How do I know if I need a neck reset? (Taylor)

[rmp]

Originally Posted by glocke12

Thanks Everyone.

My gut instinct has been to take it to a second tech. The first one was a local luthier who was a Taylor authorized tech but he has since closed up shop, and I also was always suspicious that he was trying to get me to have work done that wasn't needed.

Honestly for the amount I play this thing and the skill level I have it's probably fine. I literally pick it up for a total of an hour throughout the week and strum some chords because I like the way it sounds than put it back in the case and work on my primary instrument which is bass.

In any case, Sam Ash in Manhattan I think is an authorized Taylor repair center and I am up there almost weekly so I will probably take it there and have them look at it and slap some new strings on it while its there.

sounds to me like you have good plan for having it checked,, good luck!

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by 619TF

Reset would be covered IF you're the original owner (as I said) and IF you go to a Taylor certified tech.

I am, and I did. When I bought the guitar no setup was included, nor offered. Is this normal for a Taylor dealer?

[LakewoodM32Fan]

Originally Posted by Jeff Scott

I am, and I did. When I bought the guitar no setup was included, nor offered. Is this normal for a Taylor dealer?

No dealer has to give you a setup. Good dealers will offer it, if they have a tech in-house. Some may size up a buyer and ascertain if you're the kind of person who will know or care about getting a setup, and if it looks like you're not expecting one, they may not go out of their way to offer one.

[phavriluk]

Changing a Taylor NT neck's angle is easier to do than changing strings - - - no big (or even little) deal. Just as long as the tech has Taylor shim sets. I think relief, nut adjustments, and fret leveling techniques are shared with the rest of guitardom, but anything involving neck angle and string height is unique to Taylor.

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by LakewoodM32Fan

No dealer has to give you a setup. Good dealers will offer it, if they have a tech in-house. Some may size up a buyer and ascertain if you're the kind of person who will know or care about getting a setup, and if it looks like you're not expecting one, they may not go out of their way to offer one.

No, Sam Ash just dropped the ball on this.

[s2y]

How old is it?

[mirwa]

Okay, so first I am authorised to do neck resets for Taylor, yes I carry the shims.

Taylors warranty is extremely good, however no warranty is for ever, Taylor extends their warranty if you register your guitar with them, so for anyone that owns a Taylor guitar, register it.

To the op, if the guitar plays good for you then disregard what the tech told you. Everyone likes a different action, if the guitar does not feel good to you and it feels high, send taylor an email and see if you still have warranty coverage.

If they say you still have coverage they will recommend someone who they have endorsed.

To those who say removing and refitting a taylor neck is easier than changing strings, its not, it is far easier than resetting a normal dovetail neck and a semi bolt on neck, but there is still a decent amount of things to do that I wiuld not reommned the lay person attempt it, even luthiers / guitar techs can still get it so wrong, including destroying the guitar, destroying the electronics, destroying the top, ripping out the sides, I say this from having had to repair taylors that people who have had no idea on how to do them attempted to do them and unfortunatley failed

If ever in doubt, contact Taylor directly, their aftersales service is IMO brilliant

Steve

[EZYPIKINS]

If you play a Tylor in my area. Chances are pretty good you could use a different shim set.

Taylors I've played around here, you could park a semi truck on the 12th fret without touching the strings.

I realize I set up my guitars lower than most.

But when you fret the 12th fret and the note is .75 sharp.

That is a bit ridiculous, for a guitar selling for over $3000.

[sprucetophere]

I have similar questions and concerns as the OP.

Is it not possible that even if the action is acceptable to me, There may still exist concerns about the need for a potential future neck reset that might come sooner rather than later? In other words, having acceptable action is great, but may not tell the whole story and that the guitar may have a neck reset in its near future despite acceptable action at this point in time?

Maybe a good follow-up question would be, even if the action is currently good how do I know if a neck reset is likely going to be needed in the near future?

These are questions, not statements, as I am far from an expert.

Thanks

[mirwa]

Originally Posted by sprucetophere

Maybe a good follow-up question would be, even if the action is currently good how do I know if a neck reset is likely going to be needed in the near future?

There is no answer to your question, some guitars over time will need a neck reset some wont.

[sprucetophere]

With all due respect, I do not believe that is true. There are builders and luthiers and others with much more knowledge than I possess that are able to accurately assess and predict the likelihood that a guitar will need a neck reset sooner rather than later.

Would those in the know care to share how that assessment is made and what variables are pertinent?

[LakewoodM32Fan]

Originally Posted by sprucetophere

With all due respect, I do not believe that is true. There are builders and luthiers and others with much more knowledge than I possess that are able to accurately assess and predict the likelihood that a guitar will need a neck reset sooner rather than later.

Would those in the know care to share how that assessment is made and what variables are pertinent?

This is a pretty good explanation: http://guitarless.com/2010/07/why-do...-a-neck-reset/

EDIT: Similar sentiments echoed here: https://acousticguitar.com/ask-the-e...-a-neck-reset/ (an article written 10 years later)

So why do Martins all seem to need a neck reset? A few things add up to the answer. With 150-plus pounds of pressure on a guitar over decades, you’d expect to see certain things give. On any guitar, the top may stretch upwards, the bridge may pull up and need regluing. On a Martin, additionally, the arch in the back will be drawn flatter, luthier Paul Hostetter notes, and the straight neck will pull forward at the neck joint. Add all this together and there’s a hinge effect right where the neck meets the body. Furthermore, lots of Martins came out of the factory with what modern eyes see as a slightly too shallow neck angle. Both the strengths and weaknesses of their designs were consistent.

The answer specifically says Martin because that's what the Letter to the Editor owned, but it's applicable to pretty much all steel string guitars. Light strings average about 155-160lbs of pressure, medium gauge around 170lbs. If you own even a well built guitar for decades, that kind of pressure over time will still have an effect. How much of one depends on many factors as outlined in the first article.

[mirwa]

Originally Posted by sprucetophere

With all due respect, I do not believe that is true. There are builders and luthiers and others with much more knowledge than I possess that are able to accurately assess and predict the likelihood that a guitar will need a neck reset sooner rather than later

The with due respect is really not needed, this is a discussion where everyone has varying opinions, some of our opinions are based on doing this daily for a living for decades.

Once a guitar needs a reset its easy to look at it and say whats gone wrong for it to get to that stage, be it exposed to too much heat, too heavy of a tension strings fitted, the top too thin, the sides not structurally strong enough, weak glues used in manufacturing, bad choice of wood grain, too soft of a wood used in the neck or top, the list is endless

However back to your question, a guitar that plays well and is of good condition, any luthier that looks at it and saids this guitar will be due for a neck rest in this amount of time, is back to your open statement "with all due respect" is talking out of their unknown regions. Thats becuase they are guessing, they are not basing it on any facts, it may just be a gut feeling they have but its still a guess.

If the guitar is not in good condition and is already starting to show signs of a high action, then any luthier can tell you why that action for that specific guitar is high and can guesstimate with respect to its age how long it may take before it starts becoming a structural issue

Steve

[N+1]

Originally Posted by sprucetophere

I have similar questions and concerns as the OP.

Is it not possible that even if the action is acceptable to me, There may still exist concerns about the need for a potential future neck reset that might come sooner rather than later? In other words, having acceptable action is great, but may not tell the whole story and that the guitar may have a neck reset in its near future despite acceptable action at this point in time?

Maybe a good follow-up question would be, even if the action is currently good how do I know if a neck reset is likely going to be needed in the near future?

These are questions, not statements, as I am far from an expert.

Thanks

These Taylor resets are not acts of major surgery because the design of the neck makes it a quick and straightforward thing to do. Several of my Taylors had action just slightly higher than I'd like, and each time I went back to the shop, where their Taylor-trained tech did the necessary reset (removing the neck and fitting different shims) while I watched. 20-30 minutes is usual for the whole procedure. The saddle remains unchanged.

The point is that as long as you have access to a Taylor-trained tech, a neck reset on a Taylor is not anything to be concerned about.

[John Arnold]

I am not Taylor trained, but have had no issue in doing NT resets. It is reasonably straightforward, particularly for someone who has been doing dovetail resets for nearly 40 years.