Taylor Big Baby--Make Sure You Know Its Limitations
Written: Dec 25 '01 (Updated Sep 01 '06)
Product Rating:
Pros: Price, quality construction, good entry level instrument
Cons: A little light, almost nonexistent bass tones, very little sustain
The Bottom Line: You've got to be a certain type of person to find this guitar useful--it's suitable as a casual instrument or as a beginner's instrument. Be aware of its' limitations.
sparkospunky's Full Review: Taylor Big Baby Acoustic Guitar
The Taylor Big Baby has always been sort of an enigma to me. It's built on a 15/16 scale, which means that it's only slightly smaller than a full scale acoustic guitar, and because of its' size, it has none of the travel and storage advantages of its' little brother, the Taylor Baby. Anytime an acoustic guitar is built with a smaller sound chamber, it necessarily gives up something in the sound department, so before I give you my assessment of the Taylor Big Baby, let me tell you a little about how it is constructed.
Even though this guitar can be purchased for around $300, believe me when I say that it's made of quality materials. The top of the Taylor Big Baby is solid sitka spruce, while the sides and back are make of laminated sapele. The neck is made of American mahogany, and as my friend Horswispr pointed out in his excellent review of this guitar, the fretboard is (how did they do it?) ebony, with pearloid dot inlays. The bridge is also ebony, while the nut and saddle are made of tusq. This guitar has a laser-etched soundhole rosette, and comes equipped with enclosed die-cast tuners. There's not one inch of binding on this instrument, and its' looks are topped of with a matte satin finish. All of these features combine to give the Taylor Big Baby a practical, no-nonsense, spartan appearance.
Playing the Taylor Big Baby is a pleasurable experience. It plays just like any of the excellent guitars in the Taylor line--the thin-profile Taylor neck is easy to roam around on, and the factory set up on the instruments that I played was for the most part satisfactory. If you do get one of these guitars that has a little buzzing, the neck is easily adjusted with the truss rod. I also noticed the two screws on the fretboard at the 16th fret that Horswispr alluded to, but I found them neither distracting nor affecting my playing of the guitar.
Because this is a smaller scale guitar, it is a little on the light side, lacking some of the heft and presence of its' full size counterparts. Even though I was expecting it to be light, I really don't care for this feature--I like to feel the heft of the instrument I'm playing, but like I say, the light weight is really necessary because of the way this guitar is designed.
Size also sacrifices sound, and the Taylor Big Baby loses something in the sound department. Chords ring out brightly and brilliantly, but there is little low end in the overall sound. The warmth of the bass strings really doesn't show up when you chord this guitar. By the same token, it has almost no sustain, because of its' size and the smaller sound chamber. Fingerpicking sounds good with the treble strings, but the complimentary warmth of the bass strings is almost non-existent. Still, for what it is, the sound is acceptable.
You might be asking yourself "who would want this guitar, and for what purpose?" That's a legitimate question, given the fact that it's neither a utile travel guitar nor a guitar with a versatile sound fit for live performances. Also, why buy a guitar built on a 15/16 scale, when you can spend a few more bucks and get the full-size real deal?
I think this would be a good guitar for the person who wants to have something handy to put his hands on when his other instruments aren't available. All of my guitars stay at my home, but I can envision having a Taylor Big Baby at my river house or at my office. It's so cheap that I would have no qualms about leaving it sitting up in a corner at my river house, where it would await my weekend visits patiently, to be picked up when I started "jonesing" to have a guitar in my hands. I can also see where this might be a good entry level instrument for the older beginner. (Small children could start with the Taylor Baby, considering those small hands, while an adolescent could play the Taylor Big Baby easily.)
This guitar has a cheap price, but it's not a cheap guitar--it's built from quality materials by a company with an excellent reputation in the guitar manufacturing business. It's not for everyone, but I think it is very satisfactory for the uses I 've mentioned.
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