Full Size Taylor Tuners of GS mini

[PeteyPower16]

I have been thinking of swapping out the stock tuners on my spruce top GS mini for standard size gold tuners from Taylor. I was under the impression that the GS mini Koa Plus uses full size standard tuners, but I can’t confirm this.

I had a few questions that I hoped the forum community might collectively answer!

1. Will the larger gold tuners fit/look giant/look silly on a brown woodgrain GS mini headstock? Does anyone have photos they might be able to share?

2. The Taylor standard size tuners have an 18:1 gear ratio. Is this ratio an improvement over the stock tuners on a mini? What is the ratio on a mini’s tuners?

3. Understanding that higher gear ratios allow for more accurate tuning, have those who have made this swap found a notable difference in ease of tuning?

4. Will any drilling be required to switch Taylor mini tuners over to Taylor standard tuners? If so, I would not want to do this!

Thank you in advance for sharing from your experience, knowledge, and observations.

[vld]

I have swapped original mini tuners for standard size nickel tuners.

1. It looks OK. I will take a photo tomorrow.
2. and 3. Feels like a huge improvement to me. I will try to find the mini tuners and measure the ratio, but the standard tuners are more precise, the movement is more “fluent” - the mini tooners did not feel so smooth. Maybe the bigger buttons also help with this. The smoothness seems to me more important than gear ratio for precise tuning.
4. No drilling necessary. Standard tuners have different position of pins on bottom side (two vs. one), but there are three holes prepared on the headstock

[vld]

An older photo I have found in my phone. Hope you can spot anything... :-)

[PeteyPower16]

Originally Posted by vld

An older photo I have found in my phone. Hope you can spot anything... :-)

Thanks for sharing!

[PeteyPower16]

After posting this, I was able to find these 12-string mini Taylor tuners. I am not sure what “mini” means on this part: does anyone know if they would be a 1:1 perfect fit for a GS mini (even though I would only need six of them)?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133550996456

[Nick84]

Originally Posted by PeteyPower16

After posting this, I was able to find these 12-string mini Taylor tuners. I am not sure what “mini” means on this part: does anyone know if they would be a 1:1 perfect fit for a GS mini (even though I would only need six of them)?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133550996456

I have the mini Taylor tuners on my GS Mini and Big Baby. They are a direct swap. The mini Taylor’s are 18:1 and the stock tuners that came on the GS Mini are 14:1.

I think they are a worthwhile upgrade.

[vld]

Taylor Standard tuners on GS Mini

[gr81dorn]

Seems like the only meaningful thing "mini" about the stock GS Mini tuners are the buttons, which you can easily swap on the bigger/better full size Taylor tuners.

For my money, because no screw holes will be visible, I would choose non-taylor tuners like certain Gotohs, Grovers, hipshot or Schertlers which all are big upgrades in quality and have some fun finish and button options.

[Iain1231]

Are Taylor's mini tuners smaller than the stock tuners on the Gsmini? I compared the ones on GsMini Koa plus which comes with the "mini" tuners and found them to be much smaller than the stock ones on the GsMini. Would a standard size tuner be closer in size to the stock?

2. The Gsmini stock tuners are in a chrome finish while the Taylor's tuners are in nickel. Will the nickel tuners tarnish ?

[PeteyPower16]

Originally Posted by gr81dorn

Seems like the only meaningful thing "mini" about the stock GS Mini tuners are the buttons, which you can easily swap on the bigger/better full size Taylor tuners.

For my money, because no screw holes will be visible, I would choose non-taylor tuners like certain Gotohs, Grovers, hipshot or Schertlers which all are big upgrades in quality and have some fun finish and button options.

Thanks for this input! Do you mean that the upgrade to full size Taylor tuners will leave a visible hole in the headstock even though no drilling will be required? Just wanting to be sure!

If that’s the case, what would you suggest as a replacement that would cover the holes? I’m looking for nickel/silver or any “gold” tuners with a polished look that will not tarnish.

Thanks!

[Lillis]

You can order just six of the twelve string tuners straight from Taylor. Direct drop in replacement and 50 bucks I believe.