Taylor fretboard attachment

[TBman]

Originally Posted by jim1960

I'm not sure why you're discounting the tech's opinion out of hand. If the neck angle is off, it's a very easy fix on Taylor guitars (5-10 minutes, tops). Adjusting the nut and the saddle would take longer and wouldn't really fix the problem of a poor neck angle.

Because the OP went right from adjusting the truss rod to a tech who talked neck reset. No mention of the saddle having nothing showing, or that the nut was too high, etc. Nothing.

We all know that people take the saddle all the way down before resorting to a neck reset.

[Tycobb73]

Originally Posted by Earl49

Glad that the explanation helped, Tycobb. I'm sure they can take care of you. The 314 is a great guitar, well loved by many. I don't know Rainbow Music because I moved away from Michigan after graduating from engineering school in the early 80's, and have never lived in Grand Rapids (Ann Arbor, then the UP - ya betcha). But I make it a point to visit Elderly Instruments in Lansing on those rare occasions when I'm back in my home state.

The 5 years in engineering school were spent at Michigan tech. One summer day some freinds and i camped at the very tip of the keewanaw. However i never studied and was not good in math. I left as a senior because i still had to take a controls course and maxwells equations scared me. Unfortunately ive never been to elderly and theres no excuse as i live 45 min away.

[gmel555]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

According to what Scott Baxendale has told me, Mossman used a couple of different neck attachment systems, neither of which were very good. Most Mossmans have had neck failures at one point or another, and whichever of the two neck attachment systems was used, neither of them were easily and inexpensively shimmed as described......

Wade Hampton Miller

Yep, I’ve heard of the Mossman neck issues. Regarding the neck attachment I was quoting from an article in Vintage Guitar Magazine: https://www.vintageguitar.com/1922/mossman-guitars/.
But no doubt Scott Baxendale knows what he’s talking about.

[Tycobb73]

Originally Posted by colder

I think you also might consider asking the luthier to try medium strings. They will get a fuller sound, and you can achieve slightly lower action without buzzing than you can with light strings because they don’t move as widely when struck.

Thanks. The seller included a fresh pack of elixer 12s as he said the ones on it were pretty dead. I don't know where these stand in the acoustic world and figured it was as good a place to start as any until i figure out what i like. I use 9s on fender electrics and 10s on Gibson electrics but right now im not soloing nearly as much on acoustic as i do on electric.

[phavriluk]

I think non-Taylor adjustment techniques, save string height at the nut, need to be forgotten when adjusting Taylor guitars. Just ain't the same. I think Taylor sets the string height above the soundboard with bridge and saddle and then relies on the right shim set to adjust neck angle. Shim sets are so straightforward for a trained technician to swap out as to obviate artistic fussing with saddle height. Not 'traditional' and not appropriate on a Taylor.

[gmel555]

Originally Posted by Tycobb73

Thanks. The seller included a fresh pack of elixer 12s as he said the ones on it were pretty dead. I don't know where these stand in the acoustic world and figured it was as good a place to start as any until i figure out what i like. I use 9s on fender electrics and 10s on Gibson electrics but right now im not soloing nearly as much on acoustic as i do on electric.

Since you already have the Elixir 12s it's a good place to start. They're "lights" in the acoustic world and since you're a long-time electric player, you'd probably find mediums too big a jump. I'm not a huge fan of coated strings but you've got em, they're a quality string and are what Taylor ships 314's with.

[stormin1155]

Originally Posted by TBman

So you think the only way to adjust the "action" of a guitar is either to turn the truss rod or get a neck reset? You're joking, right? And the guy you brought the guitar to said nothing about the nut and saddle?

The correct way to adjust action on a Taylor equipped with the NT system is to change shims, which is essentially resetting the neck I guess. Of course the nut may still need some tweaking.

I work on a lot of Taylors, and about half of them that have high action don't actually need the shims changed, they just need the bolts tightened and it pulls the action right into where it should be. So you might want to check that first.

[slowesthand]

Originally Posted by mirwa

My photos.

Taylor bolt on





Steve

what is the single black bolt for in the first pic ?

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by Tycobb73

The 5 years in engineering school were spent at Michigan tech....

I graduated in ME from Michigan Tech, transferring up from U-M Ann Arbor (a much easier school BTW - we covered the same material in 12 week quarters at Tech using the same textbooks as U-M did in 16 week semesters). Small world..... My senior year we lost 25% of the ME seniors. Most schools thin out the freshmen class, but not Tech.

Originally Posted by slowesthand

what is the single black bolt for in the first pic ?

The lone black bolt secures the fret board extension into the neck pocket through the shim labeled as "-10". The other two bolts secure the neck into the head block . There are shims for each spot allowing very subtle changes in the neck angle.

[Tycobb73]

Originally Posted by TBman

Because the OP went right from adjusting the truss rod to a tech who talked neck reset. No mention of the saddle having nothing showing, or that the nut was too high, etc. Nothing.


We all know that people take the saddle all the way down before resorting to a neck reset.

I saw a video on Taylor's youtube page about the nt system. Directly from Mr Taylor's mouth:

It's a rotational adjustment. The saddle's in the right place all the time, everytime, never gets adjusted.

I'm sure you do great setups on traditional guitars. But Taylors aren't traditional guitars. I knew that much, but didn't know exactly why they weren't traditional, which started me searching. Sounds like you should search too.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by stormin1155

The correct way to adjust action on a Taylor equipped with the NT system is to change shims, which is essentially resetting the neck I guess. Of course the nut may still need some tweaking.

I work on a lot of Taylors, and about half of them that have high action don't actually need the shims changed, they just need the bolts tightened and it pulls the action right into where it should be. So you might want to check that first.

For a setup?

[stormin1155]

Originally Posted by TBman

For a setup?

Yes, as Tycobb73 said, that way the saddle is always the optimum height. If you have the right shims, the operation of swapping them doesn't take much more time than shaving the saddle.

[Tycobb73]

Originally Posted by stormin1155

Yes, as Tycobb73 said, that way the saddle is always the optimum height. If you have the right shims, the operation of swapping them doesn't take much more time than shaving the saddle.

In that same video Mr. Taylor said it should take 4 or 5 minutes.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by colder

Truss rods are not for adjusting action. They are for adjusting neck relief.

A lot of people here are convinced it is. I thought so once upon a time but a couple of very well-respected techs convinced me otherwise.

Originally Posted by Tycobb73

In that same video Mr. Taylor said it should take 4 or 5 minutes.

About 12 years ago I brought my 814 to my tech for a setup. The action was a bit high for my liking. He looked down the neck towards the nut, loosened the strings, unbolted the neck, swapped the shim, rebolted the neck, tuned the guitar and handed it to me. The action was perfect. It may have taken 5 minutes at the most.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by TBman

Because the OP went right from adjusting the truss rod to a tech who talked neck reset. No mention of the saddle having nothing showing, or that the nut was too high, etc. Nothing.

We all know that people take the saddle all the way down before resorting to a neck reset.

But you didn't see the guitar and his tech did. And taking the saddle all the way down becomes less of a solution the further you play away from the nut. It's not fixing the issue, it's putting off fixing the issue. On a Taylor, there's no need to put off the neck reset because it's an incredibly easy thing to do. I'd never shave the saddles on my Taylors to avoid a neck reset. There's no good reason to do it.