Almost embarrassed to ask ...

[michaelw]

Ahhhh, excellent point James ...that may just be the deciding factor.  That or the "talking me off the ledge" angle ...lol!!! 

...or maybe "hey you with the maple!!  Just put the guitar down and no one gets hurt..." 

Edward

'ledge' ... hmm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P3MegpkaMI

maple (huh, what)
who ...  moi
i resemble that last remark ... uh, a few times, actually

[Edward]

Ahhh yes, great tune and 3rd eye rocks!  And this Boyce guy ...very cool, I dig.  Thanks for that!
(but it didn't work, I'm still standing on it )
Edward

[michaelw]

hi Edward,
if you decide to have the repair department take a look-see, they'll take care of you

here's a few pics of a 97 414kce i had - the previous owner had it signed,
there was pickrash to the point where the rosette was raised & had they
played any longer, the soundhole would have no longer been round

pinless bridge - the dark area on the top was wore through the satin finish

buckle rash on the back - below the cutaway & on the lower bass bout (around 5 'o clock)

Taylor refinished the body (top in gloss), replaced the bridge, refinished the neck, did a refret & neck reset

some pretty nice koa, especially for a 400, imho, & there are sapwood accents on the sides as well

it was like it 'never happened' & there was no audible difference in tone after the refinishing
btw, here's a link to a video of artist that signed the guitar (she's playing a 414ce)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRcIdqP8o-k

[Edward]

Hey Michael,

Funny you ask ...I ended up deciding to call just yesterday.  I explained what I see and feel on the guitar, and also that it is from the F&F sale, and the service rep told me they'd have to see it to decide.  At least I didn't get a definite "no" but he did say that they have some latitude here, but really need to see it to make the determination.  So I'll have to figure out when I can get down there: the biggest consideration for me being what fri or mon I can make it down there during business hours, and I guess I'll just leave it up to them to ship it back to me.  If I end up getting to that point, I'll let y'all know the results. 

Nice pics you include here.  Taylor's repair dept certainly does wonders!

Edward