Would you buy this Taylor (heel damage?)

[Dreadfulnaught]

I’m glad you ignored all the pearl clutchers here. That neck can be removed and properly shimmed in minutes. It’s not “neck damage” or pulling away or anything like that.

You have a great guitar that I hope you get to play for the next twenty years, and you got it at a good price.

[FOG01]

Looks like you got a great deal. Congrats!

[beninma]

$350 sounds amazing... get the neck adjusted and cleaned up get some new strings on there and go to town.... you got a $1000-1500 guitar for next to nothing, go celebrate!

[phavriluk]

Taylor necks are inset into the body so as to allow varying shim tapers to be used and leave the neck looking like it was flush to the body. Seeing as a Taylor authorized service person could remove the neck, inspect inside for funny business and put the neck back on in less time than for a string change, this guitar looks to me as if it's worth buying. Might be a huge discount for that little bit of putty squeezeout.

Taylors are different from all the others and inspection of a Taylor needs to be Taylor-specific.

[stormin1155]

Originally Posted by fazool

OK...........the replies were based on inexperience and lack of information.


Taylor neck is a bolt on. Angled shims underneath set the neck angle.

There is a deliberate designed-in gap around the neck.

Taylor uses a flexible putty to fill/hide the gap.

Even if the neck needed a reset, it's about a 5 minute job during a string change.

Fearing such an appearance is understandable with traditional glued on set-necks. Taylor's entire innovation (NT Neck) dissolves all of this.

By fearing neck joints, you are missing the entire point of a Taylor guitar. That's what they are entirely based upon.

Send me the link, if the price is good I'll buy it.

What Fazool said. There is nothing wrong with the guitar, whoever made the neck adjustment didn't fill in that crack. There doesn't seem to be cracks along the sides of the heel because the fit is so precise. There actually are cracks there... it all comes apart with just a few bolts.

I've worked on lots of Taylors, and whether you like them or not, you have to admit there is some amazing engineering and fit/finish work the way they are put together.

[Danbruski]

OP update. I brought it to St Paul Guitar Repair yesterday. They are a Gold level (or something like that) Taylor service shop. He suggested starting fresh with a neck reset (simple with the bold on neck) and new saddle since it had been “messed with”. So I probably wouldn’t “need” any of this, but I’m looking forward to getting this back to OEM stock. I’ll update again when I get it back.

[Earl49]

A new set-up and neck reset to the proper angle will give you optimal playability. Good call Dan, and enjoy your new guitar. Killer deal, even with the added work.

For future readers, the official method for adjusting action with Taylor NT neck is to first change the neck angle using shims. Sanding the bottom of the saddle (...."messed with"....) is a rarely needed last step for tiny adjustments to a particular player's preferences - getting that last 1/64". But saddle sanding is the only option with a dovetail neck.