well it's bound to happen from time to time when working with hundreds upon hundreds of clients. sprinkle some confirmation bias to forget the misfits and there you go
I bought my son a Taylor GA4 several years ago, it's an absolutely a wonderful instrument. The sound is just amazing, easy to play. Even mistakes sound musical.
Every trade is like that I worked on locomotives and they too had cyclic events, if I had one fuel pump go down I would start watching for the next one if a second fuel pump failed I would order 5 more at the same time. The CFO would freak out and call me (me being the CMO or chief mechanical officer) what the hell? Cyclic failures are a part of every trade I think. Always a pleasure watching your finesse and expertise in action and I want to personally thank you for the time involved in creating this content editing it and uploading it for our pleasure!
What never ceases to amaze me is your unwavering eloquence when using the English language! Your calm demeanor while speaking leaves me both calm and assured as well as confident you're doing what you should be doing in life! I on the other hand was an adrenaline junkie who could rarely finish a sentence without stuttering or stammering! Kudo's to you for the library of lutherie information you provide and the way you deliver it so well! (Maybe it speaks for Hamilton's school system!)
I almost thought for a second there, you were about to play "The house of the rising sun" never the less. Great clear sound. Crisp and resonant. Good job.
I maintain an inventory of new/old stock Taylors' that go back to yr 2000 that have lived in a humidity and temp controlled environment for their lifetime under tension and not played (often). If it needs it, some do some don't, that 15-20 yr range consistently has been the point where it will need a reset to pull it into factory spec. The 600 series most often.
Ted, I use the same small containers of super glue. Every time I buy a bigger quantity, I end up throwing half of it away. So I go to a dollar store and buy a pack of 4 or 5 small tubes and hardly ever have to throw a tube out because it's moisture compromised.
I don't know if you ever had a problem with the foam tape. In the past I've had it inconveniently unstick and had problems with re-sticking. I take drop or two of white wood glue and smear it on the area of intended adhesion, let dry then apply the foam tape. It works very well. I think the bare wood surface releases maybe a micro amount of the untreated surface just enough to unstick the foam. The white glue makes a shiny surface more appealing to the adhesive on the foam.
I just love Taylor Guitars. I have a couple, a six and a 12 string. I love the feel and the sound. I rarely plug them in, rather I just use them as acoustic guitars.
I understand this guitar already had a pickup system installed so I can see going with another one.(and arguably a better one) That being said I completely agree with our luthier here that a high quality microphone near the sound hole (like they did in the 60's and early 70's) produces a far better sound! It kills me to see people cutting into an acoustic to install an onboard system - every pickup on an acoustic I hear sounds like plastic.
You don't generally see a mic near the sound hole. Way too boomy. Acoustics are usually miked around the twelfth fret. Not putting the mic in front of the sound hole is kind of rule #1.
That used to happen at my shop all the time. Every so many years it would just be alternator week and i would change out tons of alternators. I will say that every year before school starts back is brake week
Very nice, precise work, as always. If it was me, I would convince the owner that another 'sound hole' is needed on that top bout. Then I would cut an oval opening to cover the 3 knob holes, Voila! Yeah, that's me...
Thanks for all of your videos. My '72 Martin D-35 made it about 40 years before it became unplayable from belly bow. Thanks for the reassurance that it's a normal age-related thing and that I didn't do anything to cause it. I'm going to install a new, very slightly larger bridge plate, with a neck reset as a last resort. Thumbs up to crush a troll.
There is something we can do to prevent our guitars distorting under string tension. It's possible to detune a guitar after playing. I was taught this to 'practise tuning and preserve the playing action'.
I have a 2003 RCE 414 (the R is for Rosewood). It's traveled a lot. It has the center seam back graft and also has the finger joints for the neck to head stock connection. I also removed the Taylor Expression system and replaced it with a K&K passive pickup. Much better for playing open mics which I did regularly a year ago. I agree that recording acoustic guitar with a nice mic is fine. Instead of filling the holes for the vol/bass/treb knobs with wood plugs like you did (nicely done btw), I just cut the knobs off from the circuit board so they can still be fiddled with but they don't so anything of course. Funny, I lent it to a friend at an open mic and he tried to adjust the control knobs between songs. I let him work on it for a minute on stage before telling him. :^) The finish on the headstock is peeling off. I wonder if anyone else has seen this and what they did to fix it.
I can see setups anywhere, dude . . . much rather hear//see you show us stuff you are enthusiastic about or interested in. And yeah , dont do this so much , that you hate it . . . your stuff is good and really useful and educational. I'm not in the US and you show a lot of guitars that I've never even seen , let alone work on them, so thats really interesting, for me and many others, I'm sure. . . and thanks again for your time and efforts.
Funny I ordered a 314 C(no E) about 15 years ago. Sometimes I think someone at the factory said “Oh, he wants a NICE acoustic guitar.” Sounds really good.
Almost made it another Taylor to be brought in! Was thinking about a setup on my wife’s 314CE but this darn COVID stuff is getting in the way. As usual a lovely job!
It’s possible to add the Anthem while preserving the expression system and its controls. Oh, and all the while using the same single battery. Output becomes a stereo setup with one channel handling the expression and one channel handling the anthem. Happy to walk you through the mod
I chuckle when I hear complaints about Taylor's pickup system. I just heard a comparison with the anthem, Taylor es2, and a Fishman matrix. The ES2 was still the closest thing to the microphone of all three. Yes, the microphone is the best.
A little hint to the drying super glue bottles, same happened to me. I found out, storing the bottles in the fridge prevents it to dry out. Some glue in my fridge is almost 2 years liquid now.
That was totally cool. I've considered what you said about Taylors neck needing reset earlier than a Martin. You didn't mention if the top had lifted up much here in that amount of time. But you can shim that neck if needed, I'd love to see one of those adjustments when you have to do it. And i agree a microphone in front of an acoustic guitar is a high quality sound. Your rerouting of the battery to existing holder was perfect, easy access and plugging the holes was fine. I thought you were going to make a sound port.
I had a 614CE with extremely high action and after examining it I found it had bellied quite a bit. The case had a humidifier in it and I drew on past experience to take it out of the case and hang it on the wall for a few days and sure enough the belly went flat, action came down. Sometimes too much humidity is the problem.
My 2006 Taylor 814ce had the ES1 system from Taylor. I hated it. They replaced it under warranty for distorted tone but it still had horrible b string loudness and metallic tone. I replaced it with the JJB soundboard 3 piezo system, similar to K&K and it sounds awesome. Using a baggs DI or Fishman Aura Spectrum pedal it's all I could ever want in tone. I left the knobs alone but modded the battery box for my output jack.
I have the expression system in about the same model guitar and using a tip and ring cable (TRS) direct into a sound board makes a world of difference in the older expression version. It is the one thing I like most about it and makes a guitar of this size sound much fuller IMO. But I also have a larger body Taylor and there’s no comparison in bottom end richness, no matter the pickup system.
That's the same model I have. Bought it about 20 years ago. I haven't noticed a problem, but I mostly don't play anymore. Anyway, if you read this, I really am enjoying your channel wish you were in Texas.
Taylors after 2001 use a bolt-on neck. They don’t need a traditional neck reset, they need a simple neck angle adjustment, which takes about an hour. It’s pretty easy for an authorized repair tech. They’re designed to be adjusted rather than filing the saddles down. In fact, if you’re an authorized Taylor repair tech the training tells you there’s rarely a reason to file a Taylor saddle unless it’s out of spec. All other adjustments are made using the neck shims. Taylors aren’t more susceptible to needing resets than anything else, but are far easier to do.
No authorized repair techs nearby and those that were, gave it up because they hated dealing with Taylor. Getting shim stock took months and getting paid was even harder.
@@twoodfrd you should become an authorized tech. Getting shims is hard when you aren’t one, yes. I’m an authorized tech and in nearly 20 years I never had trouble getting them - or getting paid for warranty work. I can connect you with the head of Network Service, he’s awesome. They’re literally the easiest company I’ve ever worked with. Ramsay Phillips has moved from Dubai to Ireland to New Zealand in the last 5 years and has no trouble getting anything.
We have that same phenomenon at my shop.... last week was Ventura LP week. The week before that was Martin D-15 week and we had Ric 12 string and MIM P-bass week not too long ago. Tacoma Chief month should be coming soon.
I like what you said about recording the voice of an acoustic, I've never thought of it that way... When I bought my martin, it had pickups build in even though I didn't want them, but that'll be good info for the future. Thanks!
It's clear that you don't care for acoustic pickups in general, and I'm with you there. But you do need something on stage and miking an acoustic in an electric setting can be a challenge. Best solution I ever had personally was when someone installed a pair of mics inside my main acoustic (an old-ish Kent!), along with one of those gigantic soundhole pickups of the era with pole pieces you could adjust. He put a switch in so I could go back and forth and even mix the two. It was cool because I could go full on overdriven on the soundhole, then to the mics for the faux-acoustic sound, which really wasn't bad.
Nice tidy to cover the old control holes, I might try something similar on an old Les Paul Junior which I unwisely drilled a couple of holes in years ago. I own a couple of Taylor guitars, one with a finger jointed headstock and the other with a scarf joint, both seem very secure but I actually prefer the appearance of the finger joint although I understand that they stopped using it because customers disliked it. My oldest Taylor is 18 years old and the action is still nice and low with plenty of height left on the bridge saddle. Resetting the neck on Taylor guitars should be a lot easier than on acoustics with glued in necks, I believe that Taylor can supply special shims for the job.
Henry, yes, a neck reset on a Taylor takes about 20 minutes. Only Taylor silver techs and above have access to the proper shims. Also, according to a gold tech I know, messing with the saddle to change the action is a no-no.
I have the exact same issue with the hot stuff bottles. These days I either open the bottle completely or I dispense a small portion of glue and then use small disposable pipettes to apply the glue.
I pour my CA into a drilled hole on a piece of plywood and dip various small instruments (toothpicks, bamboo skewers, an old ground down palette knife, etc.) to apply the glue. I have never been able to control CA like Ted does using the tip of the bottle to apply.
That was great information. The action on my 16 year old Taylor is creeping up enough that I've noticed it. I haven't measured it and was wondering for a while if what I thought was happening was actually happening. Another useful data point for me for this particular issue. Don't know that I will do anything yet, but appreciated information just the same.
I hated the pickup in my 2006 814ce Taylor. Installed a K&K and have a serious improvement in tone. I used the same output box from the 814ce and left the control knobs in place, not using them. My neck needs reset to lower the action.
That looks like a JST connector on the battery cable. You can get a crimp tool and connector kit for pretty cheap and it will open a lot of wiring potential.
I have seven High end Taylor's and Martins but I love the Taylor's better than the martins,My seven Taylor guitars will be with me till I die.Martin I like Taylor I love.
Check out the nvtone duo, a pickup system that makes a guitar actually sound like a guitar. I'll probably be saving up for one, as I feel like anything else mangles lovely acoustic sound of a taylor.
Wish I could find superglue with the whip-tip here in Halifax. My local hobby and hardware places only seem to carry the standard tip bottles. Also can't seem to get the water-thin kind either.
They have water thin superglue with a super fine tip at Lee Valley out in Bayers Lake. It is the Hot Stuff brand that he mentioned. www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/tools/supplies/adhesives/glue/20022-low-viscosity-glue-hot-stuff
I did the same for my gf's 814E Taylor. On the battery thing I used the same thing it has just cutted the cable and joint them with the lr baggs plugg. I was trying to mcgiver the taylor contro knobs with the lr baggs decided not to. And just left them covering the holes
I really like L R Baggs systems and you did a great job Ted. However , I own a Taylor and like their system. Maybe it's the pick that makes it sound " thin" I don't know. My Taylor has the expression system and set correctly sounds great.
It's a Taig. You can also set it up for metalwork (or similar work in plastics/waxes) - just add the cross slide/carriage, compound if you want, toolpost, etc. The power is up to you - it doesn't come with a motor (1/4 horsepower is pretty much the go-to). And it can do some light milling as well. It's not super-cheap, but it's really versatile, and fills in a lot of those "I really wish I had a..." moments. (You can do more or less the same thing with Sherline's version of the LEGO Machine Shop, though it's slightly bigger. And it was never sold at Lee Valley - I'm going to assume that Ted could have gotten a better deal on the Taig than you can.)
nice job and video again, as always! Personally I would use the holes for the new electronics. (so basically tweak the circuit with some other potentiometers) But I can imagine that for some people that might be a little bit daunting
Nice job with the Anthem install. If you’re expecting to work on Taylors (yes, they tend to come in batches), you really should buy a neck shim tech kit from Taylor. You need to figure out the meaning of the numbers engraved on the shins and calculate the appropriate swap - I use an excel sheet. If your math is right, you can eliminate the trial error part. Just make sure you have some new saddles, or better yet, offer to make a new bone saddle.
Real easy job when you have all that around, but I found it took a bit to convince them to give me their shims since im not a shop, just some guy who works on his own instruments.
In my opinion, bone saddles make Taylors sound really brittle with high end overtones. I've never heard a Taylor that sounds better with a bone saddle than the Tusq it came with. I tried a handmade bone saddle on two of my Taylors. Total waste of $100 each. I couldn't get them back off and replaced with the originals fast enough. Bone is great on a muddy Martin or Guild.
my 1995 Martin HD28 now has a 1/8 to 3/16 belly bulge and I've lowered my saddle to the point where I have 6/64" at the 12th fret string height. I asked a luthier about a saddle doctor install and they didn't think that was the right thing to do. They want to examine for any support separation and then a neck reset. $600.
I’ve used the bridge doctor in my thin body Ibanez Montage. My local luthier didn’t want to be involved as it’s a weird, poorly designed guitar. I installed it myself as a last resort. It worked. Acoustically, the guitar was slightly affected due the extra mass but the live sound was the same. I recently removed the bridge doctor to install a new pickup and discovered that the belly bow was gone! I’ve left the Doctor out for now and my guitar sounds just like new. Here’s the take away: you could try the non permanent version of the bridge doctor (no drilling required). $60 vs $600.
When you mentioned the 'live folky stuff' I knew you were talking about Simon & Garfunkel Live From New York City. When I first heard this recording last year, as a recording engineer I was absolutely stunned by the quality! I need to figure out what mics those are. They look like AKG 414s.
People, listen to this man! Acoustic guitar electronics are an approximation of the instrument. They kill the body of the tone, and I don’t care which brand it is. They’re popular because they’re easy. Not because they sound good.
I did a similar mod to use the battery box instead of the battery bag. I just used the box as is. Not sure why you felt like you needed to use the battery clip that came with the Baggs. Wiring into the existing box has been perfect.
Im planning to do the same. How do you do that? Also can you explain your process? Did u cut the wires for the es2, did you remove the knobs? Did u also have to drill the whole bigger at the back to fit the LR Baggs? Im wanna be able to this myself but i just wanna make sure i do it right
the LR Baggs Anthem is great, I use it in a number of gigging guitars. It's a very acceptable compromise, super-easy in comparison to others. I have one newer Taylor that I really like. But, I put up with that expressions pickup system. meh.
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When I was still working in a garage I noticed cars would come in groups with the same problem. Nice to hear that is common in other trades.
well it's bound to happen from time to time when working with hundreds upon hundreds of clients. sprinkle some confirmation bias to forget the misfits and there you go
I thought this too as he said it
That little button fix is beautiful and ingenious.
I bought my son a Taylor GA4 several years ago, it's an absolutely a wonderful instrument. The sound is just amazing, easy to play. Even mistakes sound musical.
Every trade is like that I worked on locomotives and they too had cyclic events, if I had one fuel pump go down I would start watching for the next one if a second fuel pump failed I would order 5 more at the same time. The CFO would freak out and call me (me being the CMO or chief mechanical officer) what the hell? Cyclic failures are a part of every trade I think.
Always a pleasure watching your finesse and expertise in action and I want to personally thank you for the time involved in creating this content editing it and uploading it for our pleasure!
Thank you for always letting us in your shop and producing great content!
Such an awesome channel. Wish I'd found it sooner! Love the pace, the clarity and the content. Very happy subscriber.
dude, just best luthiery channel, period, thanks for all
What never ceases to amaze me is your unwavering eloquence when using the English language! Your calm demeanor while speaking leaves me both calm and assured as well as confident you're doing what you should be doing in life! I on the other hand was an adrenaline junkie who could rarely finish a sentence without stuttering or stammering! Kudo's to you for the library of lutherie information you provide and the way you deliver it so well! (Maybe it speaks for Hamilton's school system!)
I'm guessing you're being sarcastic...
@@stevebicknell241 no not at all!
Just wanted to say I’ve been watching your videos for a few months now and I love them. Amazing work and great content!
I almost thought for a second there, you were about to play "The house of the rising sun" never the less. Great clear sound. Crisp and resonant. Good job.
Nah, that's a chord riff like King of the Crimson Court
Take a listen after the intro
th-cam.com/video/gvCmtHDDuu0/w-d-xo.html
first few notes were that 👍
I maintain an inventory of new/old stock Taylors' that go back to yr 2000 that have lived in a humidity and temp controlled environment for their lifetime under tension and not played (often). If it needs it, some do some don't, that 15-20 yr range consistently has been the point where it will need a reset to pull it into factory spec. The 600 series most often.
My Canuck friend! You’re a genius with your little hacks and ingenious ways to get things working!
Watching the video transports me to a calm submersion. 😌 I learn a lot as a side effect.
Me too, I watch these for the same reason, very tranquil.
Ted, I use the same small containers of super glue. Every time I buy a bigger quantity, I end up throwing half of it away. So I go to a dollar store and buy a pack of 4 or 5 small tubes and hardly ever have to throw a tube out because it's moisture compromised.
Those plugs turned out great!
Once again it's great to see the Master at work. Fantastic video
For replacement of those little plastic washers I cut a slice of a fischer wall plug. Works as a charm
Perfect! Just what I was looking.
I don't know if you ever had a problem with the foam tape. In the past I've had it inconveniently unstick and had problems with re-sticking. I take drop or two of white wood glue and smear it on the area of intended adhesion, let dry then apply the foam tape. It works very well. I think the bare wood surface releases maybe a micro amount of the untreated surface just enough to unstick the foam. The white glue makes a shiny surface more appealing to the adhesive on the foam.
Thanks! Great idea.
I just love Taylor Guitars. I have a couple, a six and a 12 string. I love the feel and the sound. I rarely plug them in, rather I just use them as acoustic guitars.
I understand this guitar already had a pickup system installed so I can see going with another one.(and arguably a better one) That being said I completely agree with our luthier here that a high quality microphone near the sound hole (like they did in the 60's and early 70's) produces a far better sound! It kills me to see people cutting into an acoustic to install an onboard system - every pickup on an acoustic I hear sounds like plastic.
You don't generally see a mic near the sound hole. Way too boomy. Acoustics are usually miked around the twelfth fret. Not putting the mic in front of the sound hole is kind of rule #1.
@@Llohr perhaps my comment was too vague, I said ‘near the sound hole’, not in front of it, but yes thanks for the clarification.
That used to happen at my shop all the time. Every so many years it would just be alternator week and i would change out tons of alternators. I will say that every year before school starts back is brake week
Saviour much impressive. Beautiful work.
Very nice, precise work, as always.
If it was me, I would convince the owner that another 'sound hole' is needed on that top bout.
Then I would cut an oval opening to cover the 3 knob holes, Voila! Yeah, that's me...
Thanks for all of your videos. My '72 Martin D-35 made it about 40 years before it became unplayable from belly bow. Thanks for the reassurance that it's a normal age-related thing and that I didn't do anything to cause it. I'm going to install a new, very slightly larger bridge plate, with a neck reset as a last resort. Thumbs up to crush a troll.
There is something we can do to prevent our guitars distorting under string tension. It's possible to detune a guitar after playing. I was taught this to 'practise tuning and preserve the playing action'.
I have a 2003 RCE 414 (the R is for Rosewood). It's traveled a lot. It has the center seam back graft and also has the finger joints for the neck to head stock connection. I also removed the Taylor Expression system and replaced it with a K&K passive pickup. Much better for playing open mics which I did regularly a year ago. I agree that recording acoustic guitar with a nice mic is fine. Instead of filling the holes for the vol/bass/treb knobs with wood plugs like you did (nicely done btw), I just cut the knobs off from the circuit board so they can still be fiddled with but they don't so anything of course. Funny, I lent it to a friend at an open mic and he tried to adjust the control knobs between songs. I let him work on it for a minute on stage before telling him. :^)
The finish on the headstock is peeling off. I wonder if anyone else has seen this and what they did to fix it.
I do mostly set up videos. That's why I'm hear enjoying your repairs! Stuff I dont/can't do.
I can see setups anywhere, dude . . . much rather hear//see you show us stuff you are enthusiastic about or interested in. And yeah , dont do this so much , that you hate it . . . your stuff is good and really useful and educational. I'm not in the US and you show a lot of guitars that I've never even seen , let alone work on them, so thats really interesting, for me and many others, I'm sure. . . and thanks again for your time and efforts.
Taylors are nice but if I was ever to get a new one I would probably go without any sort of pickup.
Funny I ordered a 314 C(no E) about 15 years ago. Sometimes I think someone at the factory said “Oh, he wants a NICE acoustic guitar.” Sounds really good.
Olson guitars are leaps and bounds better
You leave them and explain their speed holes obviously
Makes the guitar play real fast...
I should put some speed holes in my guitar
*they're
Almost made it another Taylor to be brought in! Was thinking about a setup on my wife’s 314CE but this darn COVID stuff is getting in the way. As usual a lovely job!
It’s possible to add the Anthem while preserving the expression system and its controls. Oh, and all the while using the same single battery. Output becomes a stereo setup with one channel handling the expression and one channel handling the anthem. Happy to walk you through the mod
Post a video and share the link please
I really enjoy your talent to find solution to modify these guitars and getting the most acceptable cosmetic option while functionnal !
I am going though Martin Month in my shop, all with worn out frets from 1971-2017.
I chuckle when I hear complaints about Taylor's pickup system. I just heard a comparison with the anthem, Taylor es2, and a Fishman matrix. The ES2 was still the closest thing to the microphone of all three. Yes, the microphone is the best.
A little hint to the drying super glue bottles, same happened to me.
I found out, storing the bottles in the fridge prevents it to dry out.
Some glue in my fridge is almost 2 years liquid now.
Well thought mods, mate! Nice work 👏
This Taylor you worked on sounds beautiful ❤️
That was totally cool. I've considered what you said about Taylors neck needing reset earlier than a Martin. You didn't mention if the top had lifted up much here in that amount of time. But you can shim that neck if needed, I'd love to see one of those adjustments when you have to do it. And i agree a microphone in front of an acoustic guitar is a high quality sound. Your rerouting of the battery to existing holder was perfect, easy access and plugging the holes was fine. I thought you were going to make a sound port.
I had a 614CE with extremely high action and after examining it I found it had bellied quite a bit. The case had a humidifier in it and I drew on past experience to take it out of the case and hang it on the wall for a few days and sure enough the belly went flat, action came down. Sometimes too much humidity is the problem.
ha well depending on where you live (eastern Canada), too much humidity is almost always the problem. :)
My 2006 Taylor 814ce had the ES1 system from Taylor. I hated it. They replaced it under warranty for distorted tone but it still had horrible b string loudness and metallic tone. I replaced it with the JJB soundboard 3 piezo system, similar to K&K and it sounds awesome. Using a baggs DI or Fishman Aura Spectrum pedal it's all I could ever want in tone. I left the knobs alone but modded the battery box for my output jack.
I have the expression system in about the same model guitar and using a tip and ring cable (TRS) direct into a sound board makes a world of difference in the older expression version. It is the one thing I like most about it and makes a guitar of this size sound much fuller IMO. But I also have a larger body Taylor and there’s no comparison in bottom end richness, no matter the pickup system.
That's the same model I have. Bought it about 20 years ago. I haven't noticed a problem, but I mostly don't play anymore. Anyway, if you read this, I really am enjoying your channel wish you were in Texas.
Mine has a Fishman with an EQ
Bob Johnson and Tom Scott are responsible for Paul Simon, Dylan, Leonard Cohen's great acoustic sound.
ted you make this shit look too much fun
Taylors after 2001 use a bolt-on neck. They don’t need a traditional neck reset, they need a simple neck angle adjustment, which takes about an hour. It’s pretty easy for an authorized repair tech. They’re designed to be adjusted rather than filing the saddles down. In fact, if you’re an authorized Taylor repair tech the training tells you there’s rarely a reason to file a Taylor saddle unless it’s out of spec. All other adjustments are made using the neck shims.
Taylors aren’t more susceptible to needing resets than anything else, but are far easier to do.
No authorized repair techs nearby and those that were, gave it up because they hated dealing with Taylor. Getting shim stock took months and getting paid was even harder.
@@twoodfrd you should become an authorized tech. Getting shims is hard when you aren’t one, yes. I’m an authorized tech and in nearly 20 years I never had trouble getting them - or getting paid for warranty work. I can connect you with the head of Network Service, he’s awesome. They’re literally the easiest company I’ve ever worked with. Ramsay Phillips has moved from Dubai to Ireland to New Zealand in the last 5 years and has no trouble getting anything.
Bonus footage of lathe work! Always a learning experence here...
We have that same phenomenon at my shop.... last week was Ventura LP week. The week before that was Martin D-15 week and we had Ric 12 string and MIM P-bass week not too long ago. Tacoma Chief month should be coming soon.
I like what you said about recording the voice of an acoustic, I've never thought of it that way... When I bought my martin, it had pickups build in even though I didn't want them, but that'll be good info for the future. Thanks!
Love the Taylor strum sound.
Thank you for your hard work.
wait, you don't have a nylon washer cutting jig?
This comment is underrated
Always like to see how you work another great video thank you
Always so impressed by your videos and work!
You are a brave sole. Great job...
Dude. No lie. If it were me, that head would have cracked off, accelerated to the speed of light, never to be seen again. Ted is a Master.
It's clear that you don't care for acoustic pickups in general, and I'm with you there. But you do need something on stage and miking an acoustic in an electric setting can be a challenge. Best solution I ever had personally was when someone installed a pair of mics inside my main acoustic (an old-ish Kent!), along with one of those gigantic soundhole pickups of the era with pole pieces you could adjust. He put a switch in so I could go back and forth and even mix the two. It was cool because I could go full on overdriven on the soundhole, then to the mics for the faux-acoustic sound, which really wasn't bad.
Nice tidy to cover the old control holes, I might try something similar on an old Les Paul Junior which I unwisely drilled a couple of holes in years ago. I own a couple of Taylor guitars, one with a finger jointed headstock and the other with a scarf joint, both seem very secure but I actually prefer the appearance of the finger joint although I understand that they stopped using it because customers disliked it. My oldest Taylor is 18 years old and the action is still nice and low with plenty of height left on the bridge saddle. Resetting the neck on Taylor guitars should be a lot easier than on acoustics with glued in necks, I believe that Taylor can supply special shims for the job.
Henry, yes, a neck reset on a Taylor takes about 20 minutes. Only Taylor silver techs and above have access to the proper shims. Also, according to a gold tech I know, messing with the saddle to change the action is a no-no.
I have the exact same issue with the hot stuff bottles. These days I either open the bottle completely or I dispense a small portion of glue and then use small disposable pipettes to apply the glue.
I pour my CA into a drilled hole on a piece of plywood and dip various small instruments (toothpicks, bamboo skewers, an old ground down palette knife, etc.) to apply the glue. I have never been able to control CA like Ted does using the tip of the bottle to apply.
Your videos are so calming lol
That was great information. The action on my 16 year old Taylor is creeping up enough that I've noticed it. I haven't measured it and was wondering for a while if what I thought was happening was actually happening. Another useful data point for me for this particular issue. Don't know that I will do anything yet, but appreciated information just the same.
My local Taylor repair tech mentioned that the bolt on neck is very easy (inexpensive) to shim if you don’t want to lower the saddle.
Bob Smith Industries sells a number of CyanoAcrylate adhesives in varying viscosities, including a very fast curing water thin super glue.
All Parts make a plug and jackplate for Taylor guitars - Part No. AP-4608-003. It's expensive for what it is though.
I sure enjoy watching you repair guitars. Thanks
Hmmm, think I'll leave the Expression 2 pickup system in my 914ce ;)
Yep, they work OK!
I hated the pickup in my 2006 814ce Taylor. Installed a K&K and have a serious improvement in tone. I used the same output box from the 814ce and left the control knobs in place, not using them. My neck needs reset to lower the action.
That looks like a JST connector on the battery cable. You can get a crimp tool and connector kit for pretty cheap and it will open a lot of wiring potential.
Those clamps are a adorable
Excellent video. Thank you for sharing with us.
Really enjoyed your lathe technique. Thanks for sharing.
I have seven High end Taylor's and Martins but I love the Taylor's better than the martins,My seven Taylor guitars will be with me till I die.Martin I like Taylor I love.
Check out the nvtone duo, a pickup system that makes a guitar actually sound like a guitar. I'll probably be saving up for one, as I feel like anything else mangles lovely acoustic sound of a taylor.
Wish I could find superglue with the whip-tip here in Halifax. My local hobby and hardware places only seem to carry the standard tip bottles. Also can't seem to get the water-thin kind either.
I buy the whip tips any time I have to buy something from StuMac, or you can get them on Amazon. Try the adhesive section in Staples.
They have water thin superglue with a super fine tip at Lee Valley out in Bayers Lake. It is the Hot Stuff brand that he mentioned. www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/tools/supplies/adhesives/glue/20022-low-viscosity-glue-hot-stuff
@@theajthomas Completely forgot about Lee Valley. Thank you. It's also a good excuse to get a shawarma at Ray's lol
Thank you. Wonderful video, great editing. Yay!
Always great to watch you work. I only wish you were on the west coast instead of Ontario.
I did the same for my gf's 814E Taylor. On the battery thing I used the same thing it has just cutted the cable and joint them with the lr baggs plugg. I was trying to mcgiver the taylor contro knobs with the lr baggs decided not to. And just left them covering the holes
12 string December sounds pretty groovy
I really like L R Baggs systems and you did a great job Ted. However , I own a Taylor and like their system. Maybe it's the pick that makes it sound " thin" I don't know. My Taylor has the expression system and set correctly sounds great.
You made an excellent point!
If you don’t like the tone, before you spend $500 on a new pickup, change your pick.
Well played!🎸 Pun intended👌
By the way the pick ups are adjustable shhh seems to be a top secret of the ES 2 systems
We had 60's ES335 month last month in my shop
I've never heard an ES system that sounded good. But I have heard a bunch of Anthems that were awesome.
The cutest lathe
Had a 414 and sold it because it sounded too pointy. Realize now that's just how they sound. Thanks.
I need the last Harmony video!!!
I bet that mini-lathe comes in pretty handy sometimes. It seems powerful enough to be very useful in the shop.
It's a Taig. You can also set it up for metalwork (or similar work in plastics/waxes) - just add the cross slide/carriage, compound if you want, toolpost, etc. The power is up to you - it doesn't come with a motor (1/4 horsepower is pretty much the go-to). And it can do some light milling as well. It's not super-cheap, but it's really versatile, and fills in a lot of those "I really wish I had a..." moments. (You can do more or less the same thing with Sherline's version of the LEGO Machine Shop, though it's slightly bigger. And it was never sold at Lee Valley - I'm going to assume that Ted could have gotten a better deal on the Taig than you can.)
I prefer the expression system, it doesn't compress like the Baggs does. Nice work though, love the buttons.
Wow, I'd never noticed those plastic rings at the tuners on my 514ce. And guess what, there's one missing too!
Thank you so much. You are super helpful
Thank you great detail and honest information
nice job and video again, as always!
Personally I would use the holes for the new electronics. (so basically tweak the circuit with some other potentiometers)
But I can imagine that for some people that might be a little bit daunting
Nice job with the Anthem install. If you’re expecting to work on Taylors (yes, they tend to come in batches), you really should buy a neck shim tech kit from Taylor. You need to figure out the meaning of the numbers engraved on the shins and calculate the appropriate swap - I use an excel sheet. If your math is right, you can eliminate the trial error part. Just make sure you have some new saddles, or better yet, offer to make a new bone saddle.
Real easy job when you have all that around, but I found it took a bit to convince them to give me their shims since im not a shop, just some guy who works on his own instruments.
In my opinion, bone saddles make Taylors sound really brittle with high end overtones. I've never heard a Taylor that sounds better with a bone saddle than the Tusq it came with. I tried a handmade bone saddle on two of my Taylors. Total waste of $100 each. I couldn't get them back off and replaced with the originals fast enough. Bone is great on a muddy Martin or Guild.
my 1995 Martin HD28 now has a 1/8 to 3/16 belly bulge and I've lowered my saddle to the point where I have 6/64" at the 12th fret string height. I asked a luthier about a saddle doctor install and they didn't think that was the right thing to do. They want to examine for any support separation and then a neck reset. $600.
I’ve used the bridge doctor in my thin body Ibanez Montage. My local luthier didn’t want to be involved as it’s a weird, poorly designed guitar. I installed it myself as a last resort. It worked. Acoustically, the guitar was slightly affected due the extra mass but the live sound was the same. I recently removed the bridge doctor to install a new pickup and discovered that the belly bow was gone! I’ve left the Doctor out for now and my guitar sounds just like new. Here’s the take away: you could try the non permanent version of the bridge doctor (no drilling required). $60 vs $600.
When you mentioned the 'live folky stuff' I knew you were talking about Simon & Garfunkel Live From New York City. When I first heard this recording last year, as a recording engineer I was absolutely stunned by the quality! I need to figure out what mics those are. They look like AKG 414s.
They were probably C12A tube mics. The C412 and C414's didn't come out until '70 and '71.
Love this channel.
Tom: you're never monotonous.
People, listen to this man! Acoustic guitar electronics are an approximation of the instrument. They kill the body of the tone, and I don’t care which brand it is.
They’re popular because they’re easy. Not because they sound good.
so machine shops have the same issue where people unrelated bring several of the same thing to be repaired or serviced.... its not just you....
so do auto repair shops Scott. LOL
i’ll at least show it works… was hoping it’d be a bang on scarborough fair or here’s to you mrs robinson 😊
I find that a 3.5mm jack doesn't always have enough locking force, but those little plastic ones stay put pretty damn well.
I did a similar mod to use the battery box instead of the battery bag. I just used the box as is. Not sure why you felt like you needed to use the battery clip that came with the Baggs. Wiring into the existing box has been perfect.
Im planning to do the same. How do you do that?
Also can you explain your process? Did u cut the wires for the es2, did you remove the knobs? Did u also have to drill the whole bigger at the back to fit the LR Baggs? Im wanna be able to this myself but i just wanna make sure i do it right
Great solutions to solve issues, on problem. only , I need more headstock break repairs , i can't get enough. Love your work, I tip my hat to you.
I had the same modification done and the guy had a box of black plug holes marked Taylor plug holes .
love your work...
the LR Baggs Anthem is great, I use it in a number of gigging guitars. It's a very acceptable compromise, super-easy in comparison to others. I have one newer Taylor that I really like. But, I put up with that expressions pickup system. meh.