Does your Baby Taylor have a curved top?

[dscottyg]

I just got a used Baby Taylor Mahogany electric acoustic. I saw a video of a guy setting one up, and he said it was arched on top because of humidity. I put a straight edge across the top of mine down by the bridge and found the same thing, but the bridge doesn’t look like it’s pulling away from the body. It’s totally flush. Does yours have a slight arch or curve on the sound board? Not as noticeable as the arch on the back, but just a little?

[Earl]

Flat top acoustic guitar tops are not actually flat.  They have a slight arch or dome for strength.  I recall numbers like a 40-50 foot radius, so the arch is subtle.  The straight edge trick across the top below the bridge is fine if the gaps at the edges are ~1/8” or so, maybe a bit more.  The video is correct in that humidity will make the top swell and raise the bridge a bit, exacerbating the arch and raising the action.  (Dryness causes the bridge to sink).

Don’t panic if you can slip the edge of a piece of paper under the bridge corners.  Taylor does not run glue out to the sharp bridge edges (saves cleaning up glue squeeze-out during the build).  If you can slide the corner of paper 1/4” inward that starts to be concerning.

[dscottyg]

You are exactly right. The straight edge is about 1/4 inch off the edge of the soundboard, and I can just slip a piece of paper under the bridge, but there is no noticeable gap between the bridge and the soundboard to make one think that the soundboard and the bridge are pulling away from each other. Thanks for the info.