This 2004 Taylor 214 guitar repair came about because the guitar was brought in about 10 years ago for a pickup installation. The 2004 guitars were made with solid Sapele mahogany back and sides and a solid spruce top whereas later models were made from laminates.
Unfortunately this guitar had dried out so, when the side was cut, it split along the grain rendering the guitar unusable.
So, it has been lying in a corner of the workshop for 10 years untouched.
I got it back onto the bench a few weeks ago and decided to see what could be done with it.
I removed the back and put steam on the damaged side to allow me to bend it. I made a few splints to glue across the splits on the inside of the guitar and fixed them in place with Titebond, holding them in place with clamps until the glue had set.
Then it was a matter of refitting the back, rubbing down the exterior area of the repair and giving it a light coat of wood dye.
I finished the body with 2 coats of Tru-Oil just to seal the tonewoods.
Next the pickup was installed before stringing up the guitar and checking the setup.
Now, some people might get a bit “sniffy” and say the addition of splints in this repair will adversely affect the tone of the guitar. In my opinion, the affect is minimal and besides, the addition of the pickup and equaliser will have an even greater impact!!
To me, it sounds good and this repair is a much better result than having such a nice guitar scrapped.
I guess fitting a complete new side was another option but I didn’t think adding even more cost to the repair would have delivered a measureable improvement in performance of this guitar.
This 2004 Taylor 214, in excellent condition would cost somewhere between £800 and £1,000.
However, after this repair, although the guitar is playing beautifully, it is probably only worth £300- £400.
A real bargain in my opinion.
