Unofficial Taylor Guitar Forum - UTGF
Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Topic started by: SoCalSurf on January 04, 2018, 09:47:32 PM
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I was inspired by Davwir's post here on the modifications done to his GS Mini: http://www.unofficialtaylorguitarforum.com/index.php?topic=8670.0
I emailed him and he gave me some pointers. So when my new GS Mini Koa came in, I did the following:
Installed Gotoh 510 minis in ebony
Installed ebony bridge pins with abalone
Installed abalone fret markers
Changed strings to Martin Acoustic Custom Lite
Pic here: https://imgur.com/XPGDxN1
Really happy with the end result.
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Nice looking top Koa wood. The Gotoh 510 are always a nice upgrade. Plus it is always a good idea IMHO to get rid of the plastic pins, yours look very nice. Congratulations
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awesome!!! nice collection behind it too!!
when’s the next one? :)
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Looking good but what's the score with the abalone fret markers? How did you do those?
Craig
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Looks real good! I see you have one of the new ones with the Copafera headstock overlay.
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Looking good but what's the score with the abalone fret markers? How did you do those?
Craig
Hi Craig: I ordered sticker fretboard markers on Amazon. Trust me, I was highly skeptical and because they were quite cheap, decided to order them then make a decision once I saw them. They are actually very, very nice and (so far) don't look like stickers at all.
Of course I would never do that with a full-sized or custom guitar but figured it was worth the experiment on a mini.
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Looks real good! I see you have one of the new ones with the Copafera headstock overlay.
Thanks! It does. It also has the es-b tuner/amplifier which I am not so impressed with so far. I find the tuner to be a bit finicky so just use my Snark to tune it. Although I can see the value of having one on a travel guitar-- one less thing to carry.
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Looks real good! I see you have one of the new ones with the Copafera headstock overlay.
Looks great. I too have a koa mini and I change the pins to ebony/abalone, and put Taylor chrome tuners on (love the Gotohs though!). I really like the Copafera headstock, that is the one thing that always bothered me about the plain black plastic overlays they used until now. I emailed Taylor to see if they would sell a copafera overlay and they haven’t responded. Wouldn’t think it would be that difficult to glue one on! Enjoy your mini!
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Looking good but what's the score with the abalone fret markers? How did you do those?
Craig
Hi Craig: I ordered sticker fretboard markers on Amazon. Trust me, I was highly skeptical and because they were quite cheap, decided to order them then make a decision once I saw them. They are actually very, very nice and (so far) don't look like stickers at all.
Of course I would never do that with a full-sized or custom guitar but figured it was worth the experiment on a mini.
I always thought those would be pretty crappy, it looks like I was wrong!
Craig
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Your KOA looks awesome.
I made some of the same mods to my Spruce.
*ebony tuner buttons
*inlay stickers
*ebony/abalone bridge pins
*maple TR cover
*bone saddle
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Your KOA looks awesome.
I made some of the same mods to my Spruce.
*ebony tuner buttons
*inlay stickers
*ebony/abalone bridge pins
*maple TR cover
*bone saddle
I like it.
Those ebony tuner buttons look great
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I like it, too, Guitargeak99. Nicely done! :D
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This is off topic, but I usually run JP 80/20 lights.
Yesterday I threw some D'Addarrio mediums on it, since that's the gauge string that came on it.
......I don't care much for mediums. The play-ability is fine, since my Luthier set it up when he made the bone saddle and nut.
But it seems to me that the mediums yield "more" sound than the guitar can handle, if that makes sense.
With light strings the tones just seem more clear and focused.
My 2 cents
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I, too, prefer the light gauge strings, for playability and tone. I also use a very thin pick (.38mm), so you would think there would be almost no sound coming from the guitar. But it suits my playing style nicely, and I use it solely as a couch instrument. My dog doesn't appear to be too tortured by it. :)
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So when my new GS Mini Koa came in, I did the following:
Installed Gotoh 510 minis in ebony
Nice looking GSmini! Those Gotoh tuners tho. You sure know how to treat a lady. "If you like it then you better put a ring on it" haha
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Where did you get the "ebony bridge pins with abalone"?
TY,.....m
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Where did you get the "ebony bridge pins with abalone"?
TY,.....m
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UTD0YG8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Good luck!
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Where did you get the "ebony bridge pins with abalone"?
TY,.....m
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UTD0YG8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Good luck!
Also direct from Taylor.
https://www.taylorguitars.com/taylorware/saddles-bridge-pins/bridge-pins (https://www.taylorguitars.com/taylorware/saddles-bridge-pins/bridge-pins)
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This is off topic, but I usually run JP 80/20 lights.
Yesterday I threw some D'Addarrio mediums on it, since that's the gauge string that came on it.
......I don't care much for mediums. The play-ability is fine, since my Luthier set it up when he made the bone saddle and nut.
But it seems to me that the mediums yield "more" sound than the guitar can handle, if that makes sense.
With light strings the tones just seem more clear and focused.
My 2 cents
You switched not only gage, but also brands, so you added an additional variable. I don't personally like D'Addario strings because, to my ear, they always add the tones you are complaining about.
You might try another comparison test using same brand and alloy but changing only gage.
And yes, it came with mediums but they were Elixirs which have a different sound than D'Addarios.