NGD x 2 - Taylor GS Mini and Taylor 110 (pics inside)

NOTP · #1 08-30-2014, 05:07 PM

The other day I found a Taylor GS Mini for CAD$300 (with original hardbag) and a Taylor 110 for CAD$400 (with original hardbag) listed on a local classifieds site being sold by the same seller looking for some quick cash. Recall that I had previously hunted a CAD$400 110 but didn't end up getting it. Good thing I passed on it, because the 110 pictured below is showroom condition compared to the one I didn't buy.

Both guitars checked out fine and are basically mint condition except for an almost undetectable amount of fret wear on the lower frets and slightly-previously-enjoyed strings.

Both could also use a little truss rod tweak to allow a tiny bit more neck relief, but I haven't gotten around to that yet.

Both hardbags even came with original documentation, never touched by the seller. These are NICE gigbags! Apparently, to buy one at my local big music chain store, it would cost around CAD$130.

The Taylor serial number decoder page tells me the GS Mini was made October 5, 2013, Production Schedule #389, in the Tecate (Mexico) factory, and the 110 was made April 15, 2013, Production Schedule #057, in the Tecate (Mexico) factory. Assuming some time for the guitars to be displayed at the store and the seller's time owning them, it looks like the seller didn't possess them for very long.

I managed to walk away with both for CAD$675. I think I did okay considering both don't even look like they were played very much, and both look good enough to hang on a wall at a music store and be sold for retail price.

However, with a Bedell TB18G on the way thanks to a fellow AGFer, I will have to decide which new guitars I want to keep. I live in a small place and I actually don't need this many guitars, plus I'm extremely close to finishing my mortgage and incorporating more travel into my life, and buying "useless things" and consumer possessions slows down my journey to get there faster.

I figure I could easily recoup my money by reselling the GS Mini and 110 if I don't want them, or do the tweaks and string change and resell them for a small profit. And I haven't even touched the CAD$225 Yamaha FG720S-12 I picked up several weeks ago, which is in dire need of a setup and string change.

Alternatively, today I had the spontaneous idea of using these new acquisitions as "trade bait" at a local store. They have a CAD$770 guitar that I want that won't move. I could potentially trade both the GS Mini and 110 for that and come out a little bit ahead. The store should easily be able to quickly move a 110 and especially a GS Mini (a best-selling guitar) for profit. Win-win for both parties. I'll keep you posted.

Anyway, on to the photos! Because of how young both guitars are, you'll notice the ebony boards have streaks of brown as per Taylor's current ethical ebony practices, rather than exclusively using pure jet black ebony as in the past. My 1998 K14c's ebony board is uniformly pitch black by comparison.

NOTP · #2 08-30-2014, 05:08 PM

The Growler · #3 08-30-2014, 06:12 PM

Well done! You've got a nice pair of guitars right there. Enjoy them.

ifret · #4 08-30-2014, 06:50 PM

You did very well. They are very nice. Those sitka tops have some good looking grain. Enjoy!

ahorsewithnonam · #5 08-30-2014, 07:11 PM

NTD! New Taylor Day!

beachbum205 · #6 08-30-2014, 07:29 PM

Nice score! You can't go wrong with either of them!

Dru Edwards · #7 08-30-2014, 07:58 PM

Passing on the 110 earlier just meant that another one would pop up soon enough ... and a GS Mini too! Congrats on the double score.

NOTP · #8 08-30-2014, 09:37 PM

Thanks all. Here's an epiphany I had this evening. Realizing earlier that both necks were slightly back-bowed, with the 110 even having some muffled notes (the "sitar sound") due to the backbow, a 1/4 truss rod turn to the left on the 110 and a 1/8 truss rod turn to the left on the GS Mini made both guitars play and sound tremendous and difficult to put down. The neck relief is now where it should be!

Action on both is a tiny bit higher than on my K14c, but I've come to realize that guitar has some sort of weird magic that allows unnaturally low "electric-guitar style" action without fret buzz. I never even had to set it up, tweak the truss rod, or lower the saddle in the entire ten years I've owned it. So every other acoustic guitar I have played since then always feels higher than my "gold standard". Now I realize why I seem to complain a lot about "high action out of the box".

I shouldn't have tweaked the truss rods on the GS Mini and 110. Now it'll be that much harder for me to have the heart to sell them.

Upon closer inspection in a bright room, I noticed the strings had minimal wear/oxidation were still fresh enough to keep on there for a little while longer. I'm almost positive they are medium gauge 80/20 Elixir Nanoweb, the final year that Taylor factory-installed 80/20 bronze before switching to phosphor bronze in 2014. I tuned both guitars down a full step like my K14c and they roar, although I might screw around with alternate tunings now that I have more than one acoustic 6-string.

The Growler · #9 08-30-2014, 09:53 PM

Why do you tune down a full step?

NOTP · #10 08-30-2014, 10:02 PM

Many songs I like to play are played a half-step down or a full-step down. I haven't owned an acoustic guitar tuned to standard in ten years. Tuning down a full step and using a capo where required allows me to cover a lot of range.

Interestingly enough, I keep all my electric guitars in standard tuning, and use an effects processor to digitally alter the signal to play electric songs that are originally played in lower tunings.

joeguam · #11 08-30-2014, 10:03 PM

Are you kidding me, you got a steal! Those 110's go for about price you paid for both that and the GS Mini. Nice work.

NOTP · #12 08-30-2014, 10:07 PM

Thanks.

The 110 seems to be discontinued (according to the Taylor website, it is a "legacy model": http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/110) and I can't find any websites that sell it new, so I have no idea what its retail value is/was worth. The closest thing I could find is the 110ce which is sold here in Canada at CAD$879.95.

Easy to find the Canadian retail value of the GS Mini since it's popular: $549.95.

The Growler · #13 08-30-2014, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NOTP

Many songs I like to play are played a half-step down or a full-step down. I haven't owned an acoustic guitar tuned to standard in ten years. Tuning down a full step and using a capo where required allows me to cover a lot of range.

Interestingly enough, I keep all my electric guitars in standard tuning, and use an effects processor to digitally alter the signal to play electric songs that are originally played in lower tunings.

Interesting. I was curious. Thanks