The Official GS Mini Upgrades / Mods / Customizations Thread [Part 2]

[Ed-in-Ohio]

See original thread [Part 1] here.

Let's hear about and see those mods!

[Sponserv]

Ed in Ohio,

Call Jake in Ohio (Burning River Guitars, Akron).

Ask him to tell you about my Koa mini he just built for me. Be prepared to get very silly building an amazing guitar.

Joe in Florida

[Vancebo]

Ed in Ohio, thanks for starting part two of this thread. Part 1 was resurrected a couple of days ago just when I bought a new GS mini. Already I have some of the mods on order. Gotoh mini tuners from Japarts, bone wave saddle and ebony bridge pins from Amazon, a Dazzo #70 pickup and an A.S.S. to lock in my strap. I will add a truss rod cover from the Nichols website and possibly a new custom pick guard.

I would love to see pics of everybody's tricked out GS Minis. My older brother belongs to a PT Cruiser club that enjoys customizing their cars. Why can't we have fun with the Minis? So bring the pics!!!

[zcregle1]

I've done a few small mods (new truss rod cover, removed the pickguard) but the best mod I did was put on a set of La Bella Silk and Steel 12s. They truly make these guitars shine. Couldn't recommend this enough.

[Liam77]

Hi,

I've just got a GS Mini Mahogany that I'll use as couch guitar.

Like all my other guitars, I'll enjoy upgrading it myself, starting by the saddle.

I had a look a it and Im a bit surprised of its shape. It's just a straight edge for all strings except for B string where the string would lie on the other edge of the saddle.

Usually, the shape is a bit more subtle.
A straight edge with a stronger angle for the E, A and D, then another parallel edge for the G and e and the B being again behind all others.

On some mods, I've seen for the GS mini, most compensated saddle are following this shape.

What do you think about this?
I guess Taylor wouldnt sell a guitar with a stock saddle making intonation wrong.
Or is it possible that for such a short scale guitar, theses differences wont affect the intonation?

Cheers,
Guillaume

[Rudy4]

My stock saddle intonates beautifully. Don't mess with success.

[dustin_atr]

Hey guys, I'm new here, my name is Dustin.

Here is my GS-mini Koa; upgrades include:

Gotoh mini antique gold machine heads with black buttons
Koa TRC
Replaced plastic peghead veneer with ebony
Taylor MOP inlay on Peghead
Replaced plastic heel cap with ebony
Refinished neck with grain filler and satin finish
Bone nut
Ab-dot bridge pins
ES-2 pickup















The guitar is a little dusty, haven't wiped her down in a while, but enjoy.

[Sponserv]

This looks awesome Dustin. Great Job.

I am a geek for mods on small guitars. Went crazy recently with Martin D Jr. and also a Koa GS Mini.

Yours looks great. Hope it sounds just as good. Where did you get the TRC and the heel cap/peghead ebony?

[Ed-in-Ohio]

Dustin, Gorgeous! Well done. Play on!

[dustin_atr]

Originally Posted by Sponserv

This looks awesome Dustin. Great Job.

I am a geek for mods on small guitars. Went crazy recently with Martin D Jr. and also a Koa GS Mini.

Yours looks great. Hope it sounds just as good. Where did you get the TRC and the heel cap/peghead ebony?

It sounds excellent after replacing the nubone nut with bone and the shim to fix the action. I had a lot of buzz which seems to be a common problem with minis, but was able to have a friend dial it in and it's spot on now. If you have any such problems I suggest sending it in to Taylor and having them check it out.

Luckily I work for Taylor and was able to source the ebony and TRC straight from the factory. We have a lot of scrap wood sitting outside our doors for employees to use 🙂.

[Alejandro]

Originally Posted by dustin_atr

Hey guys, I'm new here, my name is Dustin.

Here is my GS-mini Koa; upgrades include:

Gotoh mini antique gold machine heads with black buttons
Koa TRC
Replaced plastic peghead veneer with ebony
Taylor MOP inlay on Peghead
Replaced plastic heel cap with ebony
Refinished neck with grain filler and satin finish
Bone nut
Ab-dot bridge pins
ES-2 pickup















The guitar is a little dusty, haven't wiped her down in a while, but enjoy.

what a good looking beauty! i'd like to know how did you replace the peghead
veneer actually?

[dpay]

For my gs mini mod, I changed the bridge pins to ebony with abalone dot and changed up the headstock. I removed the plastic veneer and added a wood veneer. I changed the tuning machines to grover locking tuners to make stringing much easier. The headstock took a lot of work. First I ordered a Headstock plate from LMI. I had to use a utility knife to cut the shape. I sanded the headstock plate down with 80, 150 and 220 grit sandpaper to get rid of the glue residue on the headstock. I then added a water based finish over the wood to protect it from elements. Finally, glued the headstock plate to the headstock using LMI Yellow Instrument glue. It is not perfect as I made some screwups in the process, but at the end of the day I'm satisfied with the result. Also the photos weren't for third party use so I use flickr. I do not have a headstock plate so I'm thinking of buying one.
GS_Mini_Headstock_2018_00044 EDITED by airy sky
GS_Mini_Headstock_2018_00031 by airy sky
GS_Mini_Headstock_2018_00029 by airy sky
GS_Mini_Headstock_2018_00027 by airy sky
GS_Mini_Headstock_2018_00010 by airy sky, on Flickr

[guitargeak99]

All my upgrades were cosmetic except for the bone saddle. I was then able to compare mine with a friend’s GS - same model and same strings. The bone gave it a tad more volume and clarity, but not much.

[Doug MacPherson]

Extension nut, high flat bone saddle = Lap Slide Guitar

[Ramesses]

Today I swapped in a Tusq nut (6116) that I had read will increase the string spacing and was a direct drop in replacement. The string spacing is a smidge wider, which is what my monkey hands need, but its not a direct drop in so I temporarily switched back to the original nut.

First of all, the Tusq nut is slightly wider. So it hangs over the side of the neck like dry fret ends. This is something I could have lived with because my hand never goes there and optically its not seen. And this is an inexpensive guitar....

The bigger issue for me is that the nut action is higher and this is something I won't tolerate. Currently I don't have anything to cut deeper nut slots so I made the move back until I do. I guess I could have used sand paper on the bottom but its Saturday night and I'm playing guitars, not wrenching on them. Maybe I'll try to fit the Tusq nut on my Ovation and see how that goes. From what I've read it has a narrower spaced nut slot as well.

Just an FYI in case someone else comes across this direct drop-in information. It isn't. It is easy to make it fit directly but it doesn't drop and go.