Taylor Guitars Big Baby

miniature dreadnaught that only comes in natural spruce top. as with the majority, if not all, taylors - ebony fretboard. no bindings whatsoever. laser engraved detail by ther soundhole. simple and straightforward which is to my liking.

i bought the guitar for it's uber tone. punchy and clear. it came with elixirs which are somewhat bright. but i wore those out and bought PYRAMID STRINGS. they're more natural sounding and gave the Big BaBy tone some warmth and body. the ebony fretboard is a joy to play and rounds up the tone nicely.

the action was a tad bit high out of the box but i took it right away to my luthier and had it set up. the guitar is simply beautiful and gotten compliments from players and non players.

after a couple of years i broke the pin from changing the pins but it was no biggie and i never had to change them again. i replaced the set with cream colored ones and it looked beter. the tuners does its job but i don't think they're the best. the truss rod cover is plastic and a piece broke off. i've brought it to places and it's got some minor dings and chips but i don't mind. as long as it's not dropped, i think it'll be ok. NOT for gigging..

never had to use warranty/support.

I've been playing the BBT for 4 years. i don't consider this as a low end taylor. there's no such thing. the quality is there and the tone is there. however, it's definitely not for gigging. this is ideal for spur of the moment ideas, outdoors(beach), a starter guitar for adolecents and everything in between. I wish taylors would make guitars with rosewood fretboards though. i would get the same guitar with that option.

The Taylor "Big Baby" is a very moderately priced scaled down dreadnaught offering sporting a hand rubbed satin finish solid spruce top and saplee laminate back and sides. The neck is mahogony with an ebony fretboard and bridge and also sports Grover style chrome sealed tuners of good quality.
This little axe is made in Mexico as are a number of good quality instruments by competing guitar companies. Fit to finish is very good, as is expected of a Taylor product. The sound hole rosette is laser etched into the top and is really quite elegant. The overall size of this guitar is about the same as a 000 or grand concert size guitar by other companies and is extremely comfortable to play. Taylor provides a custom gig-bag that is one of the best I've seen as far as gig-bags go. It fits around the instrument almost too tight but offers some of the best out of the box "bag" protection I've seen. I prefer a good solid hard shell case but the company couldn't compete and sell these little beauties for what they do if it came with a good case, but I think they could still make it a good buy.
This little flat top projects like a 000 or better with good sustain and sweet balanced range all across the sonic palate. Notes are clear and pronounced. Mine needed a basic set up to get rid of "string buzz" that seems to be a problem with a lot of Taylors and Martins lately. Frustrating, but an easy fix.
It comes equiped with Elixer strings from the factory and I find these to be adequate but recommend changing them and shopping around to find what particular strings your individual ax prefers. This guitar will then leap to life... believe me.

As already stated, with the proper strings on this little monster it will jump to life in your hands and begin talking to you as only a quality instrument can. It is quite suitable for a variety of styles of music and I play a wide range of different styles myself.
The Big Baby has that typical brighter tone than say a Martin which is usually a darker tone, but again... choosing the correct strings for what you want will enhance the particular sound you're looking for.

As stated earlier, fit to finish was excellent. The factory set up was poor and my particular instrument had a nasty fret buzz when the strings were aggressively attacked both finger style and especially with a pick. Releif was applied to the neck and the problem disappeared, but it is a problem that should have been dealt with at the factory,and in my opinion is made worse by the Elixer strings that come on the Taylors.
Elixers are ok but I have other preferences that I find work better for me, you or the guitar itself may find my personal choice for strings stink. Except for that minor problem the action is sweet and the instrument handles very well with excellent nut spacing and plenty of room on the neck to play.

All in all I think this little box is an excellent buy. It can compete with it's Taylor big brother and sisters costing two to three times more with ease and in my opinion since I've owned 4 other Taylors, plays as good or better than some of the more expensive models.
If your strating out, a smaller person looking for a smaller guitar with a full sound, an intermediate player looking for a quality budget minded instrument or a professional looking for an extra ax for kickin', pickin' or working and don't need a larger full size dread or a jumbo then I highly recommend this guitar, especially for the bargain price for which it can be had.
It is a dependable and rugged little guitar that I'd be quite comfortable gigging without a back-up. As they Taylor folks say it will soon become one of your favorites whether going to the studio or the couch. And this thing will only sound better as it is played and ages. Dude.

Limited lifetime warranty to the original owner. Taylor is easy to work with for tech support and warranty, and it includes their low end instruments like the Big Baby. They let you know without saying so that each customer and each instrument is unique and improtant to them. That makes one feel very comfortable with the company.
Taylor is eager to work with you no matter how minor the problem or silly the question and have both on-line and toll free access to their customer support people. They also go around the country a couple times a year putting on guitar clinics and invite Taylor owners to bring in their guitars to be tuned up, set up, fixed, tweaked and given a Taylor Factory Tech going over for free so that when you walk out of the store with your newly tuned up guitar it plays as good or better than it did the day you bought it. Taylor wants to keep it's customers and to make you feel like a part of a special family who appreciate fine musical instruments.

I've been playing guitar and other musical instruments for a little over 40 years now, so I've got a couple miles of experience under my belt and played more than my share of really awsome instruments as well as some real clunkers during that time.
Besides my little Taylor Big Baby I own 3 Martins, a Washburn travel guitar and a Brownsville "Fat Strat" along with some descent sound gear and a small horde or harmonicas and a Yamaha key board.
If this Taylor was stolen or damaged I'd be heart broken as with any of my other babies. I'd certainly try to replace it with another as soon as it was practical. I bought Taylor, and the Big Baby for a reason... the price just could not be beat (I got mine for 20% less than the regular cost)and because of the way it played and sounded. I like the voice of Taylor guitars as an alternative to my Martins for some things and you didn't need to kidnap a rich kid to get the money to afford this one.
Taylor has a real winner in the Big Baby and folks shouldn't regard it as a cheap gimic guitar. This is a serious instrument made for the regular guys to afford if they want a Taylor and the quality that goes with that name and sound.
Comparing it to like priced Martins this instrument is untouchable for a solid wood top guitar. Martin has the all HPL instruments that are just fine, but in the same size guitar they don't have quite the volume and projection that the Taylor does. Sorry guys and I love my Martins but Taylor whacked ya' on this one. And I'm one picky SOB. I'd even thought about settling for a Washburn, Epiphone or another Ovation but I'm tired of settling and went for the Taylor and glad I did.
I wish she came with a hard shell case but I can get a nice after market case for it any time for between $50 and $60. Buying a Taylor Big Baby will be money well spent for beginner or old hand alike. And people... humidify your instruments. You will be suprised at the difference a properly cared for instrument makes in sound, playability and durability. I don't know about you, but I didn't spend my hard earned dollars to ruin a beautiful wood instrument and be disappointed. Choose wisely, buy once and play long.

Simple guitar, solid sitka spruce top, laminated sides and back. Not much to mention here that hasn't already been said. It's a super affordable acoustic that I primarily use for writing and it takes a beating. I've owned it for about three years and it has some dents and dings.

Ok, here's why I'm writing this review. I've read several reviews bashing the sound quality or just misrepresenting it. Taylors by nature are very bright with little low end like you would find on a Martin. Here's the secret...REPLACE THE STRINGS. Taylors come with elixir strings which typically kill your low end although they last forever. I replaced the strings with Martin SP Phospher Bronze strings and the low end appeared...AMAZING. Also...solid top guitars tend to change the more you play them. A spruce top is going to accentuate the highs and make the guitar sound extremely bright at first but the more you play and break in the top the brightness will mellow.

Sound quality before string change 6, after 9.

Mine was set up really nice from the factory but over time I noticed it raise slightly (mainly in winter even when humidified). It typcially drops back down in the spring. I did file the bridge recently to get the action even lower. The action on this guitar is great and low like most Taylors, you won't find this on a Martin as much as I love some Martins.

No flaws, everything else was very nice.

It's a beater guitar that I wouldn't gig with. If I were looking for a performance guitar I'd pick up a Composite Acoustic. Everything has withstood my abuse to this point and it still looks quite nice, even with the dings/scratches.

Taylor is a great company to work with although I've never needed to have anything done with this guitar.

I've been playing almost 16 years and currently own an LTD EC300, LTD KH203, Peavey Generation Vintage tele copy, Peavey 6505+, Peavey 4x12 stereo cabinet, random pedals, etc.

What I love - the action, playability, and tone.
What I hate - not much, I do wish it was a cutaway.

I played some higher end Taylors and for the price this got very close to the higher end Taylor tone.

I wasn' t going to look at the other reviews but the gentlemen blow's low opinion caught my eye so I read it. I gathered he didn't fancy it (:>) As i do, my preface is I do early acoustic blues, from Patton and R.Johnson and do some electric R.L Burnside, early Muddy, Elmore james etc. My acoustic was a Regal slot head parlor made in the 30's that is giving out faster then I can keep up with it. My finding this guitar as right for me was easy.... the people I cover are varied. If your an early blues player you all know what R.J. played, Patton, ASkip James plus I do some Frank Hutchinson and Guiat Frank, Memphis Willie, all the guys with the cool names. My method is fingerpicking no pick except sometimes thumb, and slide with a wine bottle top buffed. The very last guitar I ever thought i would walk out with would be a big baby Taylor. This is a big shop so I keyed in on my 3 favorite tunings. I didn't want any electronics, just a simple small parlor like guitar. I went from top shelf to low shelf which by the way wasn't bad in some cases... I just wanted something loud enough to help cover up my bad vocals (solo performer) but loud enough so I wouldn't have feedback problems or at least not too many, after awhile I decided what the heck, and tuned BIG BABY for Robert Johnsons Crossroads, wow I'm thinking am I hearing right? then I held it on my knee facing towards me and beast I could I plucked somes strings and was very pleased. When you try to cover Blind lemon Jefferson or John Jackson etc, you'd need a roadie for the roadie. I'm all over the sound of this as a finger picker/slide because to me thats all I care about. But honestly, its a plain jane guitar. neat in its simple appearence but compared to the austentatious ones its homely like me. Got a gig bag and a set of Elixers with it. If you want the specifics skip the guy below and check out the others reviewers. For a small guitar the neck is comfortable, I need a fat neck but this is fine from stem to stern.

suitas my style of material perfectly, as I said the earlies recordings of blues up to about the 50's. The sound is with my style of pickin perfect, no pickes except a thumb somethimes. If your a picker then you your control is in your touch. If I used a handful of picks it may be a bit bright .. maybe that is, the seperation of strings along with the height is so right on for me, I never exsperienced this... and like most, I have had blah blah blah for guitars since 1962. I'm covering a wide variety of material but it does not fail me in any, maybe its because of the length of time I have been picken or maybe its the guitar.. but I just know the other guitars were more really good at 1 or 2 areas.. really good but that didn't help me. There is nothing I don't like about this no matter what the cost and i'm not kidding myself, for blues its perfect pickin and slidin... for something else, I have no idea, maybe flat picking it would fall short or maybe not... try it out. What i like about it is everything from the plain looks, the nut, saddle construction ease of playing and of course the sonics.

The action a A+

the set up was great, I asked for the demo, because i didn't want to take a chance of one from the box. Intonation is spot on, and can reach those "hard to reach area's) with the body at the 14th. To some the body top may look unfinished as far a shiny stuff . I use my little finger on my right hand as a pivot and it has a thin pick guard which keeps my long nail from drilling a hole, I don't like this expression but forgive me "it is what it is" a small low end taylor BUT a guitar which is well made and if you your a picker give it a try, slide is .. well, right now its tuned low, and no problem with a bottom out using a fairly heavy slide and the sound is down south without trying. Lets see, homely well made, great nut and saddle, no finish to speak of, sure looked homely next to those per-ritty ones that make you sound better han you are... hmmm, I give it a 10

This box is not made to bang around, if even a skinny person sat on it its good by big baby. I can depend on it because as a rule I don't let people sit on my guitars. No back up, just careful.

got my first guitar in the 50's. There's so many great players out there in the hills of the mid west etc... Its not the guitar, its the player.. the point is one of controversy but I don't care, almost any guiat can be coxed into sounding good for something or other, or maybe they would sound better smashed against a wall... this guitar is a pleasent surprise to me since I never even considered a Taylor least of which a lowely Big Baby.. fits blues acoustics of the "back in the day" maybe next I'll get a pair of farmers jeans and review them.

Pretty guitars.

I had the opportunity to try out several Taylor Guitar models. I have to say that I just did not like the "sterile" tone of these guitars. At this point, I prefer to stick with my Tom Anderson & Brian Moore guitars that have the Wilkinson bridge setup to produce a sparkling "acoustic" tone.

Sorry! No TAYLOR GUITARS will ever be part of my performance or rehearsal rigs.

The finish looked great, but like they say "The lights are on but no one is home".

I will stick with my other guitars.

Artist relations representative that came out to our gig over the weekend surprised us with free guitars to use and a free dinner for the whole crew. We were happy about that.

I've been playing for 30+ years, too much PRO gear to mention. I should have asked for a perfect guitar, in line with the quality of Tom Anderson and/or Brian Moore guitars.

If I was ever even given a Taylor Guitar, I'm sorry to say that it will end up on EBay.

Nice guitars though, and pretty to look at. I won't be buying or endorsing Taylor Guitars in any way.

For what it is, the featurs are more than basic. As with anything in this price range, there is always a trade off. In my mind it is not in the same category as a full wood guitar with a pickup. It is meant to be stripped down, but clean. What it may lack in features it makes up for in build quality.

It is a very, very bright guitar because of the thin laminate wood sides. But, it has a very balanced tone that isn't boxy and quiet. Each note rings out with decent sustain and tone, but lacks warmth. It doesn't bother me that it is bright, but the thin wood on the sides and back does make the guitar unbalanced with the neck falling down when standing and using a strap...pretty annoying. I give it a 9 because it is very similar to my 314ce just without the fullness. For my beater guitar at home it's perfect.

This is where the guitar shines in my opinion. I needed a guitar that I could take to the park, write songs with, and maybe neglect here and there, but, something that would not be an adjustment from 314ce. The neck and the frets are clean and smooth. Very clean and playable.

It is sturdy enough, but, if you need a primary guitar I would suggest that you don't buy it for that purpose. The finish is really thin and picks up smudges and scratches easily. I don't care about that because of how I use it but I wouldn't recommend it for anything but a learner or beater for home.

I am glad that they let you register a guitar with them now that you didn't purchase new. They don't transfer warranty, but at least they recognize you as the owner. Thanks Bob

I have been playing about 8 years now. I am a professional musician and I know a thing or two about guitars. For what I use this guitar for it is perfect. I love being able to grab a guitar that feels like my regular one, and sounds similar enough, but that I can just throw around. Serious Taylor owners who aren't filthy rich should have one of these lying around.

Natural/satin finish on the top which is not all that robust (mine has a couple of dings after a couple of months), lovely Taylor style bridge, ebony fingerboard, spruce top, sapele laminate body and sides (a little disappointing when you are paying UK prices). Nasty looking tuners, and plastic looking headstock. Basically the guitar looks like a toy, which makes it all the more satisfying when you play it in front of people. There are screws in the fingerboard for heaven's sake.

I started out 25 years ago on a steel string acoustic, a real beast that probably put me off for years. So after 11 years of playing exclusively classical, I'd decided to dabble with steel again without spending too much money. Tried a few and thought I'd plump for a Washburn D10 which had a nice balance to it, better than pricier Yamahas/Takamines etc. that I'd also tried. Picked up the Big Baby just to see how the ??130 Washburn compared to a ??330 guitar and there it was, the sound I'd been looking for. None of the boominess I hate, plenty of top end and no sacrifice in the middle. Really fast action compared to my classical guitar, comfortable for a short bloke like me, and honestly sounding better than the other Taylors and Martins at 3 times the price in the same shop. Spent a week trying other guitars around the city in an effort to spend less, but just had to go back and get it. It's a sweet sounding guitar, great for fingerpicking, but you can hammer the bass strings if you need to. The curved back surely makes a big difference to the balance of the sound.

Flawless from the factory, but the laminate back and sides do look like cheap 70's furniture. Sorry! For me, really best thing about this guitar physically is that the neck (not the fingerboard) has absorbed oil and sweat in only a few months and that makes it silky smooth to play, and it's a slim neck anyway so altogether it feels lightning fast.

I do tend to abuse things - they get damaged and I shrug. I doubt this guitar will fare any better than anything else I own, but the sides seem tough enough that it will always be playable. Fingerboard and frets feel like quality. It's an acoustic guitar - they all need looking after. Supplied case is funky but feels a little tight on the neck.

Good info about humidity etc. supplied with the guitar, although it does seem a bit alarmist. Not really a humiidity problem in the UK. Registered it, but never heard back from them. Their web site is a bit poncey and hard to navigate

Love: sound and sheer playability
Less keen on the laminate sides and back.
Been playing for 25 years. I imagine I would replace this guitar if I lost it as it's the best all round instrument I've owned (price, sound, playability). I've owned Fender Strats, Gibson Les Paul Custom, Fender 12 string acoustic. Currently own a Yamaha Classical, 2 Tokai Strats and the Taylor. While I'm always open minded, I suspect that the Big Baby would make me always inclined to look at Taylors over Martins and Gibsons should I ever inherit a fortune. In the meantime I'll continue to play this guitar every day.

The Big baby I owned was a 2003.

Features: Satin finish, 15/16th size dreadnought, solid sitka top, etc. Fast neck. Ebony fretboard. Gig bag included. Rosette burned into the wood. Plain looking, but in a pretty sort of way. Not a frilly guitar.

Bright sound, not much bass. Sounded nice for fingerpicking, but a little too bright when strummed for my taste.

I bought the guitar used, so I can't say how well it was set up from the factory. The top was bookmatched nicely. Smooth frets. I noticed no problems, but I'll give the guitar an 8 for this category, just because it seemed sort of fragile.

I'm sure this guitar would withstand live playing, but the guitar is not very loud. All the components seemed to be of quality. I don't gig, but if I did I'm sure I would bring a backup just in case...but I think I would do that with any guitar. I smacked it into the edge of my desk a few times (accidently!) and the guitar didn't break, so I suppose it's solid enough. Like I said above, though, the thing seems like it would be more fragile than some guitars, due to the fact that it has no binding and is very lightweight. I'll give it a 7.

Never dealt with Taylor.

I've been "playing" for several years, but have only been trying to actively improve/learn new things for a couple of years now. I'm self-taught, and not that great, but I *have* managed to own many acoustic guitars in this (relatively) short time period. At present, I own a Cort Earth 200 GC and a Martin 000X1. I would say that they Taylor Big Baby did not sound as good as my Martin, but it also cost less money.

Overall, I give the Big Baby an 8. The main thing I liked about it was its size (I'm small), but I also enjoyed its bright tone--although I'm sure not everyone would love it. It's a plain jane guitar, and should not be compared to a $3,000 model; however, for what it is, it's nice.

2005, Satin finish, no pickup, padded gigbag, 15/16 size dreadnought, 20 frets, body depth: 4 inches. Bolt-on neck.

Very pleasant, bright sound. I finger-pick for the most part. The sound is well suited to this. It is surprisingly loud for its size. I use a Dean Markley Pro-Mag Gold soundhole pickup with it when I need reinforcement. I never cared for the Dean Markley on any other steel string guitar I used it on, but it is sweet sounding with this guitar. A total surprise.

Looks a little home-made with the bolt-on neck, but this makes for nice clearance up at the 13th and 14th fret. The neck is easy and fast.
The wood on the top has an uneven appearance but is flawless. The construction does not come close to the higher-end Taylors but the sound and feel of the instrument are remarkably similar. Excess glue is evident inside.

Very light guitar. Does not seem durable, but it is marketed as a travel guitar, so the appearance may be deceiving. I treat it like a "Big Baby" but still it gets its share of dings. Nothing is showing. Handles knocks well. Padded gigbag does a very good job. Occasionally there is a "click" sound originating from where the neck joins the body, like uneven expansion when warming up. (Is this a bolt-on "feature"?)

The company seems more "present" than others. When the warranty was registered, they acknowledged. I haven't had to contact them for warranty issues but I suspect it would be a pleasant experience. Friends with Taylor guitars have had very good experiences.

I was interested in trying a Taylor 312CE Grand Concert, a smaller body guitar suited to fingerstyle playing. I had tried a friend's and it was gorgeous. No shops seemed to carry it. The Taylor 310CE, which they all had, was much too large for me. The Big Baby was suggested. To my surprise, it felt even better than the 312CE. The neck was fantastic, the body was smaller and thinner. Some richness of sound was sacrificed. For a third of the price of the 312CE and a smaller body, that was to be expected. But the sound was pretty close. I tried the Baby Taylor 3/4 size Mahogany. Remarkably, it had the same big bright sound. It felt almost like a ukulele, though. The Big Baby was the Goldilocks guitar.

The only thing I would wish for is that they had a BB model with electronics.

"Baby Taylor" guitars are 3/4 size, and this "Big Baby Taylor" is a step up to 15/16 size. It feels pretty darn close to a regular-sized guitar with the most noticeable difference being the thinner body thickness. This is compensated for, though, with a slightly rounded back that is almost devoid of any kind of bracing (there's a little along the lower bout). As Jason pointed out in the previous review, the wood on the sides and back are pretty robust and the lack of bracing on this model's curved back helps it resonate well. It has a decent solid-spruce top with an etched soundhole rosette, and unlike the "Babies" the Big Baby comes with the distinctively-shaped Taylor pickguard. And speaking of distinctive, it has the ebony bridge to match the ebony fretboard, which for me, is the best fretboard wood. Taylor could easily have gone with a less expensive wood, or a composite for these affordables but they went high-class, and for that I applaud them. This is a satin finish natural wood (not gloss) guitar and as mentioned previous, the sides and back do have an amazing luster to them. They are made of Sapele (tonally similar to mahogany), and the luster of the wood in certain light reminds me of a polished "Tigers Eye" rock. Really nice. The fretboard scale is, I believe, full-sized (any difference is not noticeable to me) and though you can call this a "travel guitar" you wouldn't know it by the way the neck feels. The headstock has a black hard plastic overlay which at first I didn't like the idea of, but it looks nice and makes sense for a "travel guitar." The Taylor logo is printed on the overlay - again looks good and is practical. Chrome tuners are simple in appearance and very good functionally (18:1 ratio and real solid). The neck is bolted on at the 16th fret with two countersunk screws, but don't let that scare you: First of all, it's a very solid fit and it also affords easy maintenance & adjustments. As Jason so correctly points out in his review, the incredible action on Taylor guitars is highly dependant on humidity care (mainly top wood). Unfortunately, "gig bags" like the one provided wont maintain humidity very well. Also, travel guitars are more often subjected to harsher changes in environment (I take mine on hunting & backpacking trips). So having this easier-to-adjust neck joint helps ensure easy maintenance and adjustments, if necessary. Secondly, the screw-on neck means that there is no dovetail-type heel, and the neck stays at the same thickness all the way up to where it joins the body. This is great for playing up at the 12th-15th fret area. The screws cannot be hit / scraped / felt with the strings, even if you wanted to. I'm very much sold on this neck joint. My ONLY gripe in the Features category would be that the Big Baby fits VERY tightly in its gig bag. It's a very nicely made gig bag with an embroidered Taylor logo on it, etc. But storing a guitar in a bag that puts a lot of constant pressure on the neck is, in my opinion, a little sketchy. Another good reason to forgo cases for home storage and maintain a humidified room for keeping your fine instruments. Jason mentioned 35% humidity, but in actuality you want it up at 45-50%. A really big plus with any Taylor guitar, including the Baby series, are nuts and saddles made of Tusq. This is pretty much accepted as the best material for these components, and if you aren't already familiar with why, you will be at some point. Quality construction and craftsmanship, only slightly below the finer Taylors, mostly due to the lack of ornate bindings, high-end finish, etc.

Here, I'll directly quote Jason from the previous review: "The sound is simply amazing for the size of the guitar and the price that I paid." Amen. As I mentioned, I like to take a guitar with me in the woods, and I'm not taking my Fender or Garrison acoustics out to those environments. For my first travel guitar I started out with a $150.00 Takamine (offshoot) Jasmine S-34C (a very decent ultra-affordable guitar that I reviewed on this site also). Then I found an Art & Lutherie ($220.00) which easily bettered the Jasmine. My hunting buddy talked me out of the A&L so I went looking again. When I tried the 3/4 Baby Taylors, I felt they lacked a little bass and projection. One strum on the Big Baby and I flopped down my cash and have never looked back. Understand, this is not as full and complex a sound as the higher-end Taylors such as the incredible 700 series, but it blows away any other affordable travel guitar out there, in my opinion. It definitely has that distinctive Taylor ring - with incredible balance between lows, mids and highs - and a ton of projection for a guitar of this size. Hell, a ton of projection compared to most guitars period. Intonation could not be better on mine. Spot on tuning for wonderful chord voicings all the way up the neck. Now I'll give this a "9" because I'm reviewing this very nice guitar in the context of all nice guitars and I would reserve a "10" for the top-end rosewood Taylors, Martins, Gibsons, etc. Amazing sound though. I use custom lights so I can have heavier E and A strings, with the standard light guages on the rest.

Initially, I did a tad bit of tweaking on the truss. 1/4 to 1/3 turn clockwise to tighten tension and lower the action a hair. I should point out that the guitar was fine from the dealer. I'm just a "tinkerer" and I like a lower action. By the way, the truss rod is accessed at the headstock by the nut - very uncommon for affordable guitars, and very nice. I decided to mess around slightly with the action for the first few stringings / months: At one point I put all ultra-lights on it and took the action down to a point that it was as low as my 79 Les Paul Custom - and that's a bold statement. This $400.00 acoustic had the feel of a guitar that currently goes for eight times as much! And the amazing thing is, it played flawlessly like this up and down with no fret buzz or dead notes. Frets are obviously perfectly aligned and they are very smooth. Everything lines up (FB, bridge, saddle, etc) when you sight the neck. Great, great playing guitar.

Here I must confess that although I posess an understanding of proper humidity care, I'm pretty lousy at practicing it. I don't have the humidified room, and so I keep humidifiers in my cases (and the guitars in the cases when not playing). But since I love this little Taylor so much, I keep it handy for practice, jamming, whatever, and it spends most of its time hanging on a hook in my living room. My living room is at the Central Oregon humidity level of 30% or less year-round. Not good. Still, in two years of living room and mountains, this guitar has not shown a hint of any humidity-related problems. In fact it shows signs of being particularly resistant to them. I would say this is due to the slightly smaller size body, the stout back and side Sapele wood, along with the substantial ebony fretboard wood. Also, top craftsmanship with tolerances between truss and neckwood, neck joint, etc (not sure what the neckwood is on these). Taylor obviously put some thought into not only making this attractive & playable, but durable as well.

Sent in my warranty card, but have not had cause yet to call on Taylor. But rather than go with a "no opinion" I'm giong to give them highest marks. I've seen their literature on guitar care, construction, considerations, etc, and it is top-notch. I've heard nothing but the best about their customer service, and lastly, the folks at the Taylor dealer where I purchased the guitar are outstanding in every way.

I've played for about 30 years and currently own Garrison 12-string and Fender acoustic-electrics. Also a Les Paul Custom. I've owned 60's Strats / Gibsons and 70's Guild acoustics, and played PRS, etc. I'm planning to purchase either a Taylor 700 or 800 series acoustic, or a Martin. I play mostly with friends (too old / busy for the band scene these days), and we play a lot of acoustic rock stuff: Eagles, Tom Petty, Radiohead, Grateful Dead, and of course The Floyd. This Big Baby Taylor is THE "travel guitar" for me, bar none. And in fact I would say I play the Taylor more than any of my other guitars. Why? Because I always leave it handy, it plays better than any acoustic I currently own, and it sounds as good as any of them. If it were lost or stolen I would absolutely replace it without hesitation. I highly recommend this guitar.