Is it common for Big Baby Taylor's bridge to lift up?

[Gideon]

I bought a big baby Taylor in Dec09 and only noticed it early this year that the bridge lift up at the end about 2mm. I brought it back to Sinamex last month to repair it and was charged $85 for a $700+ guitar ! They keep insisting that its already 2 months over the 1 year warranty and didn't offer much of explanation why it happened. I owned a few other guitars but this is the first time it happens to me. I keep it always away from the window so no direct sun. Could it be that Taylor is made in US and our humidity here could be a problem?

 

[valentinik_15]

You are right. The bulging of the bridge area is due to humidity. ie Singapore being to humid. Generally SG is has a relative humidity of around 80-90%. To prevent all these humidity problems you need to get the RH down to around 50%.
You can either;
a) live with the humidity and hope it doesn't happen again or get worse,
b) get a dehumidifier,
c) move out of Singapore,
d) go back to Sinamex and whack the sales staff over the head with you Taylor cos the frequently boast that their guitars are acclimatised and doesn't suffer the affects of high humidity.

Go figure.

 

[lemonade93]

or..... just get silica gel packets and put it INSIDE your guitar?

 

[Gideon]

Hi valentinik_15,
Thanks for your suggestions. I wish that I can whack that Sinamex sales staff coz he was quite arrogant and pushy to make me pay for the repair and didn't bother to at least give me a proper explanation except to say "yah... humidity". Anyway too troublesome to get a dehumidifier so I just hope it does not happen again and no more Taylor for me in future.

 

[Benster]

very common problem on big baby and baby taylor.

on my baby taylor the whole bridge came off and needed to be reglued.

apparently the humidity here causes the top to swell and arch by itself, and that causes the bridge to separate from the top.

seems like the glue Taylor uses for the bridge isn't very suitable for our climate. usually after re-gluing with a better glue, the problem does not return.

i have Gibsons, Larrivees, Takamines, stored in the same way as my baby taylor, all never had this problem.

 

[relinquish69]

the cause is humidity + string tension. the repair guy is right.

whether it's a $700 guitar or a $7000 guitar, guitar repair charges are the same. I think $85 is a fair price to solve such a problem. If you tried to sell that guitar with a bulge, who is going to buy it? that is the problem with acoustic guitars in general. wood changes with temperature. kinda scary, that's why I don't have many acoustics at home.

bulging around the bridge area is a very common thing. if you are not going to use your guitar for an extensive period of time, loosen the strings. if you are referring to the bridge coming off the body, you'd have to get the tech to remove the entire bridge and reglue it just like Benster said.

 

[champion]

Gideon,

1. $85.00 they charge you for regluing the bridge is very cheap. I take it that they did not remove the bridge but just slip some glue in the lifted area and clamped it down. If they heated the bridge, removed the old glue, clean the contact surface and reglue it ..then the repair would be more stable. But its better to dry the guitar up with a dehumidifier first before doing the reglue- as you will be dealing with the real cause of the problem(Humidity) rather than the symptoms.

2. The causes of bridge lift is due to- HUMIDITY HUMIDITY AND HUMIDITY...once the guitar absorb moisture over a period ..the top wood will swell and the bridge area will swell...your action will go up and the tension stress on the neck will be much more...this pulling effect plus the swell curvature will stress and first allow the wings (pointed corner to lift) then if nothing is done..the whole bridge will start to lift more.

I've done numerous reglue of Baby Taylor(many of their bridges will lift over time reason no tonebars below the x-brace its a design problem) and other taylors..
here is my detail repair..after drying it and having the swell removed..then ..

Removal of the old glue with my scraper, also using a special solution to remove whatever oil or debris on the contact surface ..this prep work increases the sucess rate of the reglue process..

glue is spread out nicely and evenly..

clamped and reglued and then the action on the saddle needs to be lowered and neck adjusted for the new setup..

Honestly...Steven from Sinamex is a great chap and he is knowledgeable. That price $85.00 he charge you is very reasonable.

Cheers
Jarvis
guitarsaddle@hotmail.com

 

[ShredAddict]

My Baby Taylor has the same problem with the bridge. IMO, baby taylor is just a problematic guitar.

I had my Baby Taylor's bridge repaired with hide glue instead of the normal white wood glue and it is more stable than it ever was. Many thanks to Guitar Connection.

However, I have an even bigger problem.

It has been lying at the corner of my room ever since. The repairs are going to cost way more than $85 for this one.

 

[valentinik_15]

very common problem on big baby and baby taylor.

on my baby taylor the whole bridge came off and needed to be reglued.

I seriously can't believe this is happening to a Taylor. Not that i'm a taylor fan cos i'm not. But from a reputable brand i expect it to last longer than a freakin China made guitar which cost 50 bucks. Taylor, its time you wake up!

 

[relinquish69]

I seriously can't believe this is happening to a Taylor. Not that i'm a taylor fan cos i'm not. But from a reputable brand i expect it to last longer than a freakin China made guitar which cost 50 bucks. Taylor, its time you wake up!

acoustic guitars in general all have problems with humidity. anything can happen regardless of brand.

 

[valentinik_15]

They don't make guitars like they used to