Taylor Guitars GS Mini – Starting With A Taylor?

Body And Neck:
Hardware:
Sound:
Value:

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If you ask any guitar player out there how they perceive Taylor and their guitar, you will hear many answers before someone says they see them as beginner instruments. After all, this brand is known to produce some of the best acoustic guitars on the market today. Even so, they have a few models which are well within the reach of the beginner crowd. Taylor GS Mini is one such acoustic guitar from Taylor, and it is a perfect choice for those who want to future proof their setup. Let's take a closer look.

Body & Neck

Taylor GS Mini features their Grand Symphony Mini body shape. It's basically a concert with a slightly disproportional lower bout. With that said, this is a travel guitar. It features a solid mahogany top combined with laminate Sapele back and sides. The neck is also a Sapele piece that comes with a genuine African ebony fretboard. Top of this guitar does feature binding, but not the neck. Some will criticize Taylor for using laminate wood, however the quality of this laminate negates many drawbacks this type of tonewood usually brings. The guitar is built rock solid and looks every bit as good.

Hardware

If you can trust one brand to build a lower mid-range model, it's Taylor. Sure, there will always be some compromises with guitars with this type of price tag, but not when it comes to hardware. They ship Taylor GS Mini with a great quality bridge that features Tusq compensated saddle. The nut is also made of Tusq and delivers a performance we have grown to expect from this material. On the other end, the tuning machines are also pretty good. They belong to Taylor's more basic group but are every bit as accurate. No matter what, the hardware on this Taylor is bullet proof.

Sound

Those familiar with Taylor acoustic guitars in general probably know about that characteristic Taylor tone. Even though this tone color is mostly present in their high-end models, you can find one of its variation in Taylor Guitars GS Mini. That's the beauty of a quality brand such as this one. Despite its smaller size, GS Mini brings on the thunder and packs enough volume no matter what you plan to use it for. Those worried about laminated back and sides can relax. This thing sounds tight while the tone is generally pretty warm even though trebles are obviously accentuated.

Conclusion

With its price tag and Taylor's logo on the headstock, GS Mini is definitely among the more expensive guitars that can still be classified as beginner models. Not everyone is ready to make such an investment, but those who do will have a guitar that will keep up with them for years. GS Mini is great for advanced players, not to mention those who are just starting to learn how ti play this instrument.

For more information regarding the GS Mini, click here.
For more beginner acoustic guitars, click here.