Bone Nut & Saddle and Gotoh tuners - 812e

[Kmkoenig]

I am considering a new Taylor 812e and would like feedback on whether I should order one with a bone nut & saddle as well as Gotoh tuners.  Will the bone make much of a difference?  If so, how would it compae to the standard Tusq/Micarta?

[Edward]

Hi Keith,

I love love love the Gotoh 510s, especially in antique gold.  I not only upgraded past Taylors with them, but my present ones all have them.  No, nothing wrong whatsoever with the stock machines; they work perfectly fine and have never had issue with them.  The 510s are simply superior in feel and precision and are "worth" the expense for me.

That said, the factory charges a hefty premium for machines you can simply (and I do mean simply) fit onto the guitar yourself.  So whether you pay the piper and check off that box, or DIY is entirely up to you.

The Bone nut/saddle is a good upgrade and worth doing, IMHO.  Again, nothing wrong with the stock tusq/micarta.  But bone on both nut and saddle is a good choice, not to mention Taylor's "wave" bone saddle is a lovely piece to look at (no joke, it's a beautifully-shaped piece and satisfies that mechanics nerd in me ).  Sonic difference, if any at all, is almost impossible to predict.  But "generally" (whoa, lots of grains of salt there!), bone is considered the superior tonal material.  I'd do it for the "potential" of deeper, clearer tone, but even if no sonic difference, I do like the look of it, especially on a higher-end guitars as if it somehow "rounds out" the entire package.   ...oh so subjective

Edward

[Kmkoenig]

Edward, thanks for the input.  With the Gotoh tuners, is it possible to retro those on a 514 without them showing where the Taylor tuners once sat?

[Guitarsan]

With the Gotoh tuners, is it possible to retro those on a 514 without them showing where the Taylor tuners once sat?

It depends. I think the older Taylor Ping (stock) tuners were a bit larger? And you could end up with lines showing like this:



I think more modern Taylors (don't have an exact year) have smaller stock tuners and if there's a line at the top afterwards it's mostly underneath the 510s when installed. Interestingly, I just put 510s on my 616ce and had no lines afterwards, but that is likely due to the ebony headstock veneer on the back and the hardness of the ebony. You could always buy a set and try them out to see what they're like, making sure they're returnable.

Even if I had the situation above, it wouldn't bother me, and I'm pretty picky. Just take... your.... time ..... aligning the tuners properly relative to the headstock. Once you drill those pilot holes for the 510 screws, you're stuck with the alignment of each. (Relative to each other and to the headstock.) I second the bone comments, go with those.

NOTE:  I just re-read your post, you're talking a new 812. I wouldn't worry about this at all.

[CodeBlueEMT]

 Hi Keith. I installed Gotoh 510's on my 314ce and my 524ce. Not a difficult mod, but you gotta drill some holes. Someone was nice enough to post a thread with installation instructions. Don't let Guitarsan's photo scare you to death. If you see lines like that, just unplug the drill.

 I don't spend much time thinking about nut and saddle materials. Thanks to this forum, I learned my 524ce has a Micarta saddle.