Unhappy w/ purchase :( Do you think the store purposely hid these 'blemishes'?

[egordon99]

Action is adjustable and may have gotten out of whack during the journey to Brazil.

The marks are natural features of the wood used. It's an entry level Taylor and I see nothing wrong with that top.

The seller did nothing wrong so not sure what you would be reporting them for.

[phavriluk]

Adjusting neck angle on a Taylor takes less time and effort than changing strings - - - a change in a set of shims that set the neck angle is all that is needed. No luthier who wants to alter the saddle or bridge should touch the guitar. Taylors are uniquely engineered products and should not be treated as 'traditional' instruments.

This may be difficult to do, but Brazil's a big and sophisticated country, I hope OP can find his way to a Taylor-authorized technician.

[s2y]

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

By marks, I expected to see nicks and dings, those marks are called Bearclaw and a lot of folks including me love it. If you hate it, I think you could sell it to someone who likes bearclaw in the wood.

You would probably hate this guitar of mine!!!

Attachment 79180

I recommend you send that to me for your safety. Can never be too careful.

[jaymarsch]

Originally Posted by egordon99

Action is adjustable and may have gotten out of whack during the journey to Brazil.

The marks are natural features of the wood used. It's an entry level Taylor and I see nothing wrong with that top.

The seller did nothing wrong so not sure what you would be reporting them for.

Agree with this assessment.
Sorry that the photos didn’t allow you to see the Bearclaw before you purchased but if you got a set up and the guitar could become playable to your liking then you would have to decide if you could live with the natural markings of the wood.
Best,
Jayne

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by theblues88

The spruce top is one of the ugliest I've ever seen!

The "blemishes" you think are ugly are quite desirable to other people, and since beauty is subjective, you can hardly blame others for having a different take on aesthetics. I don't think the seller "hid" those from you as another suggested. I think it's more likely the seller didn't think there was any reason to draw attention to it since it's not an unusual thing to find bear claw in a spruce top. Many spruce tops have some bear clawing and you have to photograph the guitar at a particular angle to capture it. The photographs the seller provided were pretty typical. If you had a specific aesthetic in mind, you should have asked more questions.

Originally Posted by theblues88

Also I was told the setup was flawless and it played like butter.
BUT action at 12th fret is 8/64.

What constitutes great action is also subjective. You measured the action when it arrives but you didn't ask for a measurement before buying. You didn't even ask for photographs that would show the action. Some like high action, some like low. To the seller, the action might have been exactly what they like. They can't know what you like if you don't tell them. Luckily for you, a neck reset on a Taylor with the NT neck system takes about 10 minutes for a Taylor certified technician. If there's no Taylor tech in your area, that's something you should have considered before you bought this guitar. Every guitar is going to need work at some point. If a guitar requires some kind of proprietary attention, it's always a smart idea to make sure that is accessible in your area.

Besides that, any buyer not purchasing a guitar in person should expect the guitar will need to be set-up to their liking and factor that cost into the equation.

Originally Posted by theblues88

This was the worst purchase experience I've done, I paid so much for this guitar...

I know to most of you this purchase and money will seem like it's nothing. But please, keep in mind that where I live this guitar is super expensive. To give a bit of perspective, even purchasing it in the US and not paying taxes (as it's tax free under usd1000) it costs 3months of local minimum wage. Fortunately I make a bit more than minimum wage but even though it was a significant purchase (one that I had to give plenty of thought if I could afford it). And now I have a guitar that is hard to play and I don't like how it looks.

The fact that you wrote so much about the cost makes me think the real regret is that you spent more than you probably should have on a guitar. But the reality is that while the guitar may be expensive from your perspective, it's a guitar at or near the bottom of Taylor's lineup. It's an okay guitar but I think your expectations were too high given that it's a low-end Taylor.

Originally Posted by theblues88

I'm honestly depressed at this moment

That's unfortunate but it's not all the fault of the seller. Some of the disappointment is on you. I know that's not what you want to hear but you learned some lessons in this that will make you wiser when purchasing guitars in the future.

It looks like there are places to have your neck reset in Brazil. I don't know how far they are from you, but if you're heading in that direction one day, it might be wise to make an appointment with one of them to address your action problem. In the meantime, play the guitar. It's not helpful to dwell on what you don't like.

As for the threat of the "1-star review," I don't see that it's warranted. You weren't sold a defective guitar. All your complaints are subjective and your disappointment could have been avoided had you asked more questions and requested more photographs. The seller isn't a mind reader and can hardly be blamed when a guitar you purchased via a third-party (your mom) doesn't live up to your subjective expectations.

I hope you can get your neck reset sooner than later so you can get to enjoy your guitar.

[theblues88]

Hey Jim.
I appreciate your perspective.

All the best

[hifivic]

Seems to me you should/can easily sell the guitar locally and not lose any $ then re-purchase from a reputable dealer such as Willcutt Guitars HOWEVER guitars in that price range are not going to "play like butter" without a proper setup, you should expect that.

I really like the top on this one!
https://willcuttguitars.com/products/taylor-academy-12

HOWEVER I too like the character of the bearclaw on yours and would be inclined to keep it.

[warfrat73]

The bear claw is clearly visible in those shop photos. Yes, the shots are more straight on so they don't pop as much, but they're clearly visible.

Plus, as others have said, they're not "flaws."

[Rolph]

Originally Posted by theblues88

Hi!
My mom was traveling to the US for work and being from Brazil I took the opportunity to ask her to bring a guitar to me. After much research I decided to get a Taylor Academy... and I found one at reverb.

However when the guitar arrived here I had a bad surprise

The spruce top is one of the ugliest I've ever seen!

Also I was told the setup was flawless and it played like butter.
BUT action at 12th fret is 8/64.



This was the worst purchase experience I've done, I paid so much for this guitar...

I know to most of you this purchase and money will seem like it's nothing. But please, keep in mind that where I live this guitar is super expensive. To give a bit of perspective, even purchasing it in the US and not paying taxes (as it's tax free under usd1000) it costs 3months of local minimum wage. Fortunately I make a bit more than minimum wage but even though it was a significant purchase (one that I had to give plenty of thought if I could afford it). And now I have a guitar that is hard to play and I don't like how it looks.

PICTURES:


I purchased a original taylor pickguard to try to draw attention away from the marks, but still...

The worst part: I have no way of returning it... I'm honestly depressed at this moment

Tell the seller to refund your purchase.

[Guitars44me]

Keep the axe in its case with a bunch of Bovida humidity packs for about three weeks (when not playing it)

If it has a soft case, put that in a plastic bag to help regulate the humidity.

See if the action moves at all.

When Taylor Repair receives an instrument they put the guitar in the case in a climate controlled room for about three weeks before they measure and adjust anything. It needs to be at about 45% Relative Humidity.

As others have mentioned, a Taylor trained tech with the proper shims can get the neck angle correct. Do NOT lower the saddle, unless you want to get another when the neck adjustment is correct.

As for the bearclaw, how does it sound? Natural wood markings are to be expected, especially in an entry level axe.

Try to have fun anyway.

Try a capo on first or second fret to lower the action a bit while you wait for adjustment.

Dropping the tuning to E flat or even D can ease chording too.

Best on this. You can get it fixed.

Remain of good cheer! Why not?

Paul

[Peter Z]

The bear claw looks nice to me, but it’s clearly and intentionally hidden. Even if the pics are not photoshopped, the difference to reality is too much to be ignored. They saw it, they knew it, they hid it.

[egordon99]

Originally Posted by Rolph

Tell the seller to refund your purchase.

Why? It was advertised correctly and action is easily adjusted.

[warfrat73]

Originally Posted by Peter Z

... but it’s clearly and intentionally hidden. Even if the pics are not photoshopped, the difference to reality is too much to be ignored. They saw it, they knew it, they hid it.

Sorry, this is nonsense.

Edit: The notion that you can read intention into this is completely unwarranted and unsupportable. If anything they're slightly over exposed.

[frankmcr]

Originally Posted by warfrat73

The bear claw is clearly visible in those shop photos.

Originally Posted by Peter Z

The bear claw looks nice to me, but it’s clearly and intentionally hidden.

Welcome to the internet, blues88!

[warfrat73]

And, given how many people on this thread have expressed the fact that they actually like the bear claw, it just doesn't pass the smell test... there would be literally no reason to hide it, let alone to ascribe it to some kind of villainy.

And, as I said in my first post, the bear claw is clearly visible in the shop pics.