Unofficial Taylor Guitar Forum - UTGF
Lessons, Recordings, How Tos, Repair, Accessories => Lessons, Recordings, How Tos, Repair, Accessories => Topic started by: phavriluk on February 27, 2016, 11:20:38 AM
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Just noticed this morning: A corner of the headstock veneer, upper right corner, a triangular section of veneer about the size of a postage stamp has delaminated from the headstock. I suspect a corner snagged on the guitar's last entrance to the OEM padded bag.
My questions:
warrantee item?
recommended technique for non-warrantee repair? (meaning I'd do it myself or farm it out to my local friendly luthier)
Thanks very much.
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If you're the original owner I'm pretty sure it would be covered under warranty.
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Original owner - almost certainly covered. Second owner - they still might fix it anyway. Taylor does not want issues like this floating out there..... Talk to your local Taylor tech.
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Thanks for the opinions, folks. I'll check in with an authorized repair person. Yes, I'm the original, and registered, owner. Much happier turning the problem over to Taylor.
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Thanks for the opinions, folks. I'll check in with an authorized repair person. Yes, I'm the original, and registered, owner. Much happier turning the problem over to Taylor.
You can't beat Taylor customer service. And they take care of Mini's just like full-size Taylors. They did some work on my new Mini and it was returned perfect! They are great to work with.
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Thanks for the opinions, folks. I'll check in with an authorized repair person. Yes, I'm the original, and registered, owner. Much happier turning the problem over to Taylor.
Let us know how you get on. It's always nice to read a 'happy ending'...
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A complete reply is some time into the future. This morning I took the guitar to my nearest (hour and a half and sixty miles away) authorized Taylor certified service center, who said they weren't able to repair the headstock and the guitar needed to be sent back to the mother ship in California. And it's on its way back to the factory. I'll wait a week and give Taylor customer service a call.
To be continued....
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They should give you a call when they get it to give you the diagnosis and timeframe.
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So much for 'unbeatable' customer service...the 'approved' repair facility got approval from Taylor to ship the guitar back to San Diego and the guitar was shipped on March 17. A day short of two weeks elapsed before the guitar left the authorized repair folks after I placed it in their care. I called around today, and the guitar is scheduled to be delivered to Taylor on the 23rd...only 19 days after I turned it over to the authorized repair folks. I have no idea whether this is an appropriate time scale, but it's the one I've been obliged to see work out. If anybody from Taylor proper can speak to the elapsed time between my putting the guitar into factory-authorized hands and when the guitar was actually shipped to them, I'd be very interested in the reply. I'm getting very curious about what happens next.
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I have to wonder about your "authorized" rep. Maybe this wasn't a priority for him since he wasn't making anything on it? Make sure to let the Taylor folks know about the delay and how you feel. It shouldn't take that long to get shipped, IMHO.
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Ugly story so far...
Of my 4 Taylors, I bought the first 3 second hand. I figured that with their reputation, repairs just wouldn't be an issue. However, after thinking about it, I bought the 914 new from an authorized dealer, spending a little over $1K more on it than a used one on sale (same model year) because I thought for the spend it might be best to have the lifetime warranty with it.
I really hope to hear that you get a call and an apology from their Customer Service department over this. Reputations are built over a lifetime, & ruined over an incident...
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This sounds odd on Taylor's part. I think the dealer did you wrong and just didn't ship the guitar in a timely manner. I bought a GS-Mini online from Sweetwater. The action was a little high but I lived with it for about 2 months before taking it in for a setup.The tech looked at it and said the neck was twisted in relation to the body. Taylor offered a complete guitar replacement within a few days. The tech assured me he could fix it also, under warranty. Few days later I had my guitar back, better than new. Seemed like Taylor and the dealer did everything possible to satisfy a customer, even though I bought online.
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I have to wonder about your "authorized" rep. Maybe this wasn't a priority for him since he wasn't making anything on it? Make sure to let the Taylor folks know about the delay and how you feel. It shouldn't take that long to get shipped, IMHO.
I agree. It sounds like the "authorized" rep is where the ball was dropped, not with Taylor.
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No idea right now as to whether there was only one point of delay. Authorized repair folks said they were obliged to first ask Taylor for authorization to return the guitar to the factory, and did so when it was received. Was the request made promptly, and answered promptly, and the guitar shipped promptly? Dunno. Sounds like a process ripe for delay, what with first having to ask for permission to ship. I have no idea as to what is involved in securing the authorization to ship, or how it's requested and issued.
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No idea right now as to whether there was only one point of delay. Authorized repair folks said they were obliged to first ask Taylor for authorization to return the guitar to the factory, and did so when it was received. Was the request made promptly, and answered promptly, and the guitar shipped promptly? Dunno. Sounds like a process ripe for delay, what with first having to ask for permission to ship. I have no idea as to what is involved in securing the authorization to ship, or how it's requested and issued.
My dealer acted immediately, as did Taylor.......the dealer had to contact Taylor for their authorization to ship the guitar back to Taylor (I had the guitar and would be the one sending it back to Taylor). The time from my contacting the dealer (with pictures) and Taylor emailing me the label to ship the guitar to Taylor, was only a few business days. From the point Taylor received the guitar to when I got a call from them telling me the timeframe for repair, was only a couple days. So, in my case, Taylor (and the dealer) acted swiftly.
Once Taylor gets your guitar, they will let you know the timeframe.....they have to fit it into their repair queue. So, be patient, they really do value "service" in "customer service". ;)
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Next time, if all else fails-- try this:
(https://www.discountrocketry.com/images/images_big/el_700.jpg)
and
(http://pop.h-cdn.co/assets/cm/15/05/54ca7719d530b_-_clamp-5-470-1008.jpg)
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Next time, if all else fails-- try this:
Somebody once stepped on a Takamine dread I had and broke the head stock completely off. I got some Gorilla Glue and some clamps, mashed it back on the neck, and a day later it seemed stronger than before. Played it for quite some time before parting with it...
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Just got off the phone with Taylor. Veneer will be repaired under warrantee, no problem. They also inspected the rest of the guitar and will reset the neck to adjust the action, said it was out of tolerance. I'm satisfied that sending the guitar back to El Cajon under warrantee was appropriate. I didn't know whether the veneer was attached correctly when the neck was built up, else I'd have reglued it myself. And there's value in the comprehensive inspection for any other maintenance that might be appropriate.
Kudos to Taylor for their intelligent design, where a 'neck reset' is a quick and straightforward service item, not a cause for tears and wailing.
I'll also get a copy of the email with the tracking number when the guitar is sent back to the folks who sent it to the factory for me, so I can retrieve it without delay. Taylor's repair shop has a four-week-long queue of work, which doesn't sound unusual considering how many guitars they make and that there's just one place to send warrantee work.
I very much enjoyed the care and attention I got from Taylor when I called. So far, so good.
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That's great news! I knew they'd take good care of you, once they got the guitar. Another great example of Taylor Customer Service. Thanks for the update.
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Great to hear (and a bit of a relief as well!).
Back better than before it left!
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The same thing happened to my first Mini. I took it to a local luthier , an authorized Taylor repair person, who contacted Taylor and was told they would ship a complete new neck for it. Shipping resulted in some delay. Photos were sent to make sure the finish was the same and the luthier did a good set up at the same time so I was happy with the end result.
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Long and uncontrollable delay in my posting the conclusion to the story. Taylor did me right. In spades. I called them, found out when my guitar would be in their hands, called back, spoke to a service rep who had the guitar in hand. Taylor replaced the neck and strings and sent the guitar back to the dealer who sent it to them. Long story, I got to open the shipping container two days ago, and the guitar looks gorgeous and pristine. Taylor went above-and-beyond for me. I originally thought that the delamination would be glued and the guitar returned, but somewhere in the process Taylor's folks judged that the right thing to do was to replace the neck, and while they were at it, restring the instrument.
I'm very, very pleased.
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Sounds like the Taylor Service I've experienced. A+++++
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A company that has a great service department is a sign of a great company.