Baby Taylor or ??
BluesSailor
Posted 2006-06-21 6:03 PM (#327147)
Subject: Baby Taylor or ??


Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 1132

Location: Parrish, FL
Does anyone have a Baby Taylor they would like to sell? I'd really like to score a '97 Collectors, but they are few and far between and a bit pricey for my purpose.

I'm looking for a good beginner guitar for my daughter as a birthday present coming up July 13th.

Thanks,

Brad
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bauerhillboy
Posted 2006-06-21 8:00 PM (#327148 - in reply to #327147)
Subject: Re: Baby Taylor or ??


Joined:
February 2004
Posts: 1634

Location: Warren,Pa.
Why not check out a "Little Martin" instead of a Baby Taylor?
I've had EVERYONE I know with Baby's ask me several times over the years to adjust the action. This is easy once you've done it...drywall screws, piece of a credit card, etc. But over and over again.
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Paul Templeman
Posted 2006-06-21 8:16 PM (#327149 - in reply to #327147)
Subject: Re: Baby Taylor or ??


Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750

Location: Scotland
When you say "baby Taylor" do you mean the cheap full size "Big Baby", or their original short scale travel version. Strikes me that a '97 collectors and a baby Taylor are like chalk and cheese. A standard scale length would be more appropriate for a 13 year old than a reduced scale guitar.
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ignimbyte
Posted 2006-06-21 8:35 PM (#327150 - in reply to #327147)
Subject: Re: Baby Taylor or ??


Joined:
July 2004
Posts: 812

Location: Hicksville, NY
as bauerhillboy previously mentioned, why not check out the Little Martin. There are many different variations of it in the here and now, but the base model is the LXM which I happen to own.

I initially purchased it for traveling purposes, and for my 12-year old to practice with at home. But lately, it's been my constant companion at work where it's been my main gigging instrument with the children in the classroom. For nearly two years, it's still serving me well, and I'm quite happy with it.

Good luck with your shopping.
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ignimbyte
Posted 2006-06-21 8:41 PM (#327151 - in reply to #327147)
Subject: Re: Baby Taylor or ??


Joined:
July 2004
Posts: 812

Location: Hicksville, NY
"I don't have a Voyager, but I do have an Ovation Celebrity CS-212, which is a 3/4 size. The later version of this guitar was known as the Trekker, without the electronics. It looks like a mini Elite, and it sound great plugged or unplugged. Let me know if your interested."

That's a direct quote from a fellow OFCer (Joe a.k.a jyam) who posted it a while back. How about giving him a buzz to find out if he's still selling it? Who knows? It just might be what you're looking for if it's still available...

Good luck.
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BrianT
Posted 2006-06-21 9:47 PM (#327152 - in reply to #327147)
Subject: Re: Baby Taylor or ??


Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 338

Location: SE Michigan
I agree with Paul. How old and more importantly how large is your daughter? If she is north of say four feet tall you should get her a full scale guitar, maybe a smaller bodied one like a parlor or a 00 model.

I have a Martin LXM that I bought for my kids but they are still fairly small yet (6 and 8 years). As appealing as the idea of a compact guitar seems, they ALL fall short in many areas, most noteably sound, bass response, and because of the shorter scale tuning is more difficult and critical.

I tried all the little guitars and quite honestly the LXM beat them hands down (IMO), even the all-wood baby Taylors. Plus the Baby Taylors appeared to be very fragile, not a good quality for kids. The all-laminate LXM could be used to drive nails and split fire wood.
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Tupperware
Posted 2006-06-21 10:32 PM (#327153 - in reply to #327147)
Subject: Re: Baby Taylor or ??


Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 4903

Location: Phoenix AZ
The BIG BABY is 15/16 size. My 23 year old son plays one and honestly when I play it I can't tell at all that is a tad short or normal. Fantastic sound and playability. The best $350. he ever spent. If I was paying under $500 for a new guitar the Big Baby would be my #1 choice hands down. Dave
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TexasDoc
Posted 2006-06-22 12:56 AM (#327154 - in reply to #327147)
Subject: Re: Baby Taylor or ??


Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 1116

Location: Keller, TX
Originally posted by Tupperware:
The BIG BABY is 15/16 size. My 23 year old son plays one and honestly when I play it I can't tell at all that is a tad short or normal.
Yeah, but aren't you used to playing UKE's, Dave?
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BluesSailor
Posted 2006-06-22 7:54 AM (#327155 - in reply to #327147)
Subject: Re: Baby Taylor or ??


Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 1132

Location: Parrish, FL
A little bit more info. My daughter will be 15 next month. She is about 5'2".

The thought of a 'smaller' guitar came to mind because she is having problems with the deep bowl of the U681T and the 1681. I've played the BB at the GC and was impressed with the it overall except with the $400 price tag. For that,there are other options.

So let's broaden the search a bit more. I'm not real interested in a SS bowl because she won't play plugged in much and I know she will compare the sound of her guitar to my deep bowls and be disappointed. A mid-bowl O would fit the bill nicely.

I've got a couple of weeks to look around. Keep the suggestions coming. If any of you have something you are willing to part with that would fit the bill, drop me a line.
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Tupperware
Posted 2006-06-22 9:23 AM (#327156 - in reply to #327147)
Subject: Re: Baby Taylor or ??


Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 4903

Location: Phoenix AZ
Originally posted by ttenn:
Originally posted by Tupperware:
The BIG BABY is 15/16 size. My 23 year old son plays one and honestly when I play it I can't tell at all that is a tad short or normal.
Yeah, but aren't you used to playing UKE's, Dave?
I don't think this clouds my opinion. I go back and forth from my ukuleles to full size guitars everyday and obviously there is a huge difference between the two. The Big Baby is about 1-1/2 smaller than a regular guitar and to me it still feels like a regular sized guitar. But size aside, I still feel very strongly that the sound quality and playbilty is aout as good as you can get in that price range. I think they are $399. w/ deluxe gig bag. I'm not trying to pimp Taylor or bash Celebrity. Just trying to point out what I consider to be a good value for the money. Dave
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Mark in Boise
Posted 2006-06-22 10:52 AM (#327157 - in reply to #327147)
Subject: Re: Baby Taylor or ??


Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12755

Location: Boise, Idaho
Although I reluctantly agree with Dave about the Big Baby, my daughter and I are still thrilled with her NMQ Celebrity Deluxe CS247. It has a great sound with the Adamas 1818s, has a good preamp and tuner, and is fantastic looking. There have been several on ebay recently, but none for the price I paid, $290 for a one year old with case.
My daughter is about 5'6" and fits all the Ovations fine, but doesn't like the way the box guitars cut into her chest. (She's got an Ovation bias.) I haven't seen too many teenage girls that weren't into appearances. Saw one at GC awhile ago who had a Big Baby Taylor and was working on her dad to buy her a CS 257 because she liked the way it looked and felt. I felt sorry for her dad, especially since I thought the Taylor sounded better than the 257, but his daughter didn't care.
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Tupperware
Posted 2006-06-22 11:08 AM (#327158 - in reply to #327147)
Subject: Re: Baby Taylor or ??


Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 4903

Location: Phoenix AZ
Note - my comments were about ACOUSTIC performance. In the A/E world there is nothing that competes with the Celeb for the money.

Dave
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Mark in Boise
Posted 2006-06-22 12:54 PM (#327159 - in reply to #327147)
Subject: Re: Baby Taylor or ??


Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12755

Location: Boise, Idaho
Another drawback to the Taylor is you can't use Dave's string tubes. It's important for your daughter to learn about STDs.
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BluesSailor
Posted 2006-06-22 1:25 PM (#327160 - in reply to #327147)
Subject: Re: Baby Taylor or ??


Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 1132

Location: Parrish, FL
So true!
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Mitchrx
Posted 2006-06-22 3:16 PM (#327161 - in reply to #327147)
Subject: Re: Baby Taylor or ??


Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 1071

Location: Carle Place, NY
There was a time when the Taylor Baby and Big Baby models were the best values, but that is no longer true. The best values in acoustic guitars today are found in guitars that are made in China and Korea. If you want a smaller bodied guitar, but still seek a full sound, the OOO sized guitars can't be beat. The best of the bunch is the Blueridge BR-43 . The only downside is that as word spreads about how good these guitars really are, the market demand results in the prices going up.
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