Official Luthiers Forum!

I have a Taylor on the bench that when set for good relief at the 7-8 fret it has MORE relief around the 2-3! (Like twice as much)

I'm guessing it has taken a significant hit in the back of the peghead as there is a small fracture right near the weak spot, but no other visible signs of damage.

Could it be the fracture is not visible but goes inside the neck causing this?

Also, i shredded the neck block label trying to get it off. Do they sell replacements?

Thanks, Pat

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Pat

Is the nut action just way too high. Maybe somebody who liked to play electric style on their acoustic had the neck shimmed so the action was ridiculously low.... And then jacked up the nut to even it out.... You just never know....

No, I cut the nut slots a few years ago.

And sorry, I forgot to mention that its only on the bass side. if you sight down the neck, the treble side looks totally normal and on the bass side you can see a dip right there around the 2/3 fret.

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Pat

I have worked on several Taylors that have uneven relief from treble to bass.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I've seen it too Chris, but for reference, I have worked on this guitar and it was normal before the apparent impact.

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Pat

Is it a bulge at that mark? I've seen a few t-rods split the neck there.

No, its flat. At first I thought that was the impact spot, but I realized there are no indentations there.

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Pat

hmmm.
Loose fingerboard end?
Taylor sends out sheets of neck labels. I'm not sure if you have to be a warranty center though. Maybe there is one near you. I'd be supersized if they wouldn't spot you one.

I set-up a Taylor with a neck like this this morning..... Some will, some won't, so what...... next.....

Regarding the label naphtha applied with an eyedropper under a lifted corner (you may need to get a nail under there to lift it). Let the naphtha soak it's way down the label as you gently pull it off. Then place it on waxed paper to keep it flat and not adulterate the remaining adhesive. They usually can go right back on with no additional adhesive. I use a violin post setting tool to position the label so I can see if it's crooked or not before reaching in and pressing it back fully in place. A dowel with masking tape can do the same thing.

One last thing. Clamp the neck in a leg vice or something suitable sideways. While flexing the headstock back and forth and twisting it too look for separations of the fret board. Sometimes these separate and can throw off the neck fret plane and the separation needs to be stressed to find it.

I just reglued a Les Paul Standard that this happened to an hour ago. We had to flex things to find the separation.

I'll have to post a video of my proprietary vacuum label placing system. (hint: just stick it on the end of what ever vac tubing you use!)

It answers the question," how many luthiers does it take to place a Taylor label"
Answer: one and a $1000 vac system.