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Yes, I had it since 2013. Got for my 50th birthday. I took a little time choosing it. Tried several at Guitar Center and even more than one of this model. I knew very little about acoustic guitars and strings then. The 2 – 314ce’s I tried had different strings (brighter bronze, and less bright phosphor bronze). I ended up choosing the one with the bronze but have since defaulted to phosphor bronze.
I’ve been on a string journey for over a year. I mostly played the Elixir nano web phosphor bronze strings. I still like those strings and consider them my default.
I’ve tried the Santa Cruz low tension strings and they lasted about 6 months before I decided to change them. They were a good string but felt a little rubbery under my fingers. I’ve also tried Straight Up strings (the developer of these helped design the Santa Cruz strings), D’Addario regular phosphor bronze, D’Addario XT’s, D’Addario Nickel Bronze, and Martin SP MA140, Lifespan 2.0, Monel Retro, and the current Flexible Core strings. There may be others I’ve tried but this is from memory. Oh, the GHS Authentic Bronze ones… My next set to try most likely will be the new D’Addario XS coated strings. I’m not a big fan of D’Addario strings. Probably because the first set I tried were regular uncoated strings and didn’t impress me in lifespan or feel under my fingers. But I will say D’Addario has top notch customer service. On more than 2 occasions they have sent me free replacement items when I had issues.
I was pleasantly surprised with the Martin SP MA140’s and Monel MM12’s. Two totally different strings but both sounded good and lasted a least 2 months on my guitar. The Lifespan 2.0 easily lasted 2 months and could have gone on for at least another month.
I try to keep them on at least 2 months so they don’t deaden too much between comparisons. Any new string will sound awesome compared to a dead string unless dead is the tone you are looking for. And yes, I agree about recording. I should have thought of that when I started my journey.
There are so many factors when it comes to tone. Guitar shape and size, woods used, solid, laminate, age of guitar, string material and gauge, playing style, and last but not least, pick shape, thickness, and material. All these things play a role in the tone.
String journeys are fun. But in all honestly, I can barely tell the difference between them…
JohnV