My Taylor family. . . grew

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Yesterday, I bought a Taylor GS Mini-e Koa (with the ES2), almost unused. The curious thing is that the person who sold me my Taylor DN3 did it because he wanted to buy a GS Mini, also in Koa.

That lil' fella is a cannon! For such a small guitar, it delivers a powerful tone, with the natural compression a small body guitar delivers and the Koa warmth many people love. And the ES2, which I only tested once with another guitar, sounds GREAT!

My only "gripe" with the Mini is the high action, but nothing that a good setup can't fix.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Guitarplayer_PR

Yesterday, I bought a Taylor GS Mini-e Koa (with the ES2), almost unused. The curious thing is that the person who sold me my Taylor DN3 did it because he wanted to buy a GS Mini, also in Koa.

That lil' fella is a cannon! For such a small guitar, it delivers a powerful tone, with the natural compression a small body guitar delivers and the Koa warmth many people love. And the ES2, which I only tested once with another guitar, sounds GREAT!

My only "gripe" with the Mini is the high action, but nothing that a good setup can't fix.

Congratulations On Your Taylor Mini-e Koa ES2! This guitar really comes alive when its ES2 is plugged-in! The models you and I have are the ones to get as they have the real ES2, and Taylor has since messed around with the pickup/preamp system and put a barn door in the side of their GS Mini models! Recommendation: Install a John Pearse Slimline Armrest to let the GS Mini's top sing out loud and clear! Enjoy!

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

Congratulations On Your Taylor Mini-e Koa ES2! This guitar really comes alive when its ES2 is plugged-in! The models you and I have are the ones to get as they have the real ES2, and Taylor has since messed around with the pickup/preamp system and put a barn door in the side of their GS Mini models! Enjoy!

Indeed. I don't know why did they feel like not using the ES2.

[RussL30]

Congrats! All the Mini configurations are impressive for their size. Mine can give my DN8 a run for its money volume wise and the DN8 is no slouch. It doesn’t have the complexity of tone, but the Mini is definitely a winner. The koa ones are really nice.

[PTony]

Congrats on the mini. Fantastic guitars. I prefer the JJB 330 Prestige pickup wise. Regardless, they are fantastic guitars. Ebony bridge/fretboard, decent rigid bag, enlarged soundhole, arched type back. Killer.

[ChrisN]

Re: Setup - check neck angle and reshim as necessary before messing with saddle height. Also, PR has wicked humidity, so stabilize for your environment before committing to substantive changes.

[PTony]

You can’t shim a set neck...

Guitar player...forgive me if you’re familiar with neck adjustments and setups. If not, I hope this helps...

Fwiw neck adjustments are very easy. I believe these take a 1/4 inch driver.

Capo the first fret. Hold down the big E at the 14th fret. When the neck is in the “sweet spot” you should get .05/.06 thousands clearance at the 6th fret (I use automotive feeler gauges). You can go + or - a bit depending on your strumming and how aggressive you may or may not be. Also, adjust the truss rod 1/4 TURN at a time when adjusting the neck. Some people wait for 24 hours before adjusting again. It shouldn’t be terribly off so you shouldn’t need a huge amount of adjusting...but then again it’s wood. So take it slow.

Then, if action still seems a bit high it may be necessary to shave the saddle height. That’s super easy also.

Detune. Capo the first fret. Pop out the bridge pins. Remove the strings from the bridge. Sand the bottom of the saddle on a flat surface. Make sure you keep the saddle flat and straight while sanding. Knock off VERY little. Put it back in. Put the strings back in with pins. Retune. Check action. Repeat until it’s comfortable for you. Mine is at 5/64 on the Big E. 4/64 on the small E at the 12th fret. This setup is very comfortable for me. No fret buzz and still room to really “dig in” without having issues.

[ChrisN]

Originally Posted by PTony

You can’t shim a set neck...

Guitar player...forgive me if you’re familiar with neck adjustments and setups. If not, I hope this helps...

Fwiw neck adjustments are very easy. I believe these take a 1/4 inch driver.

Capo the first fret. Hold down the big E at the 14th fret. When the neck is in the “sweet spot” you should get .05/.06 thousands clearance at the 6th fret (I use automotive feeler gauges). You can go + or - a bit depending on your strumming and how aggressive you may or may not be. Also, adjust the truss rod 1/4” at a time when adjusting the neck. Some people wait for 24 hours before adjusting again. It shouldn’t be terribly off so you shouldn’t need a huge amount of adjusting...but then again it’s wood. So take it slow.

Then, if action still seems a bit high it may be necessary to shave the saddle height. That’s super easy also.

Detune. Capo the first fret. Pop out the bridge pins. Remove the strings from the bridge. Sand the bottom of the saddle on a flat surface. Make sure you keep the saddle flat and straight while sanding. Knock off VERY little. Put it back in. Put the strings back in with pins. Retune. Check action. Repeat until it’s comfortable for you. Mine is at 5/64 on the Big E. 4/64 on the small E at the 12th fret. This setup is very comfortable for me. No fret buzz and still room to really “dig in” without having issues.

1. His guitar doesn't have a set neck. It's a shimmed Taylor NT scarf joint - it adjust with Taylor's shims. He should check the neck angle relative to the bridge, reshim as necessary, then sand the saddle to fine-tune the action to his liking.

2. He shouldn't use the truss rod to alter action, only to add/remove relief.

3. When he adjusts the truss rod to add/remove minor relief, it should be adjusted in 1/4 turn increments, not 1/4". That is too much, and he could break the rod.

[PTony]

Originally Posted by PTony

You can’t shim a set neck...

Guitar player...forgive me if you’re familiar with neck adjustments and setups. If not, I hope this helps...

Fwiw neck adjustments are very easy. I believe these take a 1/4 inch driver.

Capo the first fret. Hold down the big E at the 14th fret. When the neck is in the “sweet spot” you should get .05/.06 thousands clearance at the 6th fret (I use automotive feeler gauges). You can go + or - a bit depending on your strumming and how aggressive you may or may not be. Also, adjust the truss rod 1/4” at a time when adjusting the neck. Some people wait for 24 hours before adjusting again. It shouldn’t be terribly off so you shouldn’t need a huge amount of adjusting...but then again it’s wood. So take it slow.

Then, if action still seems a bit high it may be necessary to shave the saddle height. That’s super easy also.

Detune. Capo the first fret. Pop out the bridge pins. Remove the strings from the bridge. Sand the bottom of the saddle on a flat surface. Make sure you keep the saddle flat and straight while sanding. Knock off VERY little. Put it back in. Put the strings back in with pins. Retune. Check action. Repeat until it’s comfortable for you. Mine is at 5/64 on the Big E. 4/64 on the small E at the 12th fret. This setup is very comfortable for me. No fret buzz and still room to really “dig in” without having issues.

Originally Posted by ChrisN

...1. His guitar doesn’t have a set neck... shouldnt neck shims only be used for resets? Seems a bit extreme. Wouldn’t a neck adjustment and possible saddle adjustment be looked at before using neck shims?

2. He shouldn't use the truss rod to alter action, only to add/remove relief.

Pretty sure that’s what this is referring to. Neck Relief...
Fwiw neck adjustments are very easy. I believe these take a 1/4 inch driver. Capo the first fret. Hold down the big E at the 14th fret. When the neck is in the “sweet spot” you should get .05/.06 thousands clearance at the 6th fret (I use automotive feeler gauges). You can go + or - a bit depending on your strumming and how aggressive you may or may not be. Also, adjust the truss rod 1/4 at a time when adjusting the neck.

Action...
Then, if action still seems a bit high it may be necessary to shave the saddle height. That’s super easy also.

Detune. Capo the first fret. Pop out the bridge pins. Remove the strings from the bridge. Sand the bottom of the saddle on a flat surface. Make sure you keep the saddle flat and straight while sanding. Knock off VERY little. Put it back in. Put the strings back in with pins. Retune. Check action. Repeat until it’s comfortable for you. Mine is at 5/64 on the Big E. 4/64 on the small E at the 12th fret. This setup is very comfortable for me. No fret buzz and still room to really “dig in” without having issues.

3. When he adjusts the truss rod to add/remove minor relief, it should be adjusted in 1/4 turn increments, not 1/4". That is too much, and he could break the rod.

forgive me...

Also, adjust the truss rod 1/4 TURN at a time when adjusting the neck. Some people wait for 24 hours before adjusting again. It shouldn’t be terribly off so you shouldn’t need a huge amount of adjusting...but then again it’s wood. So take it slow.

[Guitarplayer_PR]

In reality, I could set it up, but don't have enough time or the tools for the job. In reality, the main culprits are the nut height and the saddle height. The neck just needs a little touch.

[PTony]

Originally Posted by Guitarplayer_PR

In reality, I could set it up, but don't have enough time or the tools for the job. In reality, the main culprits are the nut height and the saddle height. The neck just needs a little touch.

I understand. Especially the time factor. When I received mine last week it needed a slight truss rod tweak, and a minor saddle adjustment. The nut on this one was decent. I hope you enjoy your new addition. Play in good health!

Btw...care to post any pics of the Mini?

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Originally Posted by RussL30

Congrats! All the Mini configurations are impressive for their size. Mine can give my DN8 a run for its money volume wise and the DN8 is no slouch. It doesn’t have the complexity of tone, but the Mini is definitely a winner. The koa ones are really nice.

Certainly, the volume of the Mini is outstanding and yes, the tone isn't as complex, but for that I have the DN3 and, especially, my 414. I find the Mini excels at blues tones (it will probably become my main blues guitar based on it). It also fills everything tremendously plugged in. It's an AWESOME stage guitar.

[ChrisN]

Originally Posted by PTony

shouldnt neck shims only be used for resets? Seems a bit extreme. Wouldn’t a neck adjustment and possible saddle adjustment be looked at before using neck shims?

Not at all. Taylor recommends a combination of neck angle and saddle height when adjusting action. Frequently, with a stock-height Taylor saddle (Tusq piece), a minor neck adjustment is all that's needed - takes a tech about 15 minutes and a couple of shims.

Neck Relief adjustments should not be used to adjust action height. Neck relief is used only to add a little extra curvature (or remove it) to cure minor fret buzz from changes in humidity and/or string gauge changes. Only neck angle and saddle height should be used to adjust action on a Taylor. If this was a conventional dovetail joint, then I would agree with you that a reset was a too drastic step to change action, unless there was no more safe saddle height to remove.

The Ami I bought "used" came with lowish action, which I liked, but the playability was weird, with the strings closer to the frets in the middle of the board. I checked the relief and found excessive BACKbow, which the PO had done by cranking on the truss rod in an effort to avoid shaving the saddle. I restored normal relief and reduced the saddle height - all was well again.

[PTony]

[QUOTE=ChrisN;5702105]Not at all. Taylor recommends a combination of neck angle and saddle height when adjusting action. Frequently, with a stock-height Taylor saddle (Tusq piece), a minor neck adjustment is all that's needed - takes a tech about 15 minutes and a couple of shims. Hmmm...first I’ll address, once again, that I mentioned his neck shouldn’t need more than a minor tweak. He’d know by following the steps listed. If his relief was off he’d want to adjust that within Taylor specs first. I then mentioned if his action wasn’t to his liking he could sand the saddle in small increments until he reached his desired string height. To me, those two steps should be taken FIRST, before removing a neck and shimming it.

In addition, if the first two steps were followed and still revealed a possible neck reset was in order, Taylor would perform that work under warranty if the guitar was bought new. Many folks don’t have authorized Taylor repair dealers close. Also, many “authorized repair persons” in local Mom and Pops, or big box stores, can barely do a basic setup, let alone shim a neck.

And that’s IF they have the proper shims as Taylor makes NUMEROUS shims for the Taylor line. Not to mention at one point it was difficult for most to get Taylor shims unless they’d been through Taylor’s tech school. Not sure if that’s any different now tbh. While it may be “Taylors preferred method” regarding setups, and you're not supposed to sand a saddle... I’d say great idea... until the rubber meets the road somewhere far from the factory. The practical alternative is to set the neck relief to Taylor specs, and then sand the saddle until the action is reasonable. When all else fails...then send it back to the factory for shimming.

Neck Relief adjustments should not be used to adjust action height. Neck relief is used only to add a little extra curvature (or remove it) to cure minor fret buzz from changes in humidity and/or string gauge changes. Only neck angle and saddle height should be used to adjust action on a Taylor. If this was a conventional dovetail joint, then I would agree with you that a reset was a too drastic step to change action, unless there was no more safe saddle height to remove. Again, I addressed Neck/Truss rod adjustment first. So that the neck RELIEF was within Taylor specs. I’m aware what neck relief does. I’m not sure how you are interpreting me saying neck RELIEF has anything to do with ACTION. Although neck relief is not the primary factor when referring to action, it does have an impact on action. Hence, I first addressed neck relief. Which to me, is step one. Then, once proper relief is achieved, if the ACTION needed adjustment he should look at the saddle.

Regardless, I appreciate being able to openly discuss these items. Looks like we may have to agree to disagree regarding “first practices” when relating to guitar setups. Specifically the GS Mini. Although, I would follow the same procedure on any guitar. 1. Neck relief within factory specs, and players personal preference 2. Saddle height/string height (again within factory specs/players personal preference) and 3. Intonation adjustment at the saddle (referring to Electric’s here). If a desirable outcome could not be attained after following the steps listed a neck shim or reset may be in order.

My apologies to the OP for “hijacking” your new addition. Wasn’t my intention.

[troystory92]

I also own a 2016 GS Mini-e Koa and love the thing. Bought it used but I'm pretty sure it still had the factory strings on it.

I originally wanted the mahogany-e but they stopped making it. Also, I wanted the es-2 so it could be a viable backup guitar for gigging. I've even played it with my church band and it sounds awesome.

Great couch guitar.

When I first got it I put Elixir Polywebs on it. Had them on for about 6 months and they sounded great with the koa top. I have Elixir PB Mediums on it now and it really brightened up. Think I'm gonna go back to the the polywebs tho. Really gave it that woody sound.

Enjoy!