Choosing the best GS mini

[takamineGD93]

The best GS mini is probably an academy...12

[blews]

Originally Posted by jontewright

I’ve owned the spruce, mahogany and koa versions.
I let the others go but not the koa one, yes I find the nut and string spacing a little tight but it’s worth it for the sound and playability.

Koa get’s my vote.

If the minis had a 1-3/4 nut, I would have one in the Arsenal and sell my Cargo….

[AndrewG]

I briefly owned a GS Mini (spruce), and didn't like it-purely subjective and I'm aware of the affection generally expressed for it. As another poster said there are much better alternatives available for a lot less outlay. The Yamaha CSF3M (all solid), and the Eastman ACTG1 (also all-solid woods), for example. Both are well worth exploring.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IajC...?v=q_dTGKzC2Qc
The Taylor has been around for a while now and, while it's a nice little guitar and was a good sounding concept when first introduced, I feel it has been eclipsed now.

[Paoli]

I compared one mahogany and a spruce GSmini in a shop about 9 years ago,I came home with the mahogany,I found the spruce one much thinner sounding.Never tried a Koa.I use the GM out a lot,travelling,the beach,situations that could potentially be tricky.I don´t play it much in the house but when I do I always wonder why it doesn´t happen more often.

[AndUandI]

Ive owned a couple gs-minis and I could never dial out a certian pingyness with them and my hands always felt cramped.. believe it or not I actually prefer my cheap Jim Dandy over them YMMV...

[RalphH]

While I'm generally a fan of sitka on a full-sized guitar, down at that size (and being taylor) I found the sitka ones to be bright to the point of abrasive. The koa one warms up the sound a lot. The hog was better than the Sitka one, but was a bit 'flat' for me. The koa one keeps the sparkle but adds warmth. YMMV etc.

[Jim in TC]

Originally Posted by blews

If the minis had a 1-3/4 nut, I would have one in the Arsenal and sell my Cargo….

I went the other way, finding my mahogany Mini to be less impressive (though only marginally) than the little Cargo.

The Mini was my gateway to small body, short scale. I found I liked the 'feel' of those characteristics more than the better tone of a Martin 000-15M. Also found I liked a wider nut (and carbon fiber) than the Mini so ended up with a Cargo and an Emerald X7.

Bottom line, I liked the hog Mini quite a lot but the cautions about size and scale are valid; but then that is what it turned out I liked most about it.

[Tony Burns]

dont ever order a guitar that you havent played one of that model and wood .
Koa is a nice wood , with electronics it would be fine - as an acoustic without electronics -maybe not . I love my Goodall AKS ( aloha Koa standard )
its kind of a cross between Rosewood and Mahogany -wish i could get another of them but with Hog . ( but my AKS is an amazing guitar )

[gmel555]

I have an all hog gs-mini. I think the "general" consensus is since the body is layered with a poplar core, it's the top that drives any tonal differences between models. I was able to play about a dozen minis, 3-5 of each top. I expected to favor the spruce top BUT I surprisingly & consistently favored the Mahogany. Warmer but still articulate, too my ears it also had a little extra complexity. The dealer said most of his customers favor the hog on tone. It's a datapoint but doesn't mean you will favor hog. I'd bet on any given day the "magic "one"could be any of the three tops. RE electronics I preferred to put in K&K Pure Mini over the Taylor pups, so I bought w-out electronics.

[TedBPhx]

Have a Mini Hog, Petunia, that got me hooked on smallish hardwoods. Got the GT Koa - Whoa! Next guitar will probably be one of those old Gibson solid mahoganies. Rosewood now sometimes sounds a little muddy to me, 814.

[WiseAxe]

Originally Posted by RalphH

The koa one keeps the sparkle but adds warmth. YMMV etc.

I have found this to be the case.