Well, George, I’ve got to say that if
an 8-string baritone is obscure, then
making a mandocello would take
that to a new level. Your logic makes
sense until we try to support the
idea with dealers, sales, marketing,
etc. For us, it’s not just a matter
of making anything that could be
made, but also staying in the fam-
ily of guitars, where we know the
instrument and know the customer.
The soonest exception to that might
possibly be a ukulele, but the bass
players would filet me alive if I made
a mandocello before they get their
bass. I hope you understand.
Bob, have you folks ever con-
sidered crafting a travel cover
for your hardshell cases, much
like the ones that Colorado Case
Company makes? I love the
Deluxe Hardshell case that came
with my 814ce, but the vinyl gets
beat to pieces! Like every musi-
cian/singer who travels, I gate
check every time it’s available, but
that means carrying 18 pounds
through many airports. Having
a travel cover would protect the
case itself, possibly offer even a
few more degrees of temperature
protection, and, if you would offer
backpack-like straps, carrying it
as far as I could through airports
would be a lot easier.
Alan Parks
Myrtle Beach, SC
Alan, yes, we’ve made them in the
past, and people didn’t order them.
Like you, I think they’re great. We’ll
keep it in mind. It might become a
TaylorWare product someday.
Bob, I am very interested in pur-
chasing an acoustic guitar and
was wondering what recommen-
dations you might have for some-
one who does a lot of fingerpick-
ing (Chet Atkins style) and a lot
of chord-strumming backup in a
church band. I thought I wanted
a 614ce. Your thoughts would be
greatly appreciated.
Jerry Stanton
Well, Jerry, if you like Chet and
strumming, you’ve already picked
one of the best guitars when you
think of a 614ce. It’s great for both
purposes. A 514ce is also nice, but
it has more breath and high end.
The maple in the 614ce can dig in
more, cuts through the band better,
and will always deliver a solid per-
formance with Chet-style playing.
I recently became the proud
owner of a beautiful 614c. The
dealer (Electro Music Services in
Doncaster, here in the UK) told
me that the guitar was made of
a particularly highly figured piece
of maple, which had been given
to you as a gift for your birthday.
Hence, the guitar gained the nick-
name “birthday quilt.” I would be
very grateful if you could clarify
this story and perhaps tell me
more about this amazing guitar,
and if any more were made of this
beautiful wood. This is my third
Taylor guitar. In more than 30
years of playing, I have yet to find
a better instrument than yours.
Graham Campbell
Graham, that story is on the right
track. Once upon a time, my won-
derful wood supplier, Steve McMinn,
sent me some killer, over-the-top
quilted maple for my birthday. We
coined it “birthday quilt,” and the
name stuck and became a wood
grading word around our shop. It’s
kind of a fun name, you must admit.
So, from then on it was declared
in the Taylor kingdom that any quilt
with such beauty would be referred
to as birthday quilt. Yours is such a
grade, just not the actual wood that
I got for my birthday, which is March
12, in case you want to make a note
of that.
After reading the response to Mr.
Yoburn’s question [“B Keeper”
in “Letters”] in the fall issue of
Wood&Steel
regarding the myste-
rious small metal button imbed-
ded in the NT neck paddle (it’s
a magnet used to balance the B
string on the Expression System
pickup), I got to wondering: Do
you add this button to the guitars
you retro-fit with the ES, such as
the one you did on my 855ce?
I’m not about to remove the neck
myself to find out!
Blair Hayes
You bet we do, Blair. But you didn’t
get one because yours is a 12-string
and doesn’t need it. It has to do
with the 12-string pickup’s unique
design and the difference in string
gauges between 6-string guitars and
12-string guitars. I suggest you tell
this to your wife, who will then give
you permission to run right out and
buy a new 6-string so you can get
the magnet!
I live in Japan, so finding the right
guitar can be somewhat of a
challenge. I have finally ordered
and eagerly await delivery of my
new GS6-12, and I can’t tell you
how excited I am! I have done my
homework watching your videos
and have read the technical advice
for maintaining the proper humid-
ity. My problem is that the relative
humidity here is regularly well over
60 percent. I use a dehumidifier,
AC and, in the winter, the heater
to keep my rooms around 50 per-
cent RH. I have hygrometers for
my guitar cases and keep them
acclimatized with the room. While
you go into great detail describing
the effects of low humidity, what
should I watch for in a high humid-
ity environment? Do you have any
other recommendations?
Russ Hagan
Thanks, Russ. I’m happy to talk
about high humidity. Let’s start with
this: As always, my message is that
the safest place for a guitar is in
its case, not displayed in a house.
Now, I realize that I mentioned in a
previous question that I displayed a
guitar in my home. That’s because
I know how. You sound like you’re
doing all the right stuff. I would
suggest getting your hands on the
Planet Waves Humidipak and using
it in your case with the guitar. The
Humidipak not only will humidify
your guitar, but also dehumidify it
based on the humidity level of the
environment. It’s pretty easy to use.
Also, when you remove your guitar
from the case, please close the
case, which will maintain the humid-
ity within the case and not allow it
to absorb excess moisture from the
atmosphere.
To answer your question about
effects of high humidity, here are
some. Your guitar will swell, and its
sound will change, becoming more
“wet” sounding. That’s because
the excess moisture content adds
weight. But it won’t crack, and at
50-60 percent, it won’t swell very
much. In short, I don’t think you have
too much to worry about if you do
what you’re doing now. So, keep the
guitar in the case when it’s not in
use, and pop a Humidipak in with it.
[We also have a pair of relevant
Tech Sheets posted at taylorguitars.
com under Service & Support:
“Symptoms of a Wet Guitar” and
“Preventing the Summertime Blues.”
— Ed.]
I’
ve owned a Taylor 615 and an
810 and have enjoyed them both
a great deal. I noticed in the new
Wood&Steel
that the ES system
is available to be installed in all
brands for $500.00. Since one of
the elements of the ES is under
the fretboard, does this apply only
to guitars with a bolt-on neck, or
can you accomplish this on a set
neck, as well? For example, my
Martin HD28LSV.
Richard Alan Prow
Richard, for guitars with a set neck
we make a pickup that fits into the
soundhole right at the edge of the
fretboard. The pickup is encased in
a very slim and beautiful machined
ebony housing. It looks good, and
a set neck guitar can enjoy the full
benefit of ES.
I bought a Taylor 114ce about
nine months ago. It was a perfect
fit for me. But I keep encountering
one problem: Sometimes when I
am just jamming out, my G-string
will break right around the nut. I
use Elixir Ultra-Light strings. I am
wondering if it has to do with the
guitar or the strings.
Michael Gibson
...Or the player. Don’t forget the
player, Michael. And please don’t
take offense, because none is
intended. It’s just the player is part
of the package. Now, the core string
on an ultra-light G string is super-
duper small. It’s not strong at all.
So, ultra-light strings just aren’t as
strong as normal strings. They need
to be played, tuned and treated
as such. So, that’s a factor. Also,
if the nut is tight at all, or if it has
developed a cross-hatch wear pat-
tern in it, that could be a problem.
The wraps of a string can wear
into the nut, almost like threads on
a bolt. The string needs to slide
freely when being tuned and played.
Imagine if the string is slightly hung
up, plus it’s small and not very
strong, and maybe you play harder
than it can stand. All that can add
up. I’d suggest, first off, just putting
a little pencil lead in the slot, which
will lube it. Look with a magnifying
glass to see if there are string wrap
impressions in the slot. If so, a luth-
ier might be able to smooth those
out. You might also try a heavier
string just for the G. I hope that’s
enough to help you track it down.
Give us a call anytime!
With the help of YouTube, I
recently was introduced to a
wonderful tuning (Open Db) that
Jackson Browne uses for some of
his acoustic renditions. This has
caused me to want to keep my
6-string Pelican PG-LTD tuned to
Open Db, but I worry about the
impact on the guitar. Two ques-
tions: Need I worry about keeping
my PG-LTD tuned to Open Db for
an extended period of time, and
second, if I were to purchase a
third Taylor (I also own a 12-string
355ce), what might you recom-
mend to work well with this type
of tuning?
Rob Reiman
Rob, this won’t hurt your guitar in
the least. Your truss rod might need
to be loosened with the lesser ten-
sion, but that’s the extent of it. If you
were to buy a new guitar for this, I’d
go for a large body like a Jumbo or a
GS. Any wood will work, but my first
choice would be maple.
Got a
question for
Bob Taylor?
Shoot him an e-mail:
If you have a specific
repair or service
concern, please call
our Customer Service
department at
(800) 943-6782,
and we’ll take
care of you.
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