Taylor GS Mini acoustic set up 

Hahah no, you're not alone! :) I'm always cautious... and I like to try half-way, see what it feels like, then continue if necessary. Since this video, I found a good contact in Taylor who is able to supply me with the correct Factory shims for Taylor guitars so that I rarely make adjustments to the saddle on this brand any more (I do the corrections via shims and the saddle can retain its ideal original height). But I DO adjust the saddles on most other brands of acoustic guitars when customers want small action adjustments since it's the only place that the action CAN be adjusted without a full-blown neck reset!

Glad it was useful Rob.

In my experience, on guitars like Taylor you can usually go down as low as 2mm / 1.5mm and the guitar will play without needing any fret levelling. That action is *just* about tall enough for any uneven frets not to interfere with play. Now that I have a connection with Taylor, I'm able to get a set of shims for resetting the neck angle (to cure action issues) - that is the correct way to adjust the playing action but Taylor haven't made it very easy for well-meaning guitar techs to acquire the shims required. Once you make contact with them it turns out they're very helpful and these days send a set of shims via UPS for free providing I give them serial number, present & desired action and the shim numbers already fitted. Good service but a little slow in coming forward with their reck reset / shimming method.

Hi Angel. Leaving aside what Taylor recommends about strings for a moment, just keep in mind one thing: the shorter the scale length the floppier a given gauge of strings will feel at normal pitch. To counter this it makes sense to fit heavier gauge strings... but Taylor tends to advise very light strings for the shortest scale length guitars probably because they are structurally weaker than the big boxy beasts. So if you take Taylor's advice you'll be increasing your short(er) scale guitar's likelihood of going sharp when fretting by choosing extra light strings. Now, having said that I tend to use light strings on my Taylor Baby anyway simply because I prefer them....period. That leaves me aware that this guitar is going to be ultra-sensitive to 'over-fretting' pressure both close to the nut (that problem I talked about in this video) and everywhere else! But since the only alternative is heavier strings which a) I don't personally like and b) Robert Taylor implies might over-stress my delicate little guitar.... well, I stay light and live with the susceptibility to pressing notes sharp. Where you CAN minimise that tendency to go sharp on fretting is by setting the 1st fret action to a low height - I suggest 0.3mm max, 0.2mm min. This will minimise the natural tendency of strings fretted near the nut to go sharp when the 1st fret action is anywhere above that 0.3mm mark. Now - to the overall 'high action' issue which let's call the result of a high last fret action (as I measure it). On acoustic guitars you typically have only one way to reduce this: by reducing the height of the saddle by sanding it from below. However, there is a finite amount of 'last fret action' adjustment you can make this way. Sometimes this limit is imposed by how much or little saddle is visible above the wood of the bridge; more often it is imposed by how far you can go before you lose the all-important break angle of the high E and B strings over the saddle. Sadly, almost all acoustic guitars are destined to deform from the moment they're manufactured due to the constant string loading.. this means that the playing action (at the last fret) rises and you can find yourself with almost new guitars that you a) want to lower the action on to make them more playable but b) there's no scope in the saddle to do that for the reasons mentioned above. At this point your only option is an expensive 'neck reset' which should cost anywhere from £400-600 done properly. Luckily for us, Taylor uses a bolt-on neck construction and this, plus their clever 'reciprocal shim' system makes neck resets much, much easier and cheaper. You need to find a luthier / tech who has a relationship with Taylor and can get the shims from them and knows how the shim pairing works as well as how to remove the neck, make the adjustments and refit it. That luthier would also fit a quality friction-free nut and ensure the 1st fret action was super low (as described) as well as check and set a minimum of neck relief for your playing style. I can do those things but I suspect you're not in the UK... Hope this was helpful!

@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitarsthank you for this! I appreciate your fast and detailed response very much. So in light of needing it now, i simply adjusted the truss rod the slightest bit with the intent of possibly trying to lower the action based off of talking to an authorized Taylor service center in my town. and it helped with the action slightly, enough to make it better in my opinion, and it fixed the intonation!

Good eveninggggg Dublin! Hi Keith. The only oil I used in this video would be the Lemon Oil for the fretboard. I think it's D'Addario or Planet Waves (can't remember!). The only other stuff I might have used is 'Coleman's Cooking Fuel' which is a form of naptha which doesn't hurt either poly or nitro finishes. Good for cleaning the finish generally as well as the fretboard before oiling and re-stringing. In truth, all the oil does is darken the wood a bit (replacing the human skin oils that have built up). It doesn't do the wood any good (or bad for that matter) but we like how it looks and cleaning the board with naptha (or even soap and water) tends to strip off the human oils and leave the wood looking... dry. So it's mostly aesthetic. Hope that helps.

@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars Thank you very much Sam, very helpful.

Hi Andrew - Taylors are made so that neck 'resets' are easier than many other acoustics as they're bolted on. A Taylor technician can add shims to change the neck angle if required. Up to that point, some adjustment can normally be made via the saddle but in an ideal world (and money was no issue) you'd only make action changes via the neck & shims. But in the real world we often reduce the playing action via some saddle adjustment. If your E and B strings are buzzing un-fretted then I would suspect the neck flattening out too far (and possibly acquiring some back-bow). Checking the relief in the neck would be a good start point to understand what's causing it.

Yeah, I also found this video really interesting. In my case, I’m getting a buzz only on the low E, and only on the 10th fret. It’s really weird. I guess ill have to take it to a pro too.

@@javidavi Hi Javier... when I find a buzz at a single spot on a single string I tend to suspect a slightly high fret at that point (or, equally likely, a low fret just before that point). This will be 'cured' by raising the action at the saddle (not what most of us want) or careful fret levelling to permit a lower action. So taking it to a pro is a good idea - but so is learning how to do this kind of work yourself. You wouldn't want to practice on a Taylor but there are plenty of cheap acoustics out there that you can practice on :)

@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars thanks so much for the advice! I do have an old Ibanez from a starter kit from a few years ago. I might experiment on that one 😅! I wish I could send it to you but, being in Ireland, it’d be a bit complicated (but if you know of a reputable luthier or technician around Dublin, please let me know!). Thanks!

Hi Cynthia, thanks for the comment and nice feedback :-) The strings are Elixir acoustic Nanoweb 12-53s - be sure to get them from a reputable seller as there are a surprising number of fakes out there (at least reaching the UK). Since this set up, I've been able to make contact with Taylor who agreed to send me shim sets (if I send them the serial number + action measurements etc) for each guitar as they come through. That means going forward I can make the action adjustment mostly via changing out the shim pairs thanks to the bolt on neck. There's still some fine-tuning to do via the saddle but the bolt on neck / shim system means that the customer never reaches a point where no further adjustment is possible. In effect, with Taylor guitars, you can do a 'neck reset' every time your action reaches a point that's too high for your liking. I strongly recommend people Taylor guitars for this reason alone (and because they're well made and sound good). With regard to the lighter strings or down-tuning; either thing reduces the pull on the structure of the guitar so 'helps' some way towards slowing down that 'deformation' I probably talked about in this video. Many acoustic guitars (at all price / quality points) seem to get deformed by string loading. Yes, my view is biased since people are more likely to bring me guitars that have reached a point of unplayability - so by default I'm less likely to see the ones that haven't deformed. But it's an ongoing battle between great tone and the strength of the structure - and tone seems to win out at the expense of the structure. Knowing this, Taylor at least makes it easy to reset the neck/body join to correct for this expected deformation... Smart move. Anyway, to summarise, at this point I hadn't got through to Taylor (and most of the 'received wisdom' said that they were reluctant to supply shims) so I was doing what I could with the saddle - which is what I have to do with all the other brands that don't have a bolt-on neck / shim construction.

@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars Very very interesting all this. Maybe they would prefer we just buy a new mini every time the action isn't greaat. I find all my instruments get a richer tone as if they are thanking me for the relief when I tune them down. Thanks for the strings warning. I was a classical guitarist before I had a long illness then got fat, old and lazy, and now just love banging away on ukuleles in the hammock, until I got the mini which I'm loving. I'm glad Taylor finally allowed you to get some shims, good of them. I guess you don't see the need to put in ebony (no doubt reluctantly sold) Taylor bridge pins. I'm so excited about this instrumen that I just want to make my donkey a thoroughbred ya know? You need a tenor Outdoor Ukulele for your hammock which won't muck up as it's carbon fiber, due to your lifestyle choices! I really appreciate your quick response. Oh by the way, did you also get a mahogany or go for the koa? I'm so curious. If I can ever procure some Taylor shims I'll let you know so I can send them to you and thanks again. Well I did it - tuned it down a half step. Put a capo on fret two, but only on the top five strings and had more fun playing it than ever. I'm a believer. A couple of songs for you that I love: The Goodnight Loving Trail (Utah Phillips and Evangelina (Colter Wall) - the first two I had played after tuning it down, AND my fingers are really thanking me. I wish you all the best, Vermont Cynthia

@@cynthiawigington1236 It's a little-acknowledged reality that most acoustic guitars are deforming slowly from day 1. Taylor implicitly acknowledges this by virtue of the fact that they designed the bolt-on neck & shim system. But even they 'undersell' that advantage because to do so would be to bring to attention that their guitars, like just about all others, will eventually deform to a point where the action is too high to play. So they plan for this but don't shout about it... There's only one reason the guitar's playing action increases over time and that's changes in the guitar's structure (mostly caused by the string loading). These days my advice is either find an old, great-sounding guitar with a lovely low action by test playing it yourself or buy a Taylor. I'm not on their payroll but I'm sick of seeing £400+ acoustic guitars that are 1 yr old, far too high an action and zero scope for adjustment in the saddle. The only option for them is an expensive and time-consuming traditional 'neck reset'. At about £5-600 this is absolutely not worth it for most of the cheaper or even mid-range guitars out there. So yes either find the lucky ones that haven't changed in 20 years and won't or buy a Taylor for a lifetime of much easier neck resets.

Hi not a simple answer… I don’t know what’s on there; for me it would be a discussion that started with “Do you want the same size as what was on there originally?” and included options like stainless steel? Or EVO gold? Larger than before? Taller/shorter? Narrower/wider etc. Refret being a chance to change the feel of the guitar. If someone says “same as before” I can measure with digital callipers and find a close equivalent of go looking online to find what others (Taylor even) say the original wire was. Still likely to have to buy a ‘nearest equivalent’. Almost as important is getting the radius of the fret wire right before pressing / tapping them. Very limited choices of radius when buying pre cut sets. Some sellers only manage “slightly curved for easy fit” which is a totally useless description for anyone wanting to successfully refret their guitar!

@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars Thank you for your quick answer! I'm happy with the original frets but now that you mention there are many options i should consider. I will take a quick measurement of my guitars and also go out and try some other models that i like. Also, i will contact Taylor online. Thank again, Sam David

@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars Hi Sam, I contacted Taylor about the re-fretting of the GS mini and their recommendation is Dunlop 6260 Based on the available documentation on Dunlop's website the crown width is 2 mm and height is 1 mm. In comparison measuring the frets on my GS mini with a digital caliper - width: 2,08 mm and height: 1,17 mm So far i never really cared much about the frets, as long as they're not used up it was fine with me. Can you give me some pointers as to how the fret size is supposed to affect playability? I know it comes down to personal preferences but it makes it easier for me if i know what to pay attention to while playing. Re-fretting must be done some time soon and now is the time to think it over. Thank you! David

@@dufm7658 I’m one of those people who don’t mind what size frets I’m playing! Having said that I tend towards jumbo frets mainly for their height. Of the two basic dimensions the only one I care much about is the height for the simple reason that when the fret is low and you come to bend a note there’s less room between the strings and fingerboard for the side of your finger to push against. Because of this, when frets are low my fingers tend to skid over the top of the strings instead of bending the one I intended to bend. When the frets are higher, your bend starts with more of your finger pad below the level of the string and therefore able to push the string sideways more forcefully. I couldn’t say that I can feel a fret’s width in any meaningful way. So I tend towards jumbo frets because of the height issue AND I prefer to have a bit of height in reserve for fret levelling after fitting. In my experience if you fit a set of frets that can be played with a very low action straight way, you got lucky. I might achieve that about 1 in 30 refrets. The majority of the time you will need to level the frets after installing them and a 1/10th or even 2/10ths mm extra height ‘built in’ will come in very handy. Hope that helps!

@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars Makes sense to me and indeed helps a lot! Thank you!

Hi - the label inside the soundhole is pretty much white... Or do you mean the logo on the headstock? I don't think there's anything 'special' about this guitar.

Hi Paul, sorry to hear that but I’ve had similar-feeling NEW Taylors on the bench in the past. On the plus side, the feeling that it’s impossible to play CAN be corrected. At its heart, it’s a wooden neck with frets, truss rod, bridge - it’s bound by the basic physics of set ups even of it seems confusing / possessed :) From my perspective, I know that my set up using Taylor-Supplied shim pairs would put it 100% right. This would involve shimming, replacing and adjusting the saddle, new Tusq nut sized to give the perfect 1st fret action, new strings. If the frets happen to be unusually poor and uneven then precision fret levelling too.

Hi Stuart - no... you can go as light as you like. I think the main reason for the heavier string recommendation is the 597mm scale length - on the basis that the shorter the scale length, the looser any particular gauge of strings will feel. So 12s on a Strat (648mm scale) feel very heavy and tight; less so on a Les Paul (628mm scale) and even less so on a GS Mini at 597mm. There will be a gauge at which your fretting pressure + the looser / less tight strings will result in tuning instability ie. you'll find that fretting a chord will start to make the fretted notes sharper compared to the unfretted ones. But at which gauge that becomes a problem on a certain scale will be pretty much a personal thing, so try 11s and see. Go wild and try 10-47s and see how it plays for YOU.

Only because Tusq is better than NuBone. Customers are often after small but significant ‘icing on the cake’ improvements. I’m not critiquing NuBone; just changing it out for something a little better (harder and more lubricated). For some people - including my 15yr old self - the set up on this guitar would be pretty good. It can always be improved though :-) Edited to add: The owner of this guitar also wanted to be a pioneer and test out the unthinkable - using an adjustable Tusq nut (like I do on most 3-aside guitars). He liked what I had on my Taylor Baby so I explained the 'conventional wisdom' a.k.a. 'peoples' fears' about using an adjustable Tusq on an acoustic but he still wanted to try it. Well, it is reversible if he didn't like it. Conventional wisdom would probably think that a nut that stands on two metal grub screws wouldn't be any good for producing /'tone'. So far, my personal experience is that it works just fine for me and I've not heard otherwise from this customer.