NGD: Taylor BT1 "Baby Taylor"

[ataylor]

First and foremost, a handful of photos of the new guitar. Keep scrolling for some background and a quick review at the end of the post.

Here's a three-quarter view. It's so cute!


Here's the headstock. Sometime in the last year or so, Taylor ditched the synthetic overlay and went with a thin wood veneer and a matte gold silkscreened logo. I think it looks fantastic.


Here's a side view. I like how the back laminate plus the solid spruce top almost looks like it's got wood binding.


They're siblings! My trusty old 2005 210 is happy to finally have another Taylor in the house. (Well, another Taylor guitar in the house. Our house is full of Taylors.)


Sooooo... I was pretty sure my next guitar was going to be a Martin. D-18 if we're being specific. But my soon-to-be-seven-year-old daughter has been with me to the guitar store a few times this year and has shown interest in guitars.

When she's with me, she and I have looked at a number of smaller models together, from the Yamaha Junior models to the Squier Strat Mini and lots of stuff in-between. Although she's been very tempted by the pink Stratocaster at times, she has said she likes acoustic guitars.

One time, she said she liked the Yamaha JR1 more than the Taylor Swift Baby Taylor. I was puzzled, as the Taylor Swift guitar is definitely more girly, but I figured out it was because the Yamaha has a pickguard like my guitars at home do and she wanted her guitar to look as much like mine as possible.

In terms of the overall package -- sound, looks, quality, bag/case, I found the Baby Taylor to be the clear winner in that class of guitar (which in my search doesn't include the GS Mini or D Jr because they're too big -- but the D Jr in sapele was fantastic). But because my daughter would just be starting out, I wasn't sure about the price point of the Taylor. I was leaning towards the Yamaha JR2, which I believe comes with a nice gig bag like the Baby Taylor.

Then came some good news and bad news. The good news was that I came across a fantastic deal on a new Baby Taylor on Reverb. The bad news -- or sad news, really -- is that it was at a great price because it came from a nice independent guitar shop (who has been a forum sponsor no less) that's closing its doors.

But the overarching good news is it means a cute little guitar is finding a nice home. My daughter will get it as a surprise for her birthday in a couple months (we found a nice hiding place for it in the meantime), but the idea is that it will eventually be a family guitar that her brother and/or sister can learn on later if they want, or that Dad can use as a travel guitar if needed, or even available for Mom to play if she ever gets the guitar-playing bug! But for now and as far as birthday excitement goes -- it will be my daughter's.

I ordered a pickguard immediately -- which I think looks great. It definitely makes it look more like "Daddy's guitar" and I think it completes the look given the dreadnought shape and spruce top. Along with the pickguard, I also ordered some colorful Taylor picks that my daughter will love -- and some ebony bridge pins, which is the one change I made to my 210 7-8 years ago.

I've played this guitar a little bit over the last couple days when the kiddos have been out with my wife or asleep and... I really like it. I like it enough that I'm maybe kinda flirting with the idea of a mahogany-topped Baby that I don't have to share! You know, maybe it's a guitar that I can take to work a couple times a week to play over my lunch break or something. I don't know. They're just so cute, and so well-made, and sound so good for the size and shape!

Yes, the tone is bright and a little boxy, but it's got that crisp Taylor sound and it's more dimensional than you'd expect. The playability is great and it feels and plays like a Taylor should. It's just a really fun little guitar that has its own unique flavor. Call me crazy, but pound for pound, and for what it is meant to be, I think I kind of prefer it to the GS Mini.

But in the meantime, it needs to go back into its hiding place. Shhhh -- don't tell, guys -- this is our little secret for the next couple months!

Oh. PS. Don't worry -- the D-18 is still very much on my radar.

[v32 finish]

cool post, thanks for sharing!! very cool. as a father with a 6 yr old girl, this one definitely touched me; I'm pretty sure my daughter has taken the *exact* same pink squier strat off the wall at GC before. sometimes she seems keen to learn, other times not so much. Lately she has been asking again (she wants to "take a guitar lesson" ) so I've been searching for something. I've considered all the usual candidates, but I have to admit that I kinda skipped over the Baby Taylor because they dont have one in stock at the shop near me (only the bigger one). I like the GS Mini's but I think they would be too big, at least for a year or 2, so .. I will definitely think about trying to find one of these. I'm also interested in a Cordoba mini that I saw (can't remember exactly, I think it's called a "Mini II FHM" or something like that) .. I also considered the 'Coco' guitar also by Cordoba, but either way, whatever I get is going to have to pass the test of quality, along with a few other requirements, without breaking the bank.

anyway, thanks again for sharing and for giving me some more to think about!! I considered giving her a Ukelele instead, but I think she really wants a guitar, and I would prefer to avoid going with the uke if I can find something that will fit.

cheers!

Scott

[Tico]

I had a Baby Taylor and loved it!
Even with its shorter scale, for a very small person it's really an excellent starter guitar.

I loved my Baby a bit less when the Big Baby came out.
I ended up giving the Baby to a promising kid learning guitar, and buying a Big Baby.

I loved the Baby's hard shell case.
I wish Taylor made one for the Big Baby.

[ataylor]

Originally Posted by v32 finish

cool post, thanks for sharing!! very cool. as a father with a 6 yr old girl, this one definitely touched me; I'm pretty sure my daughter has taken the *exact* same pink squier strat off the wall at GC before. sometimes she seems keen to learn, other times not so much. Lately she has been asking again (she wants to "take a guitar lesson" ) so I've been searching for something. I've considered all the usual candidates, but I have to admit that I kinda skipped over the Baby Taylor because they dont have one in stock at the shop near me (only the bigger one). I like the GS Mini's but I think they would be too big, at least for a year or 2, so .. I will definitely think about trying to find one of these. I'm also interested in a Cordoba mini that I saw (can't remember exactly, I think it's called a "Mini II FHM" or something like that) .. I also considered the 'Coco' guitar also by Cordoba, but either way, whatever I get is going to have to pass the test of quality, along with a few other requirements, without breaking the bank.

anyway, thanks again for sharing and for giving me some more to think about!! I considered giving her a Ukelele instead, but I think she really wants a guitar, and I would prefer to avoid going with the uke if I can find something that will fit.

cheers!

Scott

Good to hear of someone else in the same boat! It’s a fun age. We haven’t seen Coco yet or maybe she’d have been more receptive to that model.

I figure even if she loses interest, I won’t mind having the Taylor lying around to play and/or take on a trip. If she sticks with it, it’s icing on the cake!

Originally Posted by Tico

I had a Baby Taylor and loved it!
Even with its shorter scale, for a very small person it's really an excellent starter guitar.

I loved my Baby a bit less when the Big Baby came out.
I ended up giving the Baby to a promising kid learning guitar, and buying a Big Baby.

I loved the Baby's hard shell case.
I wish Taylor made one for the Big Baby.

Very cool of you to do that with your Baby Taylor!

I like the Big Baby as well. A couple weeks ago I found a lightly used one that was 10+ years old at a local shop that I nearly bought on impulse. They’re really underrated.

I actually prefer the Big Baby to the academy series models I’ve played. I think it’s a better guitar at a better price point.

[jazzguy]

Congrats. I like the new rosette (if it is new) and good call on adding the pick guard. Makes it look grown up. Enjoy playing music with your family!

[ataylor]

Originally Posted by jazzguy

Congrats. I like the new rosette (if it is new) and good call on adding the pick guard. Makes it look grown up. Enjoy playing music with your family!

Thanks! And yes — the rosette is something Taylor changed on the Baby and Big Baby models sometime in the last 4-5 years or so. The previous laser-etched rosette was nice, but the newer one gives more visual contrast and gives the guitar a more “finished” look.

[ChrisN]

Originally Posted by Tico

Even with its shorter scale, for a very small person it's really an excellent starter guitar.

To be clear for others, the BB is full-scale at 25.5" https://www.taylorguitars.com/guitar...aby-taylor-bbt, but is dimensionally smaller guitar at "15/16" size.

[Nick84]

Very nice, the new headstock looks much better than the black plastic on mine.

If your Daughter ; ) ever feels the need to plug in the JJB 330 is amazing in that little guitar and at minimal cost.

[ataylor]

Originally Posted by ChrisN

To be clear for others, the BB is full-scale at 25.5" https://www.taylorguitars.com/guitar...aby-taylor-bbt, but is dimensionally smaller guitar at "15/16" size.

Yep, the Big Baby is full-scale, which I think is one of the reasons I prefer it to the A10 and A12 models I’ve played. It’s just a good combination for that body size and shape.

Originally Posted by Nick84

Very nice, the new headstock looks much better than the black plastic on mine.

If your Daughter ; ) ever feels the need to plug in the JJB 330 is amazing in that little guitar and at minimal cost.

Good to know — thanks!

[ataylor]

Happy to report that the Baby Taylor was received with enthusiasm by my daughter for her birthday over the weekend — now I’ve got to put together some flash cards or a poster or something so she can start trying to make some chords with her little seven-year-old hands!

[jschmitz54]

What a sweet story, great dad and nice guitar.

[fishwatcher]

Great story and I'll bet she loves her new guitar!

Long story short, I have a Baby Taylor that is um.. sure.. it's my daughter's.

She likes it, I love it!

I've upgraded it with bone saddle, nut and bridge pins.. and it's a great guitar to have in our house.

The bone, unbleached saddle and nut (which you can't see in this picture) is from MacNichol. The bridge pins are dyed bone from Bob Colosi.

[edward993]

Baby Ts are fun guits, and sound much better than a little guitar should!! I''ve had mine since '99 and it has travelled on countless family vacations ...just a great guitar, no excuses.

FWIW, to make it genuinely better, I had found the intonation not so great, esp at the low E and A. I had a tech recut/shape the orig saddle and, whoa, muuuch better! This and PB strings in medium-light (so the EAB are from the medium set), and the guit is soooo much nicer sounding. Very much worth doing, imho.

Edward