Right, here's the thing. I think this is cool as anything, but I appreciate this level of wear and tear isn't for everyone. Here we have a freshly serviced and restored example of the Taylor GS Mini M-e Mahogany Electro Acoustic with ES2 Pickup. It's certainly had a hard life, but man, it sounds gorgeous and plays beautifully. The wear and tear has been documented as accurately as possible. There's a lot of it, but structurally this is sound as a pound. I think it's kinda gorgeous, beauty is in the eye of the beholder right? Be the next chapter of its long story.
Taylor gig bag not included.
The Taylor GS Mini takes one of Taylor's most loved body shapes and shrinks it down to make one of the best travel sized acoustic guitars ever made. No matter if you need a tour grade acoustic that can fit in the car with the rest of your gear or just want a guitar to take with you while traveling the GS Mini is hard guitar to beat.
GS Mini
The Taylor GS Mini is a shrunk down version of the incredible Grand Symphony body shape that quickly became a favorite of artists all around the world. From strummers to finger pickers the Grand Symphony was one of the guitars to have thanks to its versatile tonal range, stunning dynamic definition and strong projection that means you will always be head. This shrunk down version looks to keep all of these traits but at a much smaller size meaning you will never have to go anywhere without your precious acoustic again. Due to the body being a lot smaller that the normal Grand Symphony it may not have the punch or the power but it still has the same incredible versatile tone.
Mahogany Body
Taylor are known for being able to get the best out of any kind of acoustic guitar materials. That is why you can get the GS Mini in so many flavours including this Mahogany backed version that delivers a great warm tone when compared to other models that really lets you single note line and fingerpicked runs come to life like you wouldn't expect out of a small guitar like this. If definition and depth are what you are after you can not go wrong with Mahogany.
Rethinking the Piezo Pickup
For decades, piezo-electric transducers have been positioned under the saddle of a guitar based on the long-held belief that the string and top vibration cause the saddle to "bounce" up and down. Taylor's electronics team discovered that the vertical movement is actually heavily restricted, and that the saddle gets "locked down" due to the string tension's downward pressure. That's why a traditional under-saddle pickup with piezo-electric crystals often responds with a sound often characterized as thin, brittle, brash or synthetic, especially with more aggressive playing.
Taylor moved the pickup from under the saddle to behind it. The new positioning enables the crystals to respond more naturally to the guitar's energy as it is transferred through the saddle. What this means is you get a warmer, richer sound. You can dig in and still sound great.
The ES2 features the same volume and tone control knobs as previous versions. The preamp is similar but with a slightly different gain structure. As a result it will be about 25 percent hotter, which is more in line with other pickups. This makes it plug-and-play friendly both for artists and live sound mixers.
Here's what Taylor say about the GS MINI M-e
Released among a small batch of premium GS Mini models, the GS Mini Mahogany gives players a compact and great-looking guitar that’s also ready for plug-in fun. Upgrades include a back and sides made of Mahogany and Taylor’s stage-ready ES2 acoustic electronics, complete with on-board ES tone and volume control knobs. With the help of a solid Sitka spruce top, the Mini blends the portability of a travel-size guitar with the tonal depth and projection of a full-size guitar, while Taylor’s patented NT neck delivers a smooth, fun playing experience. Comes in a GS Mini hard bag.
Specifications
- Shape: GS Mini
- Number of Strings: 6
- Back/Side Wood: Mahogany
- Scale length: 23-1/2"
- Top Wood: Sitka Spruce
- Body Length: 17 5/8"
- Electronics: ES2
- Body Width: 14 3/8"
- Cutaway: None
- Body Depth: 4 7/16"
- Nut & Saddle: Nubone Nut/Tusq Saddle
- Neck Width: 1-11/16"
- Neck/Heel: Sapele
- Bracing: GS Mini with Relief Rout
- Fretboard Wood: Ebony
- Fretboard Inlay: 5mm Dots
- Headstock Overlay: Lexan
- Binding: None
- Bridge Inlay: None
- Bridge Pins: Black
- Tuners: Taylor Chrome
- Truss Rod Cover: Black Plastic
- Back/Side Finish: Varnish
- Top Finish: Varnish
- Neck Finish: Varnish
- Pickguard: Tortoise
- Number of Frets: 20
- Armrest Binding: None
- Back Config: 2-piece No Wedge
- Backstrap Wood: None
- Backstrap Finish: None
- Brand of Strings: Elixir Phosphor Bronze Medium
- Buttons: Chrome
- Edge Trim: None
- Fingerboard Ext: None
- Fretboard Binding: None
- Heel Cap Binding: Black
- Heel length: 3-1/2"
- Peghead Finish: None
- Peghead Inlay: None
- Peghead Binding: None
- Peghead Logo: Printed on Headstock Overlay
- Peghead Type: Standard
- Rosette: Mat.Plastic
- Rosette Size: Three Ring
- Stain/Sunburst: None
- Type of Neck Joint: Scarf
- Wedge: None