The Taylor Big Baby is a basic and simple guitar; it’s a quality choice in a guitar if you’re looking to only have a moderate spending trip.
The top of the Big Baby is comprised from solid Sitka spruce, while the sides and back are laminate. While the body of the guitar is not bound, it does have decent edge joints.
The neck of the Big Baby by Taylor Guitars is made from solid mahogany wood with a satin finish. The profile of the neck is comfortable to play on, for people who have average sized hands.
The neck of the Big Baby is bolted onto the neck with screws, allowing the neck to be adjusted without having to pop it off, like you would have to with an acoustic with a set-neck.
The frets on the Big Baby are end-crowned, in order to make playing this musical instrument a bit more comfortable. The fingerboards are made from ebony, which will allow your sweaty hands to play on the guitar and not get black wood dye all over them!
The tuning machines are smooth and have a fine quality to them. Even after hours of playing, the Big Baby stays in tune. Due to the heel-less design on this guitar, it’s easier to play the upper frets, in comparison to a regular full-body dreadnought acoustic.
Criteria:
It is very easy to become overwhelmed by the massive guitar market that’s available; there are a countless number of guitars available in every single style in the world. In order to know how to evaluate a guitar’s quality to make sure that the musical instrument you’re looking at is the proper one for your needs, you need to understand what criteria is used to evaluate a guitar’s quality.
This review of the Taylor Big Baby Acoustic Guitar will look at the following criteria:
- The playability to the Big Baby
- The materials that this guitar is made from
- Who the Big Baby is best guitar is best suited for
- The tone
- The value of the Big Baby for your money
Do you recommend the Taylor Big Baby?
If you have small hands, I would recommend to you to look for a different guitar. Overall, I would recommend this guitar to everybody else! If you are someone who travels a lot, the Big Baby would be perfect for you because of its portability. It’s just shy of being a full-sized guitar, which makes it a lot easier to travel with.
With an arched back to provide extra strength for the guitar, there is a huge increase in tonal output, with an extra amount of fullness and volume. The Big Baby is an affordable starting option for beginners with a reasonable price range, but a great travel companion for seasoned players!
Core Industry Terms
If you’re deciding that you’re falling in love with this guitar and want to do more research, chances are you’re going to run into several terms that you don’t understand what they mean. That’s why we’re here to help! If you want to know what all of those numbers and letters that talk about the GPCPA5K guitar stand for, I’ve compiled a list that explained what they are for this Taylor Big Baby review!
15/16 scale dreadnought: This means that the guitar is almost full-sized
¾ scale dreadnought: This is just basically a synonym of the 15/16
What does Taylor advertise the Big Baby as?
Taylor advertises their Big Baby guitar have an aesthetic solid quality that shouldn’t be overlooked, as well as a guitar that’s great to grow with. Taylor says that their Big Baby is great to travel with, because of the reduction in size, but will put on a professional performance with a great sound just as well as any guitar that costs several thousand dollars.
Features of the Taylor Big Baby
- 6 string guitar
- Size 15/16 size Dreadnought
- Ebony fretboard
- Pearloid dot fretboard inlay
- Ebony bridge
- Sitka spruce top
- Layered Sapele back and sides
- Plastic soundhole rosette
- Lexan headstock overlay
- 20 frets
- 1 11/16 inch nut width
- X-Brace bracing
- Varnish finish
- Adjustable truss rod
- Die-cast chrome plated tuning machines
What genre does the Taylor Big Baby work best for?
The Taylor Big Baby works great as a lead acoustic guitar, due to the bright sound. This is a guitar that’s great for live performances, people who want to record (whether it be in a solo or group setting), or people who want to play just for themselves.
The Taylor Big Baby used to be very popular in small jazz groups, but since then it’s become wildly popular in the music industry.
The Taylor Big Baby can be found with seasoned professionals recording a new hit, as well as with beginners who are just learning how to play guitar.
Does the Taylor Big Baby work as advertised?
Yes, it does! Taylor Big Baby is an affordable, smaller sized dreadnought, but plays like a full-sized dreadnought at a luxury priceand great build quality! The Baby Taylor is a light, bright, and articulated model that is easy to play fingerpicking on. It responds well to all types of strumming and picking, with high-quality projection and clarity.
If money isn't the parimary concern, the Big Baby Acoustic is an EXCELLENT value for a premium fingerstyle guitar (around $600). A great pick for beginners and experienced players alike.
Pros of the Taylor Big Baby:
- Easy to play
- Taylor is known for being one of the best manufacturers (in terms of quality) on the guitar market
- Bright, warm sound that’s crisp and defined
- Comfortable enough to hold onto for hours
- Finish that doesn’t irritate your skin
- Comes with a gig bag
- Arched back for added strength
- Easy to travel with
- The Big Baby doesn’t have a traditional heel attached to the neck, so the guitar is easier to play
- Strong mid-tones, which will help carry out your harmony
- The action of the Big Baby is much better in comparison to most
beginner guitars, which means that it’s easier to play - Good price range
Cons of the Taylor Big Baby:
- Doesn’t have very good sound projection when flat-picked
- Doesn’t come with a hard-shell case
- Doesn’t have a cut-out
- It’s acoustic only, so if you plan on performing live, find a mic
Other alternative guitars to consider
Baby Taylor
The Baby Taylor is a ¾ dreadnought, with a solid Sitka spruce top, Sapele sides and back, it’s a perfect starter for young children. This guitar is a bit more affordable than the Big Baby Taylor, due to the smaller size. The Big Baby Taylor is the sister of the Baby Taylor; just as the same says, the Big Baby Taylor is a large size.
However, there is not much difference in the materials that are used to build this guitar. That means that is still has the same quality of sound, tonality, and intonation.
If you are looking to spread the joy of music with your child, I would definitely suggest this guitar. It sounds and plays like an ‘advanced’, professional guitar, but it’s a lot easier to hold for younger/smaller people because of the smaller guitar size.
Jasmine S35 Natural Acoustic Guitar
If you love the look of the Taylor Big Baby, but can’t afford the price tag, the Jasmine S35 Natural Acoustic will be the next best thing for you. While the Jasmine S35 isn’t comprised of the same materials as the Taylor Big Baby, it does have some of the same quality.
The S35 has a spruce top, laminated Nato sides and back, satin finish, a rosewood fingerboard, and chrome covered tuning machines. This is a quality instrument that is most popular among guitar students, as it is affordable, has decent sound quality and projection, and easy to play.
If money isn't the parimary concern, the Big Baby Acoustic is an EXCELLENT value for a premium fingerstyle guitar (around $600). A great pick for beginners and experienced players alike.
Our final conclusion
The Taylor Big Baby is a durable, lightweight, and simple guitar. While they’re called Big Baby guitars for a reason, the Taylor Big Baby doesn’t feel like a small guitar while you’re playing it. Despite having a smaller body than the regular dreadnought guitar, the Taylor Big Baby packs a full sound, with an incredibly sound projection.
Check out these videos if you want to hear how they sound for yourself!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfreg8EcOjQContinue the Discussion – Join the forum
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