I'm so sad! My 114e just got scratched by my cat.

[LeftyKev]

Thats ok, it was going to happen sometime anyway. now it's YOURS ......

[LakewoodM32Fan]

Originally Posted by theblues88

I'm so sad! My 114e just got scratched by my cat on the soundboard. It looks ugly. Anything I could do besides trying to look at this as 'character'?

I'm not sure where you're located so this may not be practical, if you have to ship your guitar (which can be expensive).

I dinged my most prized Taylor when a corner of my phone hit it. It didn't go down to the wood, but it went pretty deep into the finish. Even Dave Neely, my fabulous local guitar wizard, was only able to make it "less obvious" with some light touch up (which he didn't even charge me for).

I emailed Taylor via their contact (I'm the registered original owner). And we exchanged emails back and forth where I gave them pictures. They said that I could ship it to them and they'd see what they could do. Since I live 2 hours away I asked if I could do a contactless drop off (COVID and all) and they agreed.

Once I dropped it off at the factory they kept it a few days and quoted me an extremely reasonable price ($80) to fix the ding. I thought they'd maybe fill it and smooth it out.

Because it was the holidays (and COVID level staffing) it took a couple of months. I just picked it up last week.

It. Looks. New.

I am guessing they sanded the finish down to where there was no longer any damage and reapplied it. I've taken a magnifying glass to where the scratch was, and looked at the whole top...it's like it just came off the factory floor.

They also threw in a setup and neck reset while doing it, and replaced the ES2 electronics board (which was the 2015 version and I felt was too "hot" and "bass-y") with the current version which is much more balanced and neutral.

And no, it didn't "need a neck reset" in the traditional sense. Those who know Taylor necks and setups know the factory doesn't believe in shaving down the saddle to bring down action. Rather they believe in setting neck relief properly, keeping their standard saddle height, and then putting the correct sized shims between the neck and body to achieve the 3/32 low E and 2/32 high E action. Since the guitar was manufactured in 2015 (even though I bought it new in 2020), the woods had settled in the intervening years so they changed out the shims to achieve what I feel is perfect action and playability.

And yes, I know it didn't cost $80, I probably spent $50 in gas on both trips. But it was worth it because 1) I don't trust UPS to handle this baby, and 2) the work was impeccable.

[j3ffr0]

I would take it as a challenge from the feline to see if you can play it enough to do more damage than the cat did.

That's a pretty good lick the cat put on it. Must be one heck of a specimen. Most damage any of my guitars have ever taken from a cat is couple little teeth marks in the headstock when the cat tried to chew on it. Me -- now that's a different story. I've put many an accidental lick on a guitar.

[Twiddle Dee]

Looking at that makes me think of that instrumental Jerry Reed wrote called " The Claw". Anyway the scratch can be virtually removed using the 2 stage guitar scratch polish mentioned earlier.

[frances50]

If it bothers you that much, I'd send it back to Taylor. I had a service tech drop a tool on my Taylor PS and ding the top several years ago. I sent it back to Taylor and they buffed it out. I can't even tell where it was dinged. They're excellent to deal with.

[KenL]

Originally Posted by theblues88

I'm so sad! My 114e just got scratched by my cat on the soundboard. It looks ugly. Anything I can do?

Sell the cat?

[Ozarkpicker]

Cats + nice guitars seldom mix well, from my experience. Mine has never actually done damage to my guitars, but it will chew off the rubber leg covers on guitar stands...and eat off the foam that is inside the headstock cradle if they can get to it. Cats are curious, by nature...much more so than dogs. If it smells good to them, they just can't help but to mess with it...and they are not aware of how sharp their claws are.

I just don't leave my guitar or stands in the living room where he can get at it.

And...sorry about the damage on your guitar!

[Godfather]

Originally Posted by Ds114

write a song about it

Stir Fry Blues

[capefisherman]

The worst part is that every time you pick it up you will have an overwhelming urge to play a Ted Nugent song.

[Peter Z]

I can take scratches, dings and also dongs much better if others caused them.
If I am to blame I go crazy.

[EZYPIKINS]

Two things not allowed in my house. Taylor's and Cat's

[wguitar]

The 1st scratch, ding or blemish is the hardest to deal with - one of those "human nature" things. But now, your guitar has a story and you no longer need to treat it with kid gloves. Go play it and have fun doing it ! For the most part, nobody will even notice it but you. Something to ponder -- if the guitar had this scratch when you bought it and the seller offered you a couple hundred bucks off to compensate for the scratch, would you have bought it ?

Have fun playing your guitar !

Cheers!

[Brucebubs]

This guy has 2 cats!

[Dru Edwards]

They're probably big cats that usually roam the savanna .

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

This guy has 2 cats!

[airborne1]

Cat Scratch Fever!!