fun deciding on one There are so many awesome guitars out there! I went with a Louden Sheeran (S03) too. It has a smaller body and is great for both fingerpicking and strumming and seems to be amazing quality for the price range. Iām no expert but Iām really happy with mine (love 
)