1998 Taylor 310CE Good, Hard, $995.00
This wonderful dreadnought cutaway guitar was the 9th guitar made in the legendary El Cajon, California, plant on March 19, 1998, according to its serial number (980319009) and the Taylor website. The standard 310ce is a substantial upgrade from the Taylor 200 Series and most other acoustic-electric dreadnoughts I’ve played (its current MSRP is about $2300—about $1000 more than the 210ce), but its superiority is in the quality of its woods and design rather than flashy inlays. The sapele mahogany back and sides and the purity of the Taylor sound will make other musicians turn around to check it out, but it will be its ability to make almost anybody who plays it play better that will make you love it.
The Taylor 310ce is a dreadnought style guitar with a single Venetian cutaway for ease of playing the entire fingerboard. It has a solid Sitka spruce top and sapele mahogany back, sides, all in a natural semi-gloss finish except for the high gloss top. The top and back are fully bound, and it has a tortoiseshell pick guard, an ebony bridge with black white-dot pins, and an inlaid black-and-white stripe rosette. The 14/20 fret bound ebony fingerboard with pearl dot inlay ends in a rosewood veneer headstock with three-per-side enclosed Grover Rotomatic tuners and the inlaid Taylor logo.
More technical data: the 310ce has a scale length of 25 ½”, and the neck width at the nut is 1 11/16”. Naturally it has a fully adjustable truss rod with access at the headstock, and scalloped forward-shifted Standard II bracing. The overall length is 41”, while the body is 20” long, with a lower bout width of 16” and a comfortable depth of 4.625.” The Tusq nut is standard, but the evidently new saddle may have been upgraded to bone when the string pins were upgraded. The factory Fishman Prefix System electronics has just been professionally checked out and seems to work fine. The action is fast and smooth at a bit under 4/32” at the 12th fret low E [note: the new saddle is rather high], and the sound is beautifully balanced and resonant, with the crisp, bright tone for which Taylor is famous.
As the pictures indicate, there are some cosmetic items to report in addition to slight evidence of play wear. This guitar was dropped, and there is a long professionally repaired crack in the side below the control panel. In addition, there was considerable cracking in the back lower bout, also professionally repaired. The good news is that it is now structurally near perfect, with a straight neck, solid bridge, clean neck joint, and a flat top; further, these repairs have no effect on the strength, playability, or sound of the guitar; and finally, nobody but you will see the side or back unless you show them.
So while this is still a truly attractive instrument, it is not a museum piece. The sound is terrific after almost twenty years of seasoning, and this guitar has been making music and turning heads for quite a while. Hopefully, it will pass into the hands of a player able to make music and turn heads for a generation or two to come.
The included thermoplastic hard shell case is not original, but the latches work perfectly, the lining is in great shape and hugs the guitar protectively, and structurally it is solid as a rock. The exterior has a few dings, but other than that, it is an ideal complement for this wonderful guitar—and of course offers outstanding insurance for your investment.
Buyer pays a flat rate of $55 for insurance and shipping to the lower 48 states; shipping costs elsewhere will be negotiated as necessary. Payment by Paypal is preferred; cashiers and personal checks are acceptable, but checks must clear before the guitar will be shipped.
I have made every effort to describe and illustrate this outstanding guitar and case with scrupulous accuracy. Please check out the pictures and ask any questions you might have before offering to buy it. Its return will not be accepted unless it can be shown that it was egregiously misrepresented in this listing.
Thank you for your interest in this cool guitar.
Payments by Paypal, cashier’s checks, money orders, or personal checks are acceptable, but all payments must clear my bank before the guitar will be shipped. I will CONSIDER reasonable offers, even including installment payments and trade-ins, but generally since I already attempt to price my guitars very competitively, unusual deals must be unusually sweet.
From henceforth [that's how retired English teachers talk], insurance and shipping to the lower 48 states is $55 due to constantly rising shipping costs unless a specific listing says otherwise; shipping costs elsewhere will be negotiated as necessary. I have sold guitars to Russia, Japan, Australia, and over 50 other countries, as well as almost every state in the USA. Since some of my guitars travel thousands of miles, I take care to use lots of packing materials, protect the neck inside the case, and of course de-tune the strings.
I make every effort to describe and illustrate each guitar and case with scrupulous accuracy. However, many of my instruments are well-played vintage items which are many years old, and I am not a luthier. One should assume that any guitar will require some set-up to satisfy your personal requirements, and that not every flaw or ding will be seen/recognized/described in the listing. Thus the return of an instrument will not be accepted unless it can be shown that it was egregiously misrepresented in this listing. Please read the listing carefully, check out the pictures, and ask any questions you might have before offering to buy.