I recently lost a family member who, before passing, gave me a couple of guitars and encouraged me to learn to play. I thought it would be a meaningful way to honor him by learning a few of his favorite songs. I’m retired now and looking to challenge myself mentally by learning a new skill.
I’ve never played guitar before, and while I know it won’t be easy, my initial research suggests these are both very nice instruments—well beyond what I would have purchased for myself as a beginner. Both guitars are in excellent condition, lightly used, and likely 10–20 years old.
I’m trying to decide which one would be better to learn on. The two guitars I have are:
1. Taylor 614ce Grand Auditorium acoustic-electric
2. Martin D-21 Special dreadnought acoustic
I identified the models using photos and Google AI, so the names may not be exact. Either way, both are beautiful instruments and, at the very least, worthy of being displayed as works of art.
I’d really appreciate any insight or advice on which guitar might be the better choice for a complete beginner.
Thank you in advance for your thoughts and guidance.
Welcome to the forum Tom
The Taylor Grand Auditorium would be easier as a beginner because it has a smaller body than the full size Dred Martin D-21
Your Family member left you with a couple of very nice guitars. Treasure them.
You can find more out about your guitars by looking up the model and serial numbers on both Taylor and Martin websites.
as for learning to play you’ve come to the right place
I’d think either or will be fine. Most beginners don’t start with a very expensive guitar like those are.
You’ll be fine with which ever one trips your trigger most.
To me, both appear to be top of the line instruments. The kind most folks won’t be affording in their life times. At least not me.
My condolence for the loss of your family member.
Start with Justins lesson number one and you’ll be on your way to being a rock star!
I love my acoustic, but there have been a few things along the way where I was having trouble learning something because it was hard to do on that guitar, and sometimes I’d borrow one of my husband’s electrics (eventually he got me one of my own). Trying something on another guitar sometimes helped me pick up a skill and transfer it back to my regular guitar.
Maybe that’s why longtime guitarists all seem to have a wall full of guitars.
They are both high end guitars. Taylor numbers their series, 1xx, 4xx, 5xx, etc, all the way to the 9xx series. The 1xx series being the low end models and 9xx being this highest end / most expensive. I’ve owned several of the Taylor 4xx models and thoroughly enjoyed them. For me, I’ve preferred the sound of Taylors over that of Martin guitars but that’s very much a personal taste.
Yep, this right here says it all. You keep those guitars in good shape now.
They deserve it. Both are wonderfull to play, but like Stitch said, start out with the grand auditorium.
Even if both guitars don’t work for you now and you decide to buy something else, you keep these around. Preferably in their cases. (if there are any. If not, buy one.)
These will fetch a pretty penny in time.
Hi Tom,
I am sorry for your loss! And like the idea of learning one or more favourite songs of this family member. Given that they are also pleasing you and motivate you to learn.
Great advice had been already given.
I’d just like to add one thought. I hope that the setup on these guitars is beginner friendly (strings easy enough to fret (/to push down)). So it won’t make your start harder than necessary! I mean, just keep it in mind and in case you struggle too much pressing the strings down cleanly after some practice time, maybe ask some luthier about it.
Wishing you a great start! Off you go!
Hello Tom & Welcome!
What a wonderful gift to be passed down to you & what a great idea to honor your family member!
My suggestion is to initially swap back & forth between the two guitars & choose which one feels more comfortable but also with thought given to which guitar gives you the inspiration to pick it up & play! When you feel inspired & you’re having fun you will be more likely to play & learn!
Good luck!!!
Sorry for your loss Tom. It is a tough thing for sure. Good thing about guitar is you can really lose yourself in it and find lots of solace in the instrument. What a wonderful gift you were given.
Good advice given already, I would try them both as you move through the first course. You will quickly figure out which is more comfortable and then stick with that for a while. As you progress you will understand the differences in tone between them.
Be very carful with them, these are nice guitars. Not the typical beginner, bang it into the wall or set down too fast. I would get some guitar stands so they have a nice safe place to rest when not using them in any different room you are playing in. You don’t want to lean them against a wall or other piece of furniture. Dont put heavy objects above them either. You dont want the cat pushing off a full metal water bottle onto either one of those nice guitars.
You will be able to bring memories of time spent with your loved one though your music played on these instruments for many many years. Glad you posted.
Good idea. For expensive guitars I recommend the Hercules stands. Hercules stand
Those are Aussie dollars, so don’t feint when you see the price. They are much more stable than the cheap lightweight stands every guitar shop sells. I’ve had my guitar fall over on a cheap stand. I immediately went out a bought the Hercules. Well worth the extra money.
Welcome to the community! Sorry to hear about your loss. They left you with a small treasure, these are great guitars. I personally would recommend the Taylor grand auditorium - as cited by others, the small body is comfortable to begin with.
The guitars differ in tone, brightness and volume, all of which shouldn’t really be a concern at this stage. As you get better, I’m sure you’ll try both out and maybe figure out which one you like.
Either way, you can’t really go wrong. Welcome to this journey and I hope these instruments give you a lifetime of happiness as I’m sure they have for your family member.
Both guitars have their original cases so I will continue to store in those, I have grandkids over often and it will be tough to keep their hands off.
A few of you mentioned new guitar strings, I assume the ones that are on here have been on for years.
What type of strings would be best to put on these type of guitars. I won’t know the difference between sound or feel since I’ve never played before. I would want whatever is most conducive to a beginner learning to play.
As you are a complete ‘newbie’ to guitar, it’s not a bad idea to take your guitar to a professional to have a ‘setup’ done. A setup is a process where the luthier or guitar tech inspects your guitar, takes care of any minor issues that sitting unused in the case can cause, clean up the instrument & change the strings.
Not sure where in the world you are but if possible, go to a music store that does guitar repairs & explain your situation. You probably need a lighter gauge of strings to make learning a bit easier on your fingers & they should be able to adjust the height of the strings from the fretboard so you don’t have to press as hard to get a clear sounding note/chord!
A good setup can make the difference between success & failure for a new to guitar player!!!
There’s a bewildering array of strings on the market. To me the only important string characteristic for a beginner is string gauge. For an acoustic I would put 10 gauge strings on both guitars. As your finger strength increases with practice you may decide to go up to 11s or 12s. But treat this like weightlifting and go easy on yourself at the start.
More important than what strings to use is how hard you press on them. You only need enough pressure to mark them ring out clean. On a well set up guitar that will be very little.
Most beginners press way to hard on a poorly set up guitar.
Both your guitars are well made high end guitars and should already be set up but it wouldn’t hurt to take them in to a guitar store and have them checked out and have some new string put on them.
I’d do the Taylor first it will most likely be the one you start to learn on.
I plan to take both to get checked out and put new strings once I find a reputable and local person to do it.
Do guitar techs usually do the same day if scheduled or is it typical to leave the guitars there for a few weeks.
I read some local reviews on a couple people taking 2 to 3 weeks once dropped off, I don’t feel comfortable leaving the guitars there when I don’t personally know them or have a relationship.
Check in advance and don’t pick one that says anything other than same day. If there’s no other work other than string changes on the guitars then a tech should be able to do both guitars in less than an hour - you shouldn’t have to wait days on that
If they’ve been out of action for a while it might take a little more than that but if they’re not broken in any meaningful way then same day is reasonable
