1997 Taylor 512 for $900?
 

Saw this listing in a local FB ad.
Would this be a decent price for 97'?
Also I've never had an experience with a 90's 500 series Taylor so any encouragements/discouragements from this specific line of Taylors would be greatly appreciated :).

I had the same model from the same year. It was flawlessly built, very comfortable to play. But for some reason, the low E and A strings were completely dead, compared to the top 4 strings. Even a setup couldn't correct it. I'm sure it was just a one-off for this particular guitar.

I think that $900 would be a good price, if it's in good condition, and if it plays and sounds good.

Late 90's is considered by many as the "golden age" of Taylor guitars. They typically had 1-11/16" nut widths and were braced differently than later models. These are bolt-on necks with the fingerboard glued down. 1997 would pre-date the NT neck system. A 512 would be a sweet little guitar, if you like mahogany and Grand Concert (00) sized bodies. The price sounds decent to me, assuming no damage.

I actually went and played it ytd.
It felt a lot thinner and smaller than I had expected. Is the 512 usually smaller?

T X12 series Taylors are all small-bodied guitars. The smallest standard sized guitars they make. Doesn't mean they're better or worse than any other guitar that Taylor makes. The more important question is whether the guitar met your requirements re: sound, appearance, playability, comfort, etc.

It is a fair price. I feel like you can negotiate with him/her

My friend has a ‘89 512, and it’s a great guitar, love it. $900 is a good price IMHO.

1 11/16 on the dreads of that era (x10). The concerts (x12) would have been 1 3/4 unless special ordered. Taylor added maybe a half inch of depth, maybe in the early 2000s? So yes, a 90s 512 will definitely feel svelte. The good news is two-fold: they're exceptionally comfortable to hold and play, and there's a noticeable immediacy to the response, not unlike the shallow-bodied Breedloves of the same era.

That's a great price if the guitar has no issues. You can compare the $900 to eBay and Reverb prices.

I have a 512-M (paid $1K and just ordered a used 512ce (mahogany, 12 fret, slotted headstock, $1600)

Yes... it's a small bodied guitar and I prefer the volume and deeper tone of my bigger guitars but the comfort and ease of play makes me love it.

Actually, I do not believe the x12 guitars of that era had 'bolt-on' necks; I have a '95 (or '96...I forget offhand) 412k and it is certainly not.

That is a pretty good price for a 512 made before they started scarfing the headstock joint, which, BTW, was done because these earlier ones are known for being prone to "whiplash" headstock cracks. Not long after this period, they used that finger-joint scarf for a while to address the issue...effective but un-attractive. Later they went to the more traditional type scarf.

If there's a caveat here, that would be it; definitely check the headstock and nut slot for any signs of cracking, and going forward, assuming it is all good, take care to protect it from whiplash. Nice find!

To my knowledge Max, *ALL* Taylor guitars have always had bolt-on necks - they have never used a dovetail neck in production (perhaps a prototype here or there). The finger boards were glued on for pre-NT necks, but the neck joint itself is bolted and the bolts are covered by a paper label on the neck block. Bob Taylor reportedly got his start in building by sawing dovetail necks that needed a reset and doing other repairs. It may be possible to find a dovetail neck going back to the early 70's and the American Dream shop where Bob and Kurt got their start, prior to Taylor as a company.

The original x12 Grand Concert guitars were shallower and 1-3/4" nut width. They were targeted at finger style with design influences from players like Chris Proctor. They also had one-piece carved mahogany necks. The conversion to three-piece necks was intended to save wood -- they can get three necks instead of one from a single 3" x 4" billet -- but probably also cut down on whiplash injuries.

Huh...learn something new every day. Virtually all the documentation appears to say that they commenced the bolt-on design in 1999, but they were talking about the "NT" bolt-on, apparently.

I bought my 412k new in '96 and all this time, I assumed it was some species of dovetail joint; there really is no place in the guitar where one can see any bolt heads or evidence...unless they hid it under the label on the neck block inside.

Thanks for setting me straight on that score...would not care to labor under any misapprehensions. ;)

Good Model, Good Era
 

I had one of these from the same era. It was a fine guitar--the one that really turned me on to Taylor. I would say at $900, go for it!

I had the same experience. I played one in 1999 built the same year if I remember well. Despite being in what it is called the Taylor golden era (and for sure they built great guitars in those late 90s years) the one I played was completely dead on the bass strings. Not a problem of old strings at all, it was the guitar fault.