Taylor Big Baby Acoustic Guitar

I’ve had one of these for over 10 years now and it’s still my baby. It’s super convenient, gorgeous sounding and didn’t cost me over £1000 like other Taylor guitars.

An overview: 15/16 the size of a normal dreadnought acoustic guitar. Made in Taylor's factory in El Cajon, California USA. 20 frets. The top is made from sitka spruce. The sides and back are made from sapele laminate, the neck from mahogany and the fretboard and bridge from ebony, all with a varnish finish. Doesn’t come with a pickup (though I’ve now installed a Fishman which sounds amazing). Came with a smart, lightweight gig bag, which has lasted well. Not much bracing going on inside the guitar, which probably accounts for how light it is… seems to be fitted together mostly with glue. Although I’ve scratched my baby quite a bit over the years, the structural integrity and intonation have not suffered at all.

The sound: Lovely and bright with a focused bottom end (might not have the kind of power that some players would like). Excellent for finger picking. Very good for recording – clean and articulate and comes across really well when mic’d up properly.

Finally, I love how easy to play the Big Baby is! A breeze compared to other dreadnoughts, especially since the action on mine is set quite low. However, this means that I actually tend to struggle when I have to use other people’s guitars. Whoops!