I concur with Gabriel O’Brien on everything he posted. I have owned at least 12 Taylor’ guitars in the last 30 years, currently four, and I have never had a problem like this guy is having. I am sure the repair technician is worthy of his craft, but the warranty that Taylor offers with their guitars, and the expert repair technicians they have, there is no reason to use anyone but Taylor. When I see the fret ware, I can’t help but ask how hard is this guy squeezing the neck? I’ve had fret replacement on one Taylor and it was seventeen years old. And to replace the es system, no way. Taylor would have had it working perfectly.
Taylor factory are experts at avoiding any warranty work If they do it, it takes months. Better to buy a guitar that does not have these problems. Martin and Gibson have their problems, like any guitar out there, but Taylors seem to have big ones and they are faintly common in comparison.
thanks for the video. as i watched this lastnight, i was keep thinking of tightening the hex screw. on the previous week had a live show for a small party and i was not satisfied with my almost-2-year 110ce sound plugged into the newly bought Laney aFresco 2. it felt the bass was too loud and the treble was too sharp, boosted the volume on the PA plugged in I only got the loud feedback noise without the middle tone heard. after bought a small precision screwdriver (star shaped mostly for the mobile phone repair - since it was quite hard to find 0.050 hex and this one fits!) by just tighten one of the screws, finally after 2 years I am listening to this pickup for the 1st time and could not be happier. If I found this video earlier. Appreciate much from Malaysia
That was absolutely amazing thank you so much for sharing that you taught me some thing about those little hairline cracks on the end of the block I did not know to look for that I also would not have known how to repair that so thank you so much for sharing God bless
a little help guitar friends and Luthiers I got a 100 series dreadnought and pickup worked for about 4 months now it’s only 1/4 to sound. I have to boost it to get anything and the sound is very bright. Should I fix it or trade it just wondering about the money cost to get it repaired? I switched a couple of batteries didn’t fix a problem.
i replaced mine with an LB6 but without removing the ES2 and volume/tone pots, and the battery compartment .. and my 416 now sounds just as i wanted .. 😊
The pickup was probably damaged when someone removed that saddle without loosening the pickup posts.Taylor saddles don't need filed like this because the bolt on neck and neck shims allow you to change the neck angle. This guitar is badly over humidified and should have been dehumidified to get the humidity between 45-55% humidity, which would have fixed the top bellying without drilling through the bridge. Taylors also have bolt on necks so you don't have to file saddles down so much. This guitar was exposed to loads of high humidity, which caused the bellying and the neck angle problems. I highly suggest going through Taylor's authorized repair tech training so you have access to the neck shims and are trained to work on the ES.That guitar is Tasmanian Blackwood back and sides and Mahogany top. The ES1.1 was AA battery, the ES1.3 (the most recent version) was 9volt.
How bad was the top pulled up? Couldn't you just use Taylor's neck reset system, of swapping out shims, to get the string height back down at the saddle? Then you wouldn't have to use the Bridge Dr and you could keep the, in my opinion, better pickup that came with the guitar from Taylor. I've not seen a flat top guitar yet that didn't have a little pull up around the bridge area. Most guitars are even made with a slight dome in the top. Just curious.
nice video except i would have liked to have seen the actual install of the bridge system. instead it just appeared! also was there any lessoning of the bellied top? don't know as he never broached the subject again which to me was the most critical aspect of this taylor.
Great video. I have a Taylor 414ce that I got about a year ago. Long story short, I installed a K&K Double Helix soundhole pickup and it sounds great plugged-in now. I use the end-pin adapter but am ready to gut the ES2 system from my Taylor. Are the control plugs and battery compartment end-pin cover from Shaw Woodshop? Oh, and another thing... I have a Breedlove AR25 SR+ from years ago that has that bridge doctor system. Only problem with the Breedlove is the through-bridge string system. Strings seem to get jammed in the bridge under string tension, making changing strings a chore.
Awesome work sir!!!! I have a Taylor 414ce that has a humidity crack on the back. Can you repair a hairline crack near the bottom? If so, I’d like the same pickup system that you installed in that Taylor in your video, the Baggs system installed in my Taylor. Mine is an older Taylor, it doesn’t have the expression system.
Here's my two cents on the Bridge Doctor. I have installed 3 of these successfully; however, I have two issues with it. 1) You need to drill a hole in the center of the bridge after which you insert a brown cover-up grommet, 2) The jury is out on whether tone is reduced by forcing the bridge and top down, against its will so to speak. And BTW, do not over tighten; I busted the wood pillar in half on one of the guitars I did, so beware. To be fair, the belly bulged on this Taylor is "really bad". Maybe the B.D. is a viable fix. One more things, this is Taylor we're talking about. They provide lifetime warranties (not sure if it's transferrable). Bring your guitar to a Taylor center! Problem here is you might wait 2 months to get it in !
How much of that belly bulge came out with the bridge doctor. still looked like it had a little.. My Taylor grand symphony, ( no electronics ) big body acoustic has also developed belly bulge exactly as you showed this Taylor to have. In your experience is this a common problem with taylors and how much bulge does the bridge doctor help with. I may have to use one. Cheers
I have the 324 builders edition ce,I cannot believe your touching that guitar, I've had mines for 5 years and I've never had it touched by no repairman,I did my own work,right out the store,I did my own work without touching the ES2 system mann..he just didn't take care of that guitar or he got a Lemon more like it🤔
That's what I thought too. It's obviously been played a lot to wear the frets down like that. It took me about fifteen years to get my frets down to that level on one a guitar I played regularly. This customer must pay really hard or maybe it's shared and played in shifts. Taylor make good quality guitars so that's not the issue, whatever the naysayers say.
i HAVE A THIN BLACK WIRE WITH A SMALL CONNECTION ON THE END INSIDE THE GUITAR FLOPPING ABOUT.Should it be connected to anything, Just bought the guitar and it sounds awful really dull
Hello there. Could you please help me. I have ES2 system and the problem with that is that it doesn’t pick all those percussive elements of my playing. It’s very important for me because I play percussive fingerstyle and I want to combine a mic+ES2 into 1 output because I don’t have an opportunity to have 2 outputs because it’s too much and my guitar pedal doesn’t allow me that. Is there a solution ?
You can keep the ES2 pick up and use it instead of the under saddle pick up that comes with the Anthem. Just plug the ES2 pick up and the anthem microphone into the Anthem preamp. There’s a video floating around youtube with an amateur install that sounds pretty good. Have a listen and see if the sound he gets works for you.
There are an alarming number of Taylor issues out there on the ether. They are largely the same. They seem to have long term issues that show their faulty design / manufacturing.
Adjust the hex screws on the ES2. I found out loosening them took out the harshness. You can actually adjust them to your liking which is a total game changer
I concur with Gabriel O’Brien on everything he posted. I have owned at least 12 Taylor’ guitars in the last 30 years, currently four, and I have never had a problem like this guy is having. I am sure the repair technician is worthy of his craft, but the warranty that Taylor offers with their guitars, and the expert repair technicians they have, there is no reason to use anyone but Taylor. When I see the fret ware, I can’t help but ask how hard is this guy squeezing the neck? I’ve had fret replacement on one Taylor and it was seventeen years old. And to replace the es system, no way. Taylor would have had it working perfectly.
Taylor factory are experts at avoiding any warranty work If they do it, it takes months. Better to buy a guitar that does not have these problems. Martin and Gibson have their problems, like any guitar out there, but Taylors seem to have big ones and they are faintly common in comparison.
thanks for the video. as i watched this lastnight, i was keep thinking of tightening the hex screw. on the previous week had a live show for a small party and i was not satisfied with my almost-2-year 110ce sound plugged into the newly bought Laney aFresco 2. it felt the bass was too loud and the treble was too sharp, boosted the volume on the PA plugged in I only got the loud feedback noise without the middle tone heard. after bought a small precision screwdriver (star shaped mostly for the mobile phone repair - since it was quite hard to find 0.050 hex and this one fits!) by just tighten one of the screws, finally after 2 years I am listening to this pickup for the 1st time and could not be happier. If I found this video earlier. Appreciate much from Malaysia
My new favourite guitar thing to watch ,,,, he is like a leopard setting the rabbit right
Wow. Nice work!
That was absolutely amazing thank you so much for sharing that you taught me some thing about those little hairline cracks on the end of the block I did not know to look for that I also would not have known how to repair that so thank you so much for sharing God bless
Great Work and thanks for the video!
Beautiful work sir!
Beautiful work.
a little help guitar friends and Luthiers I got a 100 series dreadnought and pickup worked for about 4 months now it’s only 1/4 to sound. I have to boost it to get anything and the sound is very bright. Should I fix it or trade it just wondering about the money cost to get it repaired? I switched a couple of batteries didn’t fix a problem.
i replaced mine with an LB6 but without removing the ES2 and volume/tone pots, and the battery compartment .. and my 416 now sounds just as i wanted .. 😊
Good work! Enjoyed.
The pickup was probably damaged when someone removed that saddle without loosening the pickup posts.Taylor saddles don't need filed like this because the bolt on neck and neck shims allow you to change the neck angle. This guitar is badly over humidified and should have been dehumidified to get the humidity between 45-55% humidity, which would have fixed the top bellying without drilling through the bridge. Taylors also have bolt on necks so you don't have to file saddles down so much. This guitar was exposed to loads of high humidity, which caused the bellying and the neck angle problems. I highly suggest going through Taylor's authorized repair tech training so you have access to the neck shims and are trained to work on the ES.That guitar is Tasmanian Blackwood back and sides and Mahogany top. The ES1.1 was AA battery, the ES1.3 (the most recent version) was 9volt.
Great work and sounds so much better!!
How bad was the top pulled up? Couldn't you just use Taylor's neck reset system, of swapping out shims, to get the string height back down at the saddle? Then you wouldn't have to use the Bridge Dr and you could keep the, in my opinion, better pickup that came with the guitar from Taylor.
I've not seen a flat top guitar yet that didn't have a little pull up around the bridge area. Most guitars are even made with a slight dome in the top.
Just curious.
I've noticed this man doesn't reply to anyones questions or comments. So I'm just wondering, is he still with us today.? Thanks
Fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!
nice video except i would have liked to have seen the actual install of the bridge system. instead it just appeared! also was there any lessoning of the bellied top? don't know as he never broached the subject again which to me was the most critical aspect of this taylor.
Great video. I have a Taylor 414ce that I got about a year ago. Long story short, I installed a K&K Double Helix soundhole pickup and it sounds great plugged-in now. I use the end-pin adapter but am ready to gut the ES2 system from my Taylor. Are the control plugs and battery compartment end-pin cover from Shaw Woodshop? Oh, and another thing... I have a Breedlove AR25 SR+ from years ago that has that bridge doctor system. Only problem with the Breedlove is the through-bridge string system. Strings seem to get jammed in the bridge under string tension, making changing strings a chore.
Awesome work sir!!!! I have a Taylor 414ce that has a humidity crack on the back. Can you repair a hairline crack near the bottom? If so, I’d like the same pickup system that you installed in that Taylor in your video, the Baggs system installed in my Taylor. Mine is an older Taylor, it doesn’t have the expression system.
Here's my two cents on the Bridge Doctor. I have installed 3 of these successfully; however, I have two issues with it. 1) You need to drill a hole in the center of the bridge after which you insert a brown cover-up grommet, 2) The jury is out on whether tone is reduced by forcing the bridge and top down, against its will so to speak. And BTW, do not over tighten; I busted the wood pillar in half on one of the guitars I did, so beware.
To be fair, the belly bulged on this Taylor is "really bad". Maybe the B.D. is a viable fix.
One more things, this is Taylor we're talking about. They provide lifetime warranties (not sure if it's transferrable).
Bring your guitar to a Taylor center! Problem here is you might wait 2 months to get it in !
How much of that belly bulge came out with the bridge doctor. still looked like it had a little.. My Taylor grand symphony, ( no electronics ) big body acoustic has also developed belly bulge exactly as you showed this Taylor to have. In your experience is this a common problem with taylors and how much bulge does the bridge doctor help with. I may have to use one. Cheers
Taylor DOESN'T EVEN USE GLUE FOR THE BRIDGES!!! DOUBLE SIDED TAPE AND 2 PLASTIC PINS!!! BRUTAL
Good job 👍!! And witch preamp on it then ? It sounds great
I have the 324 builders edition ce,I cannot believe your touching that guitar, I've had mines for 5 years and I've never had it touched by no repairman,I did my own work,right out the store,I did my own work without touching the ES2 system mann..he just didn't take care of that guitar or he got a Lemon more like it🤔
How can a guitar be in such a bad shape in 3 years.. Thanks for this video..
That's what I thought too. It's obviously been played a lot to wear the frets down like that. It took me about fifteen years to get my frets down to that level on one a guitar I played regularly. This customer must pay really hard or maybe it's shared and played in shifts.
Taylor make good quality guitars so that's not the issue, whatever the naysayers say.
Nice work! Do you have the info or a link to the gentleman that sell the plugs on Etsy?
Thanks!
i HAVE A THIN BLACK WIRE WITH A SMALL CONNECTION ON THE END INSIDE THE GUITAR FLOPPING ABOUT.Should it be connected to anything, Just bought the guitar and it sounds awful really dull
Why would you not reuse the battery compartment for the element. An element normally does not sound as good as the ES2 system.
I wish you could upgrade my 824 Taylor which sounds terrible
Do you have a link to where you got the battery compartment plug? I looked on Etsy and couldn’t find it.
What about the fret removal and installation???
And the application of the bridge doctor. He didn't show if he fixed the bulge
Hello there. Could you please help me. I have ES2 system and the problem with that is that it doesn’t pick all those percussive elements of my playing. It’s very important for me because I play percussive fingerstyle and I want to combine a mic+ES2 into 1 output because I don’t have an opportunity to have 2 outputs because it’s too much and my guitar pedal doesn’t allow me that. Is there a solution ?
You could put in an LR Baggs Anthem - it utilized an under-saddle piezo and microphone.
You can keep the ES2 pick up and use it instead of the under saddle pick up that comes with the Anthem. Just plug the ES2 pick up and the anthem microphone into the Anthem preamp. There’s a video floating around youtube with an amateur install that sounds pretty good. Have a listen and see if the sound he gets works for you.
What is the contact info for the guy in Texas on Etsy? I'd like to get a replacement for the ES2 on my 814CE...thnx!!
There are an alarming number of Taylor issues out there on the ether. They are largely the same. They seem to have long term issues that show their faulty design / manufacturing.
That is not rosewood. That is black tasmanian wood back and sides.
Glad some one else caught that. Fake it til ya make it I guess
I caught the same thing. Never seen rosewood on a 300 series…
Wouldn't you think Taylor would know better about wood grains.
Pickup system still sounds horrible. I can hear piezo distortion from a mile away. They never sound natural.
Adjust the hex screws on the ES2. I found out loosening them took out the harshness. You can actually adjust them to your liking which is a total game changer
Sounded better unplugged to me,,🤔
This is a $2500 guitar with a $0.50 pickup system. Total garbage. I went with Takamine.
Not impressed...Wrong wood ID and downhill from there!