Neck reset on a brand new 114ce?

[sjoneill]

About a month and a half ago, I bought a brand new Taylor 114ce (version 2 - with the maple neck).
When I bought it, I got a new one straight out of the box, and when I got it home, after a few days, I felt like the action seemed higher than the ones I played in the store.
I saw the famous Taylor pdf with the specs for action somewhere on this site, and it seemed that mine was out of spec on the low E: mine measured near 3 mm. at the 12th fret.
I brought it to the store where I got it (it's an an official Taylor dealer and they do repairs in-store) and they lowered the saddle a little, but it was still a little out of spec, and higher than I personally prefer.
The people at the shop are awesome and everything is under warranty. They did a neck reset (and the guitar needed much thicker shims than what were in it), and now it plays great and the action is measuring great too - 2.25 on the low E, and the high E was always near spec.
Given that it's a new guitar, they're offering to swap it out with another new 114ce, but when we compared it to another 114ce straight out of the box, that one is measuring at 2.75 on the low E. It seems that the action on this can be lowered to where I want it just by sanding down the saddle a little, and wouldn't require a neck reset (whereas mine had the saddle lowered and a neck reset).
To sum up - is it odd for a brand new 114 ce to require a neck reset and a saddle filing to bring the low E action to 2.25 mm (were it seems like it is supposed to be)? Is it possible that this guitar is just 'off'?
If it's playing well now, does it matter? Or, for the peace of mind, should I just take their offer and swap it for another one and ask them to lower the saddle?
Any advice or comments appreciated!

[sacredground]

I’d ask myself what advantage there would be in swapping for a new one. If playability isn’t an issue, does one sound better to you? If sound quality isn’t an issue, does one have better fit and finish or more attractive woods?

Good luck!

[Marco Polo]

I don't think it's uncommon for a player to get a setup on a new guitar, even new Taylors.

You have a new guitar under warranty that plays/sounds great.  I wouldn't change a thing.

Enjoy that 114ce in good health!

[sjoneill]

Thanks for the replies and for providing some peace of mind.
After a week, the guitar is still playing great with no movement on the action.
I think I'm going to stick with this one!
For those following this thread or with similar concerns, just some info:
I contacted Taylor customer service too with my question.
They replied that what I experienced was not out of the ordinary. Normally they set guitars between 2.0 - 2.4 a the low E (12th), but a new guitar can move a bit since the wood is 'settling in' as a guitar (it's also traveling while being shipped and likely going to a different climate, etc.). Once it is re-adjusted and if well maintained (I've become paranoid about humidity), they said that it shouldn't need to be re-adjusted for a while.
Also, I've read some debate on here re neck readjustment vs saddle lowering on a Taylor guitar.
This particular customer service rep said that they typically like to do a neck re-adjustment as opposed to altering the saddle, unless it just needs to be taken down only a little bit, then it's fine to sand the saddle a small amount. Yet, the tech at the store where I bought the guitar said that you'd be amazed at the small fractions of adjustment that you can get from the neck shims (apparently they come in very small increments) - this gives a lot of room for particular preferences without messing with the saddle (and lowering the saddle, as I've read elsewhere, changes the angle of the strings between the pins and the saddle, reducing the downward pressure on the saddle and top which supposedly negatively affects volume and tone - I'd be interested to see what others think of that, since I'm no expert).
Again, thanks for the comments!

[lmacmil]

About a month and a half ago, I bought a brand new Taylor 114ce (version 2 - with the maple neck).
When I bought it, I got a new one straight out of the box, and when I got it home, after a few days, I felt like the action seemed higher than the ones I played in the store.
I saw the famous Taylor pdf with the specs for action somewhere on this site, and it seemed that mine was out of spec on the low E: mine measured near 3 mm. at the 12th fret.

I bought a 224ce about a year ago.  I opted to buy from a large dealer out of state since their price was about two hundred lower than the big box stores.  The action seemed  high when I got it but returning it wasn't an option due to shipping costs so I lived with it for a while.  I shaved the saddle a little but it was still high.  I finally took it to the closest place that could do a proper neck reset even though they were no longer a Taylor warranty shop (they said Taylor's reimbursement policy didn't make warranty repairs a viable business for them, it's a 2-man shop.)  They put the correct shims in and since they didn't have any Taylor saddles in stock, fitted a new bone saddle.  I had to pay out of pocket but it was worth it to get to play the way it's supposed to.  I'm still a few dollars ahead and now I have a bone saddle!  Not that I could hear any difference.

The other thing they found was a crack in the neck block.  The owner used to manage a large Taylor warranty center and told me this was not uncommon.  He put some kind of glue or epoxy in it and said it should be fine.

From your experience and mine, it would appear that some guitars are leaving the Mexico factory without the proper neck angle.  I'm not sure I buy the explanation about settling in.  The action you had (and mine was similar) seems to be too much to have resulted from settling or handling or humidity.  The takeaway for me is not to buy a guitar without seeing/playing it first (although two previous Taylor purchases bought via mail order were fine.)

[JTC111]

My 2002 814cd Ltd needed a setup when I bought it. The action wasn't terrible; it just wasn't right for me as I like it a tad lower than most people. My tech was an authorized Taylor service guy so he had the wedges. It took him all of five minutes to get the guitar how I like it.