Taylor Neck vs. Scarf neck

[Guitar Cowboy]

I was on the Taylor website comparing guitar specs and noticed that some guitars list a scarf neck rather than a Taylor neck as the type of neck joint. Examples include the new 816ce and 326ce with sound hole cutaway as well as the 324ce builders addition. Any ideas why?

[boneuphtoner]

I had no idea - what exactly is the scarf neck joint and how does it differ from the Taylor NT neck?

Is the scarf similar to Martin's dovetail?  On the AGF, legions of fans gush over the benefits of the dovetail neck joint as being the source of Martin's famous tone - but almost all of the comparisons people have pointed to as evidence have not been a true apples-to-apples comparison.  The comparisons I've seen were mortise and tenon 16 series guitars versus a D-28.  But no one has reported the results of a true D-28 with a mortise and tenon neck joint.  I personally remain unconvinced of the whole dovetail Martin claim.

But if the scarf is like the dovetail, that might be a piece of evidence for there being something to the dovetail myth.  Because the 326ce definitely has the Martin style mid-range overtone series going on.  And although all of the Taylor mahogany top guitars are great in my opinion, in terms of tone alone, the 326ce and the 324ce BE had the best overall tone.

Can't wait to hear other responses - thanks for bringing this up Guitar Cowboy - maybe I will reach out to Taylor customer service since I do have the 326ce

[Guitar Cowboy]

Just FYI, I have sent an email to a Taylor Customer Service already and I will share what I find out

[shorty]

The scarf joint is where the peghead attaches to the neck. Older Taylor guitars used a finger joint.

[tedtan]

A scarf joint is a means of attaching two pieces of wood together, and is the traditional method of attaching the headstock to the neck going back to the early Spanish classical and flamenco guitars. This joint is stronger than a one piece neck and headstock.

To my knowledge, all Taylor NT necks since the early finger jointed ones feature a scarf joint to attach the headstock.

[boneuphtoner]

Hey Guys - yes I did some internet digging, and everything I found discusses the scarf as a relationship with the headstock, and not the joining of the neck and body - I wonder if this was a typo?

[Gabrielobrien]

I’m an authorized repair tech and run Taylor Guitars Owners Group on Facebook. A scarf joint is how the headstock is attached to the neck, as well as the heel. The NT neck is now just referred to as the Taylor Neck and is standard on all Taylors except the Baby and Big Baby models. The scarf joint they’re referring to isn’t instead of the bolt on neck system. Scarf joints exist on all Taylor models.

[Guitar Cowboy]

Taylor customer Service confirmed all this and admitted that it has been causing confusion on their website when comparing models. Under the “neck type” field sometimes it says “Taylor Neck” and sometimes it says “scarf” and those are referring to the Bolt-on joint at the body and the scarf joint at the headstock, respectively. Two entirely different things.

[boneuphtoner]

Hey Guys - just circling back on this one - I wrote to Taylor customer service yesterday - and their response seems very clear:

so just to make sure I understand- my new 326ce has the NT neck right?

That's correct. Your guitar has both. It has the NT neck design, bolted into the body, and the scarf joint where the headstock is attached to the shaft of the neck.

[Edward]

You have clarity from the mothership

But just to be clear ( and perhaps redundant ), the "NT" is the bolt-on system that they employed in model-year 2000, which departs from their previously used bolt on neck in that the fingerboard extension is an integral part of the neck, and thus behaves as one solid piece when the neck angle changes.  Compare this to the pre-NT where the fingerboard extension was still fastened to the top of the guitar, so if one changed the neck angle, that fingerboard extension still followed the plane of the top.  Everything except their Baby and BigBaby (IIRC) from 2000-present is NT system.

They used a fingerjoint to connect the headstock to the neck, which is the same piece of of lumber and, when sawn from one piece into two, they stay together to be then joined ...this from the factory info and vids.  This fingerjoint coincided with the NT.  The scarf joint came in at model year 2007, along with the ES iteration 2 (aka ES1.2 where the AA batt system was replaced with a much better sounding preamp powered by 9v).  The fingerjoint and scarf are functionally identical.  Though as a personal opinion, few can argue that the scarf doesn't looks far better than its predecessor, more like an intentional design than a functional furniture joint.

Just sayin   ...and meandering on the keyboard with my cup o java with not much really to add.  Be well and enjoy the weekend, all!! 

Edward