Issue with a Taylor 816

Thanks Malcolm,

I don't think 'very cold, dry, weather' sums England up much recently but the heating has been on a lot lately!

I can't see any cracks in the guitar and the top and back are still nicely bowled outwards.
None of my other guitars seem to have any issues but this one is the oldest.

I must admit that I've not paid much attention to the humidity for a long time though.

Craig

 

How old is the guitar? & could you put a photo up of the bridge area that's lifting side-on?

It's just over 10 years old and I've taken the string tension off so there's nothing to see side on but this is the photo I sent to Taylor.

With the strings up to tension I could easily get a 1mm pick quite a way under the back of the bridge and it was the action feeling high that caused me to look.



Craig

Thanks,

I have four Taylors all bought within two years so I'll use this as a test case.

I've already been sent UPS labels and customs documents, I just need to pick up a shipping box and get it on it's way.


I'll report back how it goes.


Craig 

I had occasion to use Taylor warranty for a 512CE I bought, bought as new but was actually over 2 years old and as such, was very heavily discounted (still too expensive though). I contacted them by email just for advice on lowering the action very slightly by shaving the saddle as they generally recommend action adjustments are done by using their graduated neck shims. The next day I had a phone call from Amsterdam, they offered to transport it to their centre in Amsterdam, reset the neck and do a complete set-up to my preferences. They arranged everything for me, all I had to do was pack it and hand it to the courier.

I had it back in a couple of weeks with everything sorted and set up exactly as I had asked for. It turned out that the guitar was actually within Taylor tolerances, but because I had sent them clear photos of what I thought was the issue, they covered the costs, including transport, under warranty.

They also asked me questions about humidity, as they thought that may be the issue. Here in Cornwall, humidity is all over the place, but it doesn't seem to affect my guitars too much. We have a dehumidifier for when it does get too high.

Any way, the point I was eventually getting to is that the service they gave me was superb and beyond what I had expected.

Jeff

The rise and fall of seasonal humidity can be a real, sneaky issue for guitars. Add to that a bit hotter or a bit cooler environment and your guitar can start to have problems, problems that may not be evident all at once but that can accumulate. Any time the wood, especially on the top of the guitar, expands or contracts, glue joints can be affected. Over time the effect is compounded until one day your bridge is loose. It shouldn't be a big issue to remove the bridge, clean up the surfaces, and re-glue. Happens all the time in shops all around the world. I would think in the neighborhood of $250 US would be about the going rate, if no surprises are encountered.