Featuring a cutaway Grand Auditorium body, Urban Ash back and sides, and a Sitka spruce top, the guitar incorporates a beveled armrest and cutaway, chamfered body edges, and a Curve Wing bridge—premium features that fit into the Builder’s Edition design ethos by enhancing the playing comfort to offer a more fluid, musically expressive experience. Choose from a natural or Kona burst top, accented with a firestripe pickguard.
Natural finish.
Both versions also boast a Kona burst body and neck and a Silent Satin finish, which combines the mellow sheen of a traditional satin finish with a smooth feel that reduces incidental noise as the player moves against the body (a major plus for recording applications).
Other notable appointments include Italian acrylic Compass inlays, silver side dots, black/Ivoroid edge trim, an Italian acrylic rosette, and Gotoh 510 tuners in Antique Gold. As part of Taylor’s anniversary collection, the guitar features ebony bridge pins with gold acrylic dots and a 50th-anniversary soundhole label.
Tonally, Urban Ash delivers a harmonious fusion of mahogany and koa properties, offering a focused, even response that suits a wide range of playing styles. Paired with a spruce top and Taylor’s proprietary V-Class voicing architecture, these guitars yield a level of clarity, projection, sustain, and responsiveness that players will love. With this blend of ergonomic features, aesthetic appeal, and sonic versatility, this heirloom-grade model celebrates Taylor’s heritage of inspiring, high-performance acoustics in a uniquely memorable way.
50th Anniversary Builder’s Edition 314ce Spec Highlights
- Back/Side Wood: Solid Urban Ash
- Top Wood: Solid Sitka Spruce
- Neck: Mahogany
- Fretboard: West African Crelicam Ebony
- Nut Width: 1-3/4”
- Scale Length: 25-1/2”
- Bracing: V-Class
- Electronics: Taylor ES2
- Case: Taylor Deluxe Hardshell, Brown
- Strings: D’Addario XS Coated Phosphor Bronze Light
Kona Burst Top: $3,199.00
Natural Top: $2,999.00
For more information, please visit taylorguitars.com.
Nearly 40 years ago, Nuno Bettencourt walked into Mouradian Guitar Co. in Boston, where Pat Badger was working. They formed a bond that would change their worlds—and ours—with the multi-platinum band Extreme. In March of 2024, Badger, Bettencourt, and their tech John Thayer invited PG’s John Bohlinger to talk through their current rig.
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Washburn Wrecking Crew
This Washburn N4 was developed in collaboration with Nuno Bettencourt, Washburn, and Seattle-based luthier Stephen Davies. The guitar was introduced in the mid-to-late 1990s and became Bettencourt's primary guitar. The 4N features a balanced alder body with a Seymour Duncan ’59 in the neck and a Bill Lawrence L-500 in the bridge, plus an ebony fretboard and a Kahler whammy that was featured on the earliest iterations. Later production models included a Schaller tremolo before landing on the current Floyd Rose dive bomber for off-the-rack N4s. Nuno’s strings are a custom set of GHS Boomers (.009–.052) and his custom-made picks come from Grover Allman in Australia.
Sweet As Honey
This is “Bumble Bee,” a custom-painted N4 tribute to King Edward that was done by the luthier Craig Stofko behind CHS Custom Guitars, based out of Carmel, New York. It’s a standard Nuno Washburn signature, but with a maple fretboard (a first for Nuno and the N4 series).
Softer Sounds
This Washburn Festival EA20S-Nuno Bettencourt is in the video for Extreme’s song “More Than Words,” which was filmed over 30 years ago.
This custom-painted Washburn 12-string acoustic is heard on “Hole Hearted.”
Triple Duals
Nuno tours with three Marshall JCM 2000 Dual Super Leads. Usually, he only runs one through a Marshall 4x12 cab. (There are six total onstage but only one is hot and mic'd.) All the cabs are loaded with Celestion G12T-75s that combine a huge, tightly controlled low-end and aggressive mid-range with a softened top-end.
Nuno runs few effects. In front of the amp, there’s a battery powered Pro Co RAT (which stays on all the time), a Boss OC-5 Octave (plugged in and connected for just two solos), and a script logo MXR Phase 90 without a light. There’s also a Boss GT-8 that runs through the effects loop of the Marshall for delays.
Kingly Gifts
This Mouradian CS-74 bass is Pat Badger’s number-one. The alder-bodied bass, fitted with an EMG pickup, was built for Tom Hamilton from Aerosmith. About two years ago, Tom gave the bass to Pat. This and all of Badger’s basses are strung with Rotosound Ultramag Strings (.045–.105).
This Mouradian one-pickup bass was built for Michael Anthony from Van Halen. Michael passed it along to Pat a few years ago.
This classic ’80s Hamer Blitz bass is a recent Reverb purchase.
Badger's Den
Badger tours with two Ampeg amps: a SVT-4 Pro and a SVT Classic. There’s a wall of 4x10 cabs underneath them, but only one is used.
Pat runs his bass into a Boss TU-3 tuner, Boss GE-7 EQ, EHX Micro POG, Pro Co Rat, Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI, and EBS Billy Sheehan Signature Drive.
Shop Nuno Bettencourt & Pat Badger's Gear
Washburn N4-Nuno Vintage USA Electric Guitar
Washburn Nuno Bettencourt N4 Authentic Signature - Natural Matte
Seymour Duncan SH-1n '59 Model Neck 4-conductor Humbucker Pickup - Black
MXR CSP026 '74 Vintage Phase 90 Pedal
Pro Co RAT 2 Distortion / Fuzz / Overdrive Pedal
Boss OC-5
EMG 35DC Active Ceramic Modern Humbucker Bass Pickups
Rotosound UM45 UltraMag Type 52 Alloy Bass Guitar Strings - .045-.105 Standard 4-String
Ampeg SVT-CL 300
Ampeg SVT-810AV 8x10"
Ampeg SVT-4PRO 1200-watt Tube Preamp Bass Head
EBS Billy Sheehan Ultimate Signature Drive Pedal
Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI V2 Pedal
Electro-Harmonix Micro POG Polyphonic Octave Generator Pedal
Boss GE-7 7-band EQ Pedal
Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner Pedal with Bypass