Hey Everyone!
I have a Taylor Big Baby that I bought many years ago. When i got it it played perfectly but over the years has become almost unplayable. The action on the guitar is so high i can see what appears to be almost a half inch of space between the strings and the twelfth fret. It doesn't look like the neck is bowed at all when i look down it and when i place a ruler on the frets its even all the way down. I've tried sanding the saddle but this didnt even seem to help.
I even took the guitar in to get the action adjusted awhile ago and they barely did anything.
Heres a picture of what im talking about...
so the neck relief is good -- no truss rod adjustments required. your pics don't show the top of the guitar. is it bellied (bulging up) in the bridge area? is the bridge lifting off the guitar? if none of these problems are evident and the guitar body seems structurally sound in every other way, the next thing to check is probably the neck attachment. the neck on a Big baby is screwed on, right through the fingerboard, IIRC. first make sure the screws aren't loose or the neck lifted away from the body -- if so, that's what needs repair. if the neck is firmly attached, then the guitar can probably be fixed by removing the neck and adding some shimming between the neck and body. this will change the angle at the neck-body join and have a dramatic effect on action.
back to other possible problems:
if the top is bellied, you will need to fix that. first make sure there are no detached or broken braces inside the guitar. if so, first remove them and repair those if necessary; set aside. then (even if bracing integrity is good) use weights and/or clamps to gently press the top back into a flatter shape -- this will take time ... days, and strings are off, of course. some heat and humidity will help, but don't overdo that or there will be other problems. after that, reinstall the braces that may have been removed (use Tite Bond or hide glue). install them with the top held (if necessary by clamps) in its new re-flattened shape. make sure the glue is completely cured before removing clamps.
if the bridge is lifting off the top of the guitar. then you will need to glue it back down (again, Tite Bond or Hyde glue). before regluing the bridge, fix any bellying as described above.
to keep it from happening again, consider installing a JLD Bridge doctor to reinforce the top against string tension.
Link to Bridge Doctor (no affiliation): http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for:_Bridges/JLD_Bridge_Doctor.html
after you are done, the neck may still need shimming to set up a good angle.
none of this make sense? take it to a tech or order Dan Erlewine's book on guitar repair. all of the above is described, except specifics of shimming a Big Baby. but shimming an electric is covered, and that is similar. the book is published by Guitar Player.
-=tension & release=-
