Taylor GS Mini vs Alvarez Blues 51

[MJScott]

I own the latter. With my trading off my D-18 for my Taylor, I’ve decided to also get a guitar suited to travel. It will take the occasional plane flight. I used to have a baby Taylor and that could also be an option. The Alvarez is 1” longer over all than the GS Mini. I’ve played a bunch of GS Minis in the past and was impressed. The Alvarez while it has great tone requires very precise fretting to get said tone (difficult to play?). There are no Taylor dealers here so I would need to drive 2+ hours to try out.

So.....here’s the options:
Just buy a baby and stand pat on what I have
Trade the Alvarez for a GS Mini
Use the Alvarez as a travel guitar

Not an option is to have both the Alvarez and GS Mini

What would you folks do?

[DungBeatle]

Might be important to you but the Alvarez has a 1 3/4" nut width, the Mini has a 1 11/16" nut width.
=Bob=

[BluesBelly]

Originally Posted by MJScott

I own the latter. With my trading off my D-18 for my Taylor, I’ve decided to also get a guitar suited to travel. It will take the occasional plane flight. I used to have a baby Taylor and that could also be an option. The Alvarez is 1” longer over all than the GS Mini. I’ve played a bunch of GS Minis in the past and was impressed. The Alvarez while it has great tone requires very precise fretting to get said tone (difficult to play?). There are no Taylor dealers here so I would need to drive 2+ hours to try out.

So.....here’s the options:
Just buy a baby and stand pat on what I have
Trade the Alvarez for a GS Mini
Use the Alvarez as a travel guitar

Not an option is to have both the Alvarez and GS Mini
What would you folks do?

Being you already own the Alvarez, and if the precise fretting issue is not a deterrent, I Would sit tight and use that as a travel guitar. I Personally consider a 1-3/4” nut to be a must on any guitar but you might prefer a different size.
Maybe in your travels you’ll have a chance to visit music stores that have travel or parlor sized guitars on hand and you might find an unexpected treasure. Then trade the Alvarez or donate to a youngster that can’t afford a guitar.

Blues

[jaymarsch]

I owned both a mini and an Alvarez parlor. I understand the dilemma. I chose the Alvarez because I just really preferred the tone and the longer scale length. Over time, I have gotten more used to how to fret the Alvarez to get the best tone from it but it took some practice and experimenting with different string types and gauges to dial it in. You might try some different strings to see if that helps before you decide.

Best,
Jayne

[JERZEY]

My Delta-00 went on many camping trips with me. Not a bad guitar.

Consider the Martin Jr line before you buy a Mini. 1/34 inch nuts all solid wood greatness packed in a tiny package.

[JERZEY]

My Delta-00 went on many camping trips with me. Not a bad guitar.

Consider the Martin Jr line before you buy a Mini. 1/34 inch nuts all solid wood greatness packed in a tiny package.

[phavriluk]

Nut width is an easily-discussed measurement, but string spacing E-to-e defines the playability. I found my GS Mini to have wider string spacing than others with a 1 11/16 overall nut width. Time to measure.

[5th Element]

I've had a Blues51 for a couple of years and love it. Having only played GS Minis is stores, I can't give a fair or complete assessment, but I'd never trade my Blues51 for one. It comes down to personal preferences and specific needs, so others might feel the opposite — but I don't like the GS Mini at all.

Edit: My Blues51 has small frets, both short and narrow. Could that be the source of your difficulty? I don't have a particular problem with it, but I've played mine a lot. Some guitars have characteristics or quirks that highlight various shortcomings in my technique. Unless it's a defect, like uneven frets, I just work with it.

[Oldguy64]

Before you read any further look at my sig.

Now you know that I have an appreciation for Alvarez guitars.
I travel with the Journey Instruments guitar listed below.
It’s a pricey little thing. But it has proven worth the expense.

Also, a tiny adjustment here or there might make your guitar much easier and fun to play.
That said, the Alvarez LJ60 is direct competition for the Mini.
They are very close in sound and playability.
I do prefer the price tag on the Alvarez.

Because, I tend to require the least sleep in my house, I’m kind of considering a Yamaha Silent guitar for travel, and late night playing.
There are so many options. Good look in the search.

[Rpt50]

Why would you keep a guitar you find hard to play? Playing guitar is supposed to be fun.

The GS mini is hard to beat. You know you already like it, right? Just take the drive and get one. I have a spruce top model, and I bought my son the hog model. I would give the edge in sound to the hog, but the convenience features of the walnut/spruce are nice for travel (tune in loud environment, plug in). The GS mini case protects very well, and it fits in really tight spaces (even a miata trunk), and the laminate construction offers some stability for environmental changes. My only suggestion for travel improvement is that I wish the case did not have the "Taylor" logo, which says "steal me" more than a generic case.

I would think anything bigger than a GS mini and your travel becomes more "guitar focused" than you might like (e.g., where am I going to put this thing). Likewise with a solid wood guitar (is the humidity OK? Temps to extreme?). Likewise with a more expensive guitar (will this thing get stolen?).

Anything that sounds worse than a mini or is hard to play, why bother to even take it?

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by Oldguy64

Before you read any further look at my sig.

Now you know that I have an appreciation for Alvarez guitars.
I travel with the Journey Instruments guitar listed below.
It’s a pricey little thing. But it has proven worth the expense.

Also, a tiny adjustment here or there might make your guitar much easier and fun to play.
That said, the Alvarez LJ60 is direct competition for the Mini.
They are very close in sound and playability.
I do prefer the price tag on the Alvarez.

Because, I tend to require the least sleep in my house, I’m kind of considering a Yamaha Silent guitar for travel, and late night playing.
There are so many options. Good look in the search.

Well, I owned an Alvarez LJ60 and have to totally disagree with your assessment. Small, thin, boxy sound, Thin & narrow neck. Poor intonation. I couldn't get rid of mine fast enough. It was a dog. Seriously. Major disappointment because it looked so good on paper.

It's not in the same class as the Mini IMO. Neither in tone, nor in quality. BTW, I don't like Mini's either because of the nut width.

[Oldguy64]

Originally Posted by roylor4

Well, I owned an Alvarez LJ60 and have to totally disagree with your assessment. Small, thin, boxy sound, Thin & narrow neck. Poor intonation. I couldn't get rid of mine fast enough. It was a dog. Seriously. Major disappointment because it looked so good on paper.

It's not in the same class as the Mini IMO. Neither in tone, nor in quality. BTW, I don't like Mini's either because of the nut width.

On point of fact I don’t own an LJ60 either.
The Mini put me off that size.
It is, as you said, a better guitar.
My issue with the mini is that in its case it’s is only marginally smaller than a 110/114.

The Journey Instruments is a much better travel companion.
But it is pricey.
The OF410/420 is a better price.
But wood guitars are never going to beat Carbon Fiber for sturdiness.

[MJScott]

Here’s an update....I decided to keep the Alvarez. Before making a 2-3 hour drive to compare the 2, I played it for a long while and found I had no problem with it. Plus it has really great tone. So, still wanting a travel type instrument to fly with (the Alvarez seems a bit too large to strap my 3 rod fly fishing case to and get it on the plane and in the overhead) I ended up buying a Martin LX1-a fun little guitar.....