The Race To The Bottom: Beginner Guitars, for Beginners. 'Baby Taylor' Vs. 'Little Martin'

Holy Fricken RNDM! I have no real interest in new or modern guitars, (those of the factory sort, I should specify), but regardless I find myself at this given moment, the recipient of two such instruments for repair simultaneously. I find it my duty, nay, my pleasure, to bring to you my worthless insights into a temporary product during a blip in history that will never matter anywhere, ever, for any reason. The internet will prove to be a temporary, and eventually archaic joke of a"technology" and this video will be lost, god willing, with the rest of this black hole of human nothingnessnessnessnessness. low end video about low end guitars in a low end version of what our reality really could be, I can see a utopia, of sorts, but there are nothing but scoundrels about, so we'll have to settle for this $#it show.
blessed be! thanks for watching!

#acousticguitar #guitar #luthier #notaluthier #repair #restoration #martin #martinguitar #taylor #babytaylor #littlemartin #travelguitar #budgetguitar
#foridiots #guitarrepair #brokenguitar #brokenheadstock
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[keestoft]

I feel like the school curriculum should incorporate educating all young players to just go buy a Yamaha as a first guitar, no other brand comes close to their quality/cost coefficient. There, I've said it!

[pedrinhoatmc]

Classic reefer trick: the disappearing act of whatever the fuck I was holding just a second ago.

[csking]

I bought my Daughter the version of the Martin without the pick-up. It needed a significant set-up to make it playable, especially for a beginner. I didn't want her to have to fight with the guitar. My luthier had to put pressure on the back of the neck in order to get the stings to be a comfortable playing height. After the set-up, it became an awesome little guitar. The Daughter loves it.

[TheKruizr]

Being a happy retired, career long Teamster Union member and Shop Stewart, I'd prefer to stick with guitars etc, from free countries where workers are free to organize for better wages and working conditions.. ✌️

[jaymacwing]

Three points from a retired professional guitar repairman:
1) The back and sides of the Martin are high-pressure laminate, which is a generic term for a product sold under the brand name *Formica.* It's sold under other names too. It's a popular surface for counter tops and kitchen table tops. My Formica kitchen table is white with gold speckles. There's no reason the guitar couldn't be made of that pattern. At least it wouldn't be pretending to be wood. I feel Martin should be embarrassed and ashamed to put their name on a musical instrument made of this substance.
2) The finger joint on the Taylor peghead is and example of bending over backward to save on material at the expense of quality. I have had a few of these Taylor instruments thru my shop with failed joints. BUT IN ALL CASES, Taylor sent me a brand spankin' new neck and paid me to install it for the owner of the guitar.
3) Regardless of the structural quality of the joint discussed on point number two, I feel it is an aesthetic abomination.

[krekcabnow]

The choice of music always adds so much to your videos. Sometimes I’m certain something bad is about to happen and then nothing.

[johncosimo]

This Channel will become a must watch in few months! Because this is amazing quality. Glad to support.

[katherineb.]

Thank you for not brushing aside the labor issues with budget guitars. Too many of the Youtubers who shill for these brands sweep it under the rug and even hide comments that mention it. It's never sat right with me that musicians in circles that aestheticize being anti-establishment will fall right in line with global exploitation when they see a shiny new toy for a cheap price.

The issue of offshoring has become hard to avoid. My primary workhorse, a Schecter, wasn't made by Cor-Tek, but Schecter has moved operations from Korea to Indonesia in recent years, presumably for similar reasons. The quality is superb; I would've happily paid a couple hundred more for the assurance that it was made by someone with weekends and a union, but the only non-import brands have set their sights exclusively on the high end of the market that isn't realistic for most buyers.

[goodun]

A spiritial ode to a worn-out hex key: " I must be tossed, because now I'm round/I made dross, so I was

[henryhunter]

I’ve got a Baby Taylor in a gig bag somewhere, I haven’t seen it for at least three years. After watching this video I think that I’ll go and find it and see if the headstock is still attached.

[chascopley]

i must admit, I tried a Taylor GS mini that was almost brand new and I was really impressed. don't know how it will last for years to come, but the build feel and tone was high

[Dragonslayerw]

Honestly, I would recommend any yamaha guitar for a first guitar. I also have an all koa wood 000 custome build from overseas that blows my mind in build quality and tone, for a fraction of the cost of a taylor or martin, if it had either name on it, it would be triple the cost.

[trevorkendrick]

I actually did a neck fix like this when I was in college on a cheapie guitar I bought from a flea market. I want to say it was a Martin Backpacker X or maybe it was another brand. But I remember gluing it together and tying it off just like you did. Once it dried it played perfectly. I ended up making a 100 bucks off of it after I fixed it.

[lourias]

Dental floss works well to move glue down into seams.

[drewheyman]

I own both of these guitars. The Martin first, then the Taylor. Both came fine and play fine. I moved on to Breedlove as my fingers matured. But they both continue to perform with no issues

[mattgrimmer]

Some interesting techniques for necks I've had in the past with this "rubbery" problem. In most cases the fix to the problem would be for me to detach the fingerboard extension, unbolt the neck, Loosen the tension on the truss rod (remove if possible to inspect). Clamp the neck and pull tension on the headstock until the neck is as flat as possible (even a bit of back-bow). Tighten your truss rod to "just" tight, slowly release the clamp. Adjust from there. Sometimes resetting the truss rod tension to once the neck is "in-shape" CAN help in some cases. Then you can proceed as you did, cut saddle, strings, adjust neck to need. Mind you this works alot of the time, it doesn't work ALL the time. For professional players, this typically also would necessitate at very-least a fret level and crown. If the frets have alot of height, you can actually mitigate the small amount of relief present once you reset the truss-rod by leveling it out of the frets. The goal is to get the tops of those frets perfect BEFORE tension, and having the small amount of added tension available once it's strung up.

[KevmosRed]

Great video man, keep up the good work! I think that the H. S. joint failure on the Taylor was most likely due to glue starvation, rather than the use of a finger-joint. Finger joints (properly glued up) are quite strong owing to the increased surface area of the joint. Anyway, keep pressing on man and before you know it you'll likely have a Million subs and you'll be a big-time YouTube star!

[blodpudding]

I've had my Baby Taylor for over 15 years. Other than that the solid top split during a particularly dry winter early on, and that the finish turned a bit gummy where it absorbed sweat it's perfect.
Still plays fantastic and sounds great. It's my couch noodler.

[michaelknight]

If we don't find the hex gonna lose the shop.😔😔

[pigguy]

70s Ovation Balladeers are so slept on. You can pick up a beautiful one with its case for $400ish, and those things are bulletproof. Great for a beginner