Advice on correct action taylor gs mini

sunshinewelly · January 2018

Picked up a new gs mini koa today and it's a lovely looking thing. Sounds nice too. Coming to it as an electric player it's a bugger on the fingers. Not sure what is classed as decent action on an acoustic. The relief was a high off as I looked at a video which said the neck on it should be flat so I straighted the neck a tad and have no buzz. The action at the 12th fret is around 2mm on low end and around 1.5 mm top e. However as I get to last frets the action is almost 3 mm at the point. Is this sounding about right for an acoustic. One thing I am struggling with is whole step bends which I can't do at the moment.

Jez6345789 · January 2018

Currently mine is the same the strings I think are 12/13 the bridge is high the action is high.

but I love the tone and projection it has and frankly I worry If I lower the bridge I will lose the punch.

i have to have a go with slightly lighter strings and bring the bridge down but at the moment even with the shorter scales it’s an exercise machine.

jakzek · January 2018

As far as acoustics go I found the action on mine quite low which is what drew me to it, being an electric player.

Bends are still quite a challenge but that could be because they are shipped with elixir 13’s, maybe try some 12’s and see how you get on.

Also the necks are bolt on and feature a couple of shims to get the neck set in the correct place. May be worth seeing a specialist Taylor dealer to see if the neck has adjusted slightly and if it needs some different size shims to prevent the headstock of the neck leaning too far away from the body.

Winny_Pooh · January 2018

Stock they come with nanoweb 13s. Nanowebs are slightly tighter feeling than non coated equivalents anyway.
Put on a set of nanoweb 12s, I find them best for my mini.

wrinkleygit · January 2018

try a set of d'addario 11-52 custom lights, they work well on my little martin lx ( so well in fact, my daughter has run off with it) & are easier on the fingers, action on yours sounds about right for a taylor

sunshinewelly · January 2018

Cheers

AliGorie · January 2018

sunshinewelly said:

One thing I am struggling with is whole step bends which I can't do at the moment.

what gauge strings U using ?

sunshinewelly · January 2018

Standard ones it came with. Not sure if 12s or 13s

richardhomer · January 2018

sunshinewelly said:

Standard ones it came with. Not sure if 12s or 13s

They come with Elixir Nanoweb 13s

AliGorie · January 2018

quite odd this 'n SSW, the 'MINI' scale length is Mini's 597mm (23.5-inch). I'd consider the 'action' you stated as being lowieh, I'd also consider the overall - even with '13's' would NOT prevent u from playing a two semitone bend - if you have 'developed' fingers / hands - do you ?.
I play 13's on a 25.4 s/l and manage those bends easily - thats with a higher action than is on your Mini.

Winny_Pooh · January 2018

AliGorie said:

quite odd this 'n SSW, the 'MINI' scale length is Mini's 597mm (23.5-inch). I'd consider the 'action' you stated as being lowieh, I'd also consider the overall - even with '13's' would NOT prevent u from playing a two semitone bend - if you have 'developed' fingers / hands - do you ?.
I play 13's on a 25.4 s/l and manage those bends easily - thats with a higher action than is on your Mini.

Without owning one I'd agree, in practice elixirs are stiffer... hence my recommendation to go to 12's

sunshinewelly · January 2018

i can bend OK on the upper frets but its very hard on positions 1-5

AliGorie · January 2018

sunshinewelly said:

i can bend OK on the upper frets but its very hard on positions 1-5

ah - this is starting to make sense - well SSW, frets 1 & 2 - I very much doubt there's many, if at all can do a two s/tone bend on an acoustic other than their using elastic for strings - and why would ya need to ?
just rearrange the piece - go 5 frets up or beyond and use the string below for yer bends.

ToneControl · January 2018

buy one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zuanjia-Function-Electric-Acoustic-Millimeters/dp/B017IFV3E6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1516571461&sr=8-3&keywords=string+action+gauge

or one of these:
http://shop.rall-online.net/WebRoot/Store16/Shops/61511639/5280/F0AD/C8D5/0DC2/A8D8/C0A8/28BE/9D39/popup_images_image_19200013_1.jpg

sunshinewelly · January 2018

cheers everyone

jellyroll · January 2018

Advice on correct action taylor gs mini?

Sell it

sunshinewelly · January 2018

Oh no. Played this all weekend and am loving it now

Sparky · January 2018

My mahogany one is still for sale on the sales page. Can't get a sniff at it. <apologies for the shameless plug>

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Advice on correct action taylor gs mini

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