GS Mini Madness no more

[EADGBE]

What a long strange taylor trip it's been. I purchased my first GS Mini in 2019 and loved it. I had been getting into smaller acoustics and settled on the eRosewood which was a nice little guitar. Then, I decided I wanted the Koa+ because of the upgrades and such so I sold the eRosewood and purchased a Koa+ online. It never felt as good as my old eRW (which I picked out in store) but i figured I'd get used to it. The neck was slightly different and the acoustic tone was pretty thin. After a while, I just stopped playing it and when the 50th anniversary edition GS Mini came out, I went to compare/trade and ended up not liking it so I sold the Koa Plus and stepped up to the GT Urban Ash - still small but better...right??? After 5 months, I found myself uninspired by the GT and missing the GS Mini. Afterall, at 15" at the lower bout, I'd rather my 000 or GC Custom.

Yah, the GS Mini is from Mexico and yah, it's lam on the back and sides, and yah, it allegedly does not have the same resonance as a GT but to me, it's the perfect small guitar. I spoke with my local music store about swapping my GT for a GS Mini and they offered me a great trade in price which had me leaving the store with a GS Mini Mahogany without electronics. I was going to get another RW but this one spoke to me. All I had to do was file the nut slots down to an appropriate level and I'll tell you what...it's really fun, easy to play, and sounds great.

There is a reason this guitar sells like it does and although most video reviews claim that the GT is better in many ways, it isn't for me. Specs and price dont always tell the whole story. 

The GS Mini madness is over!

[Earl]

Welcome to the nut house!  Hope it all works out in the long term.  (Nice forum handle BTW.  There is a license plate with those letters running around the Boise area).

We went through a spruce top GS Mini (came to me used via a deal for something else).  My petite wife loved the size but preferred the tone of the mahogany top by a long margin.  That eventually moved on for a carbon fiber CA Cargo, at 2X the price of the Mini.  As much as we both love koa, we were over the Mini thing by the time they came out.

Each wood guitar is an individual.  They may come out of the same factory, but each solid top is a unique piece of wood.  Luthiers have tried hard to build two identical guitars, often using adjacent slices of the same log, but without success.  Taylor does not tap-tone or thickness sand tops with different properties.  No factory can take the extra time to do that.

[TaylorGirl]

I have had several flavors of the GSmini over the years. They were all good, but my koa+ was the one that topped the list for me. They are such a fun little guitar!

[Edward]

Welcome to the board!

Yeah, hard to beat the GSm for its size and tone.  IMO, far too much hullabaloo has been written about solid vs lam back/sides.  Those who have played enough good lam guitars know how good these can be.  And I mean genuinely good-sounding acoustics in their own right, not merely "good for the price."  I know my 210dlx, now 10 years old and played often, gives up precious little to my "nicer" guits.  And my daughter's GSm (prob 10+ years old) sounds fabulous. 

Bottom line: a genuinely good guitar that sounds great when you demo it will only sound better with play over the years.  They just do.  Congrats on coming full circle!

Edward

[xtremearmor]

Wondering how the OP is getting along with the GS Mini Mahogany.  I have been giving some thought to a 2nd acoustic for alt tunings and a travel guitar.  I cut my guitar teeth on a GS Mini but sold it when I decided it was time to graduate to a full size guitar.  Any thoughts on if the scale length and nut width still satisfying for those with both?

[Earl]

I have found in general that short scale guitars are not ideal for lowered tunings.  YMMV.  Short scale can work, but any intonation issues tend to become magnified.  The 43 mm (1-11/16") nut width was fine for her and workable for me.

My wife's GS Mini lived almost exclusively in Open G tuning [DGDGBD] the primary tuning for Hawaiian slack-key style.  I normally put a bluegrass set on for her - medium basses and light trebles.  When you tune down it becomes more important to go with medium gauge strings on any guitar.  The short 23.5" scale length already kinda needs that extra tension (which is why Taylor ships Mini's with mediums) and especially when tuning strings down from standard pitch.  Try it and see....    I have asked in stores if it is OK to change tuning, and they generally agree.  Out of courtesy I always put it back to "standard" when done.

[xtremearmor]

Good to know.  If anything I might have tuned mine down a half step once or twice but that's it.  Perhaps I will scrounge for a deal on a 114ce!

[Edward]

Wondering how the OP is getting along with the GS Mini Mahogany.  I have been giving some thought to a 2nd acoustic for alt tunings and a travel guitar. I cut my guitar teeth on a GS Mini but sold it when I decided it was time to graduate to a full size guitar.  Any thoughts on if the scale length and nut width still satisfying for those with both?

I would wholly recommend Taylor's "layered" guitars.  Owned a few over the years, one for over two decades and still have, and one that is used live fairly regularly these days.  Fwiw, I have some pricey acoustics, and I consider my 2016 210dlx a superb no excuse, no apologies required guitar. 

While I like the GSm and consider it a completely "worthy" guitar to travel as well as perform with, I'd personally suggest you look into the GC bodied guitars in this tier.  The 112 is their latest offering, iirc.  It has the more "standard" scale length and nut width of a "full sized" guit as opposed to a GSm, but comes in the very comfortable GC body.  Great value this line, imo!

Edward

[EADGBE]

Wondering how the OP is getting along with the GS Mini Mahogany.  I have been giving some thought to a 2nd acoustic for alt tunings and a travel guitar.  I cut my guitar teeth on a GS Mini but sold it when I decided it was time to graduate to a full size guitar.  Any thoughts on if the scale length and nut width still satisfying for those with both?

...getting along fine with the all hog GS Mini. I like the scale length but I also own a standard scale which I like too. The nut width happens to be what I prefer so all good there as well. Good luck in your quest!