Pooty Skills
Island Dweller
Yo guys, just got this guitar yesterday, so I'll have to update the review later with some real facts once I get more play time in.
That said, I've seen the GS Mini's around for a long time, a few people I know have them (the spruce/hog model, all of them) and I've always been blown away by how large and deep they sound for being such a small bodied guitar. I had seen a koa model in my local store before, and it was truly a thing of beauty, so clearly it sold very fast. I always regretted not jumping on it when I had the chance. Fast forward 6 or 7 months and I'm talking to my friend who works at the same music store, and the topic came back to the koa GS Mini, and he checks the inventory to see if any had come in around our area. Lo and behold, there was one that came into our very store that morning, still un-played in the cardboard shipping box! After a quick strum and look-over for any defects (of which there were none whatsoever) I promptly put the guitar in my van and came home feeling very satisfied. All this after just selling a different acoustic the day before, so I had a gap in my collection to fill anyway!
The guitar:
At only 23.5" scale, the .13 gauge strings feel just fine, very similar to the .12's that I usually use on my longer scale acoustics. The GS is very light, even amongst other smaller guitars that I've tried, also very loud and resonant. I'm not sure how Taylor have managed to crank so much volume out of this thing, to be honest. I think a bit of it might have to do with the back being arched, similar to the curved back on my Cort 12 string, which also has a smaller body and is quite loud. This guitar came with the Taylor Expression 2 electronics, which feature adjustable sensitivity behind the saddle on the bridge. Plugged into a proper acoustic amp, after fiddling with the EQ a bit, the guitar really sings. Harmonics and resonance through an amp seem full and rich, unlike some of the cheaper acoustic electronics I've tried in the past, which seemed to really choke the sound significantly. Action on the guitar is quite good. Low enough to play for extended periods comfortably but still high enough to have clearly ringing notes across the registers. Played back to back with my friends spruce/hog GS Mini, the koa actually seemed a tad brighter IMO, though we were using different strings as well
The only thing that remotely resembles an issue that I have with this instrument is that the back and side woods don't seem to jive with what's on the spec sheet I got with the guitar (says the back and sides should be either mahogany or sapele) nor does it match whats on the Taylor website (says the top, back and sides should all be koa). The back and sides to me, look like limba almost, or something along those lines. I'd be curious to see what some of you guys think about this.
Anyway, enough talk.
Pics:
That said, I've seen the GS Mini's around for a long time, a few people I know have them (the spruce/hog model, all of them) and I've always been blown away by how large and deep they sound for being such a small bodied guitar. I had seen a koa model in my local store before, and it was truly a thing of beauty, so clearly it sold very fast. I always regretted not jumping on it when I had the chance. Fast forward 6 or 7 months and I'm talking to my friend who works at the same music store, and the topic came back to the koa GS Mini, and he checks the inventory to see if any had come in around our area. Lo and behold, there was one that came into our very store that morning, still un-played in the cardboard shipping box! After a quick strum and look-over for any defects (of which there were none whatsoever) I promptly put the guitar in my van and came home feeling very satisfied. All this after just selling a different acoustic the day before, so I had a gap in my collection to fill anyway!
The guitar:
At only 23.5" scale, the .13 gauge strings feel just fine, very similar to the .12's that I usually use on my longer scale acoustics. The GS is very light, even amongst other smaller guitars that I've tried, also very loud and resonant. I'm not sure how Taylor have managed to crank so much volume out of this thing, to be honest. I think a bit of it might have to do with the back being arched, similar to the curved back on my Cort 12 string, which also has a smaller body and is quite loud. This guitar came with the Taylor Expression 2 electronics, which feature adjustable sensitivity behind the saddle on the bridge. Plugged into a proper acoustic amp, after fiddling with the EQ a bit, the guitar really sings. Harmonics and resonance through an amp seem full and rich, unlike some of the cheaper acoustic electronics I've tried in the past, which seemed to really choke the sound significantly. Action on the guitar is quite good. Low enough to play for extended periods comfortably but still high enough to have clearly ringing notes across the registers. Played back to back with my friends spruce/hog GS Mini, the koa actually seemed a tad brighter IMO, though we were using different strings as well
The only thing that remotely resembles an issue that I have with this instrument is that the back and side woods don't seem to jive with what's on the spec sheet I got with the guitar (says the back and sides should be either mahogany or sapele) nor does it match whats on the Taylor website (says the top, back and sides should all be koa). The back and sides to me, look like limba almost, or something along those lines. I'd be curious to see what some of you guys think about this.
Anyway, enough talk.
Pics:
