Almost embarrassed to ask ...

[Edward]

...so I thought I'd ask you all for your collective opinion before I go and bother asking the factory on this:

My lovely new RTaylor Style 2, the one I've been squaking about how much I love both aesthetically and tonally, well, there is a small "issue" with the finish.  Where the strap button is, the little strip of wood that is sandwiched where the sides meet at that strap button, (in my case it's cocobolo that, along with the matching coco binding, contrasts against the blond maple b/s), well on that itty bitty strip of coco you can literally feel the seam.  It is as if the finish were maybe applied too thin there, or maybe it absorbed into that 4" strip of coco differently than in the surrounding maple(?), who knows, but you can feel the seam in the finish.  All the other areas of the guitar where differing woods meet are absolutely flawless and smooth as glass except in this one small spot.  I thought about posting a pic to show you all, but it won't photograph.  It's tactile.  And invisible unless you hold it to light and look "through" the reflection.

Freaking nitpicky is how I feel here.  One part of me says ask the RT guys ...but what the heck would they really do, re-shoot it?  The other part of me says, "yer being dumb, just shut up and play."  I'd feel almost ridiculous asking them, so I'm bouncing it off of you here,  embarrassing myself in front of you all, instead

So there it is: what would you do if this were your guitar?  Your candid thoughts welcome.

Edward

[temporaryalias]

I personally think given how much you spent that you should ask them what they could do. That doesn't hurt at all. Honestly it would bother the heck out of me. I would definitely ask.

[roadbiker]

For that kind of money I wouldn't hesitate making the call. The down-side is that if they offer to fix it (and they should), then you have to be prepared to be without it for a while between shipping and repair.

Let us know what they say.

(I'm picky too!)

Jim

[michaelw]

Hi Edward,
i believe that the repair dept could take care of it & it will look 'like it never happened' -
i will look for some pics to upload that represent the kind of the 'magic' they can perform there

if it were me, i wouldn't be concerned about it -
you may want to wait until you need to have something else done to the guitar, or if it's perfect other than that,
i'd try to see if they can possibly schedule it to where you can drop it off, take the tour, hang out for a while &
pick it back up that day (i'm not sure if it can be done in such a short time-frame, but i believe it never hurts to ask ...)

[darylcrisp]

edward

every high dollar martin we've owned has that exact thing going on. not sure if its due to the different materials swelling at different rates or simply just not a level fit. i will say i've never felt that on any taylor i've owned. i will go check the goodall right this minute............

okay: goodall is silky smooth back there-it has a maple wedge with maple binding
         taylor baritone you feel both seam lines of that strip
         taylor 516 silky smooth
         martin omjm, you feel both seams with quite a bit of bump
         beneteau 000 i had you felt the seam lines, and on the back of it you could feel wobbles in the flamed bubinga(marc uses very thin finish and it being a 2003 it showed signs of sinking in-the back was amazing flamed bubinga and you could feel waves. none of that bothered me(you can see that exact guitar on the beneteau website under the 000 model-its a 12fret with cut)

i've also felt many a rosette lines in thin finishes-on many brands.
i wouldn't consider it a defect at all-its just a part of the organic diversity going on in a guitar.

d

[Cindy]

You won't ever be fully satisfied unless you have someone take a look who really knows these guitars. Like Michael said, I imagine they will be able to fix it so you'd never know there had been an issue. It won't hurt to ask Taylor though, Edward.

[jalbert]

This is the one you got at the Family & Friends Sale?

[cotten]

I doubt that it would bother me in the least, certainly not enough for me to pay for two-way shipping and insurance, putting the guitar at risk during shipping, and having to do without it for at least a couple of weeks, probably longer.

Don't get me wrong. I like fine workmanship and attention to detail. It just sounds to me like the "problem" here is not an issue I would be concerned about. 

cotten

[not darth]

On one hand I think it would bug me, too.
But on the other, I figure if I did send it off to get 'fixed' that at some point soon after getting the perfect specimen back in my hands something would happen and I'd end up dinging it or scratching it, even a bit.  And THAT, would drive me way more nuts then trying to ignore the perceived problem.
Just my $.02, of course.
-K

[Edward]

Thanks for the thoughts, all!  I very much appreciate the candid comments.  Frankly, I was bracing for a "what the heck you thinkin, foo" sentiment ...lol!  Thanks for being kind.

Yes, James, the one I just got at F&F.

Truthfully, I am not persnickity about guitars getting dinged, marred, or otherwise visibly worn: all my electrics and previous acoustics have and continue to be played out with gusto.  All cared for properly, mind you, but never babied.  Heck, I don't even ever clean em ...ever!  But something silly happened to my brain (and affected what was once quasi-normal behavior) with the arrival of my first RT, and now this second one: I find myself looking at these RTs more, even (gasp) wiping them down with a microfibre after I play.  Seriously.  So it is true that I actually could live without getting it addressed, yet something in me "sort of" wants to.  But as "not darth" so aptly and accurately points out, there exists the very real and natural propensity of my dinging it anywhoo.  And I guarantee you I will not get any self-inflicted dent or aesthetic hit in any of my guits repaired ...haven't ever, and don't ever plan on starting as that's where I draw the line.

So I haven't yet dinged the RT12er...not looking to, either, but that inevitability hasn't occurred; yet.  I am, however, putting fine pick scratches in the non-pickguarded top.  And I'm fine with that.  But this Style-2 is still new, so hence my hemming/hawing.

BTW, if I end up doing this, no shipping it for me: I'll hand deliver this baby and maybe make a weekend of it with the family.  But I'll likely have the factory ship it home to me ...though I wonder if they could do it in a day or two (good suggestion on that Michael, thanks!).  Maybe I will give em a call next week and see what they say ...hope they don't laugh at me

Thanks for talking me through (or letting me blather through) my neurotic vacillation here, folks.  I can't help but chuckle at myself as such attention placed on such a fine point really does seem like much ado about nothing.  But you are all such a comfortable bunch to hang with that it's like just asking you all for advice over a glass of cabernet.  And who knows, maybe the factory will simply do me the favor and say "live with it, man!" ...in which I could just rest easy.  Oh well, thanks for letting me occupy the bandwidth, folks.  Play on!!! 

Edward

[BigSkyTaylorPlayer]

I imagine the Taylor guys will help you get comfortable with it.  Maybe that means fixing it or maybe they'll talk you down from the ledge.  Either way you will come away satisfied with the outcome and with so much more affection for Taylor you will immediately buy the new Builders Reserve Koa set to make everyone feel better.....just kidding.

Seriously, call them and see what they say, I am confident they will work to get you satisfied.  And.....sounds like you get a mini vacation in So. CA for your troubles.......right now I'm looking at 3 inches of snow/sleet/freezing rain on the ground and looks like I'll be stuck inside tomorrow.  Oh well, I'll make it a practice day.

[John429]

"...or maybe they'll talk you down from the ledge."

I love words and the mental images they paint. Well done on this one 

[solosdad]

I would call Taylor customer service. You have what they would consider a boutique guitar I hope and they will make it right. A guitar of that price range made by 5 luthiers should not have issues, unless somehow the way you have stored the guitar caused the problem. Richard Hoover, in an AGF thread took back one of his guitars that was bought used and made it right for the person that bought the used guitar. I remember many years ago there was a Rolls Royce, and this may be legend, apparently learned that one of their cars was in service in the US as a taxi cab. They quietly sought out the owner of the cab and bought the car back! I wouldn't be afraid to ship it as that is how it got to your dealer when you purchased it. Taylor customer service is tremendous. Don't hesitate to call them. R Taylor is their Rolls Royce!

[jalbert]

I asked whether you bought at the Friends & Family Sale because some of those instruments were sold as-is, without warranty. For example, and I'm just being hypothetical here, perhaps the reason your guitar was such a good deal at the show was that they knew about the finish blemish, and decided to sell it at the Sale without a warranty knowing they didn't want to have to reshoot it. So the question really is one of whether your RT was considered "new" (i.e., with warranty) or was sold as-is. If it was sold as-is, enjoy it at the great price you paid for it. But if it did come with a warranty then by all means call RT!

[Edward]

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