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Good Beginner Acoustic Guitar

Taylor Acoustic Guitars

The Big Baby Taylor is a good beginner Acoustic Guitar. Taylor Guitars, one of the largest acoustic guitar manufacturers in the United States, is located in El Cajon, California. They specialize in acoustic guitars in a variety of different sizes, plus semi-hollow body electric guitars. Their lower priced guitars, the Baby Taylor and Big Baby Taylor acoustic guitars are both made just over the border near Tecate, Mexico.

The Big Baby Taylor Guitar (BBT) is one of the top travel acoustic guitars on the market today. It is portable, playable, and affordable. It’s styled after the bigger dreadnoughts, though, size-wise, it’s between the Baby Taylor and the full-size dreadnoughts, making it perfect for travel, while producing more volume and bass response than other travel acoustic guitars. Because of the size and structure it is good for a beginner acoustic guitar/

Body and Neck of the Acoustic Guitars

Taylor has a unique neck construction, a bolt-on neck, that was patented in 1999 called the NT (new technology) neck. It is different from other acoustic guitars in that the neck consists of one continuous piece of wood all the way to the 19th fret to support the fretboard.

The body on the Big Baby Taylor is unique in that it has a 15/16th-size non-cutaway dreadnought shape, with a full 4” body depth and a scale length of 25.5”. Thus, you get a acoustic guitar that is smaller than a dreadnought but with similar projection and richness to the dreadnought sound.

When playing the BBT, you can tell it’s smaller, but with the feel of a basic acoustic guitar. The tuners are also the same as a basic acoustic guitar with comparable action. The differences aren’t enough to trip you up.

The construction of tonewoods gives the look and feel of quality that the Taylor is known for. The top is made from solid Sitka spruce with laminated sapele for the back and sides with a matte finish. It also includes a single ring rosette and tortoiseshell pickguard which enhance the refined look.

The slim neck is constructed of solid sapele, with a genuine African ebony fretboard with 20 frets and simple dot inlays.

Hardware

A set of chrome die-cast tuners on the Taylor-branded head is a complement to the Big Baby Taylor. Just below the head is a Nubone nut which is similar in consistency to TUSQ. At the other end, the Micarta saddle sits on the African ebony bridge.

Sound

The original Baby Taylor has the traditional small acoustic guitar sound, but the Big Baby Taylor, which is closer to a full-size body depth yields plenty of projection, resonance, and sustain.

The sound is definitely not an SJ200 or one of the other dreadnoughts. It does not have the jumbo body sound, but surprisingly it has a fairly loud sound for the size. If you are looking for an acoustic guitar with a full sound but small enough to travel, the BBT is the acoustic guitar you are looking for.

The intonation of many of the smaller guitars gets a bit quirky, but the intonation in the Big Baby Taylor is great. They have compensated for the intonation with the arched back, which gives strength and a fuller tone. The B string is also set back just a little to help with the intonation. The size and sound makes the BBT a very good beginning acoustic guitar, especially for older beginners.

Conclusion

The Big Baby Taylor Acoustic Guitars are well suited as a travel acoustic guitar, but because of its larger size, is not limited to a travel guitar or for those with smaller hands. It is perfect for the older beginner. It has a bright, crisp sound with enough natural projection for strumming, flat-picking, or fingerpicking.

It is shipped with a deluxe stylish Taylor gig bag that fits snuggly over the guitar for protection.

Features

Body

  • Body type: Dreadnought 15/16th-Scale
  • Cutaway: No
  • Top wood: Solid Sitka Spruce
  • Back & sides: Layered Walnut
  • Bracing pattern: Taylor Standard Big Baby X-Bracing
  • Body finish: Satin Varnish
  • Orientation: Right-Handed

Neck

  • Neck shape: Taylor Standard Big Baby Profile
  • Nut width: 1 11/16″ (42.8mm)
  • Fingerboard: Genuine West African Ebony
  • Neck wood: Hard Rock Maple
  • Scale length: 25-1/2″
  • Number of frets: 20
  • Neck finish: Satin Varnish

Electronics

  • Pickup/preamp: ES-B
  • Brand: Taylor
  • Configuration: Under-Saddle Piezo
  • Preamp EQ: Volume and Tone
  • Feedback filter: No
  • Tuner: Yes

Other

  • Headstock overlay: Copafera
  • Tuning machines: Chrome Big Baby Tuners and Buttons
  • Bridge: Genuine West African Ebony
  • Saddle & nut: Micarta Saddle and Nubone Nut
  • Number of strings: 6
  • Special features: Faux Tortoise Pickguard
  • Case: Taylor Deluxe Big Baby Gig Bag
  • Accessories: None
  • Country of origin: Mexico

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