WANTED BABY GUITAR

Subject: WANTED BABY GUITAR
From: Raggytash
Date: 11 May 03 - 03:44 AM

Maggie (from Hull)is looking for a second hand baby guitar, does anyone have a baby resting in their attic thats needs a good home

Subject: RE: WANTED BABY GUITAR
From: Eric the Viking
Date: 11 May 03 - 02:49 PM

In Leeds at what used to be the Carlsbro shop,(Academy of sound) there was a couple of weeks ago a 2nd hand baby Taylor for £275.00 inc case, very nice condition.Tel; 01132405077. They have just moved shop,not sure where exactly, but still in Leeds.

Subject: RE: WANTED BABY GUITAR
From: clansfolk
Date: 11 May 03 - 04:16 PM

£275 ? secondhand - a bit on the dear side?????

I've seen them new at £259 and that's without trying - secondhand should be c. £175-£195 top.

Lovely guitar - and the Big baby is a bargain

Pete

Subject: RE: WANTED BABY GUITAR
From: Kaleea
Date: 12 May 03 - 01:15 AM

Perhaps the "Big Baby" is ok, however, the "Baby Taylor" I bought sight unseen counting upon the name of "Taylor" was wretched--horrendously out of tune & impossible to correct. I later found out that the Taylor people knowingly put out all those Baby Taylors for years with the known intonation problems. I could press down a string in the 1st fret, and the same string in a different end of the SAME fret, & would get 2 different notes!    Try visiting a good guitar shop & actually play the guitars. If you don't know anything about them, take a pal who does. Some of the 2nd hand shops are selling old Tenor guitars (4 string) in good condition, since the smaller guitars are coming back into vogue.

Subject: RE: WANTED BABY GUITAR
From: Mudlark
Date: 12 May 03 - 01:19 AM

I had my first chance to try a Baby Taylor last week and was sorely disappointed. I agree...275 is too high....175 is too high....75 is too high..

Subject: RE: WANTED BABY GUITAR
From: GUEST,Chris B (Born Again Scouser)
Date: 12 May 03 - 03:53 AM

I bought one last year for my daughter. It's a laminated kao model. I love it. I guess they do vary but I've encountered none of the problems other people have described.

Subject: RE: WANTED BABY GUITAR
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 12 May 03 - 04:39 AM

It depends how baby you want. I bought an "Art and Lutherie" baby guitar last year (£199 from Hobgoblin) and have been very impressed with it. "Grafter" also produce a small cut-away guitar for under £200 which seemed quite well made.

Subject: RE: WANTED BABY GUITAR
From: clansfolk
Date: 12 May 03 - 04:54 AM

5 terz - Martin now that's pretty.

Never had any problems with intonation, only problem was the first one I bought 4 years a go (Manchester Guitar show Special £195) had a slightly lifting bridge - contacted the shop and it was exchanged.

Several friends have bought them after seeing/playing mine and all are happy.

My comment on Price was on a "Cheapest available" and not "Value for Money" - I think at RRP they are still excellent value and great little guitars.

Great for Nashville tuning (as well)

Aria make a reasonable baby for £80 ish - front solid but not sure what the sides and back are made of! - plays OK ......

Cort have a very cheap £50 ish baby - with a unusual bridge (like Tacoma) -

Tacoma baby nice - quieter that Taylor novel shaped sound hole - plus MANY more companies have their own versions.

Tenor guitar - not really an option - great instrument in its own right (I have and play one) but different tuning and only 4 strings - might as well play a uke :-) - ovation have a nice uke......

The Newcastle-on-Tyne guitar show is on at the end of May - might be worth Maggie (from Hull) paying it a visit - just up the road - lots of guitars (old and new) and lots of dealers after your money - an ideal time to get a bargain and a great day out!

spy it - try it - buy it!

Subject: RE: WANTED BABY GUITAR
From: GUEST,ASLIII
Date: 12 May 03 - 07:01 PM

dare I mention (forgive me)- EBAY

Subject: RE: WANTED BABY GUITAR
From: GUEST,red and white rabbit
Date: 13 May 03 - 03:13 AM

Is this so that you three can carry on swapping guitars Raggy?

Maggs if you were desperate my son has a 3/4 guitar cost about £25 new and plays like crap!!!

Subject: RE: WANTED BABY GUITAR
From: Jim Colbert
Date: 13 May 03 - 09:11 AM

I bought my wife a baby taylor last year and, other than having to retune a little more than our fullsize guitars which are kept in cases, I find the craftsmanship and intonation to be fine. I find it impossible to believe from my experience with the Taylor company that if you had such serious problems with your guitar they wouldn't have taken it back and repaired or exchanged it- I won't talk about their pricing (too high!) but the level of service I've always received in my years of Taylor service has been superlative.

I'm not going to confuse the sound with that of a larger guitar- I think some folks have that unreasonable expectation- but I think it has a very nice sound for the size guitar. It actually sounds like a guitar, not just carboard. I can't imagine we got the best one ever made- Taylor is usually very consistent... do an A/B comparison to the other travel guitars and you'll see what I mean.

jim

Subject: RE: WANTED BABY GUITAR
From: oombanjo
Date: 13 May 03 - 02:40 PM

Maggie Why don't you ask John Harrison to make you one of his small parlor guitars. They have quite a unique sound. and he is not expensive, he will cut the cloth to meet your requirements.

Subject: RE: WANTED BABY GUITAR
From: Raggytash
Date: 13 May 03 - 02:59 PM

I tried a baby Taylor on Saturday and was not impressed didn't compare at all with the Simon & Patrick Parlor Guitar I eventually bought. A bit more expensive but the quality is plain to hear and see

Subject: RE: WANTED BABY GUITAR
From: Les from Hull
Date: 13 May 03 - 05:25 PM

Thanks for starting this thread, Nick. I was threatening to start a 'Maggie wants a baby' thread, but you kindly anticipated me.

She tried a couple of Taylors in Huddersfield on the way home (she preferred the sound of the mahogany-topped one) but I think we can do better on price. She's also had a look at what there's available in Hull.

Jim - I'm concerned about the re-tuning. Is there a problem with the machine heads shifting when put and carried in a gig bag, because we do wander about a bit? We've had this trouble with her current guitar (Washburn Dreadnaught size) and I've changed the heads and bought her a better case, but it's all a bit much to cart around.

Oomy - I'm sure that John H can make her a great guitar, but she's not sure about paying money out for a factory-built guitar (which is why we're looking for second-hand) and I think a hand-built one might really be too much.

Thanks again everybody on behalf of Maggie for your helpful comments. Keep 'em coming!

Subject: RE: WANTED BABY GUITAR
From: Jim Colbert
Date: 14 May 03 - 02:40 PM

Hey Les!

I would not be concerned about my experience of needing to retune a bit more frequently than our full size guitars- I've noticed this sometimes on shorter scale guitars and the smaller sizes just plain seem to be a little more prone to that (least in this area.) It's been comparable to back when I didn't return my guitar to its case and left it sit out, from what I recall. It's going to vary with the environment it's kept in, really. (And I think that's why our larger guitars stay in tune longer; they are more humidity controlled when returned to their hard cases.)

The Taylor gig bag that should come with the baby is a quite nice example- I would not see the heads getting turned around that much under normal treatment- I've never noticed that to be a problem when transporting ours. I think the baby taylors are about the nicest travel guitars around. (For some reason, i think of the parlour guitars as a step up, if that makes sense.)

Some people just don't like the babies, I also think some people have unrealistic expectations of what a small guitar is going to sound like, but I think they're nice guitars if you get one at the right price. I also think the mahogany topped model is particularly nice for fingerstyle- it's a little warmer sounding than the spruce topped ones.

But that's just my opinion. Taylors (which I own 3 of) are kind of like Harleys in a way; the people that don't like them are probably never going to like them, and those that love them can sometimes see no faults! And the truth is somewhere in between. (Oh yeah, and they're both often overpriced!)

jim
uh, who also owns 3 motorcycles, all of japanese make (although I've owned a little of everything over the years!)

Subject: RE: WANTED BABY GUITAR
From: Jim Colbert
Date: 14 May 03 - 02:42 PM

One other thought: try the Taylor forum. That's how I found my koa 414.

www.taylorforum.com (for some reason, I couldn't make a blue clicky!)

jim