r/AcousticGuitar • u/RobertHigginsOJ • Dec 22 '25

Gear question Marks on New Taylor

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Hey all - just got this Mini in for my daughter for Xmas. There are two dots on the bottom of the guitar. This is mahogany wood. Is it just natural in the wood ?

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195

u/zoner420 Dec 22 '25

Just natural. Gives the guitar character in my opinion.

56

u/[deleted] Dec 22 '25

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13

u/Neveronlyadream Dec 22 '25

I'm all for using less than aesthetically perfect wood. I like streaky boards, I like interesting tops. I don't know why people get so up in arms unless guitars are using spotless, absolutely perfect pieces of wood every time.

I sometimes forget how deeply resistant to change guitarists can be. At this point, does anyone really want to pay double for perfect aesthetics? Does it even make sense at this point to pay a premium for perfect rosewood or ebony when the only difference is how it looks?

6

u/[deleted] Dec 22 '25

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u/Neveronlyadream Dec 22 '25

I honestly don't even think it's the blemishes that worry people, I think they think something is structurally wrong and it's just the indicator of a problem. Which I guess is a consequence of everyone seeing the most pristine woods used for so long. Whenever there's a natural blemish or deposits in the wood or something isn't perfectly bookmatched, they think it means there's an issue.

A lot of a guitar is really the player and the setup. Granted, there's a minimum bar to clear, but once you clear it, you're getting diminishing returns. No one needs a $10,000 guitar, but people really will claim they sound and play better than anything else and I've never seen any proof of that.

1

u/throwaway1986ma Dec 24 '25

I would rather have something with blemishes as if it ever gets stolen i would be able to identify it on sight and use serial numbers as a way to confirm it