Q&A: Travel-Size Guitar... Worth It, or a Waste? (Taylor GS Mini review, 3 years later)

I went to see Pat Benatar performing an acoustic show. Her guitarist/husband Neil Geraldo played the entire show using two GS mini’s. The show rocked!

I own a gs mini and a very nice Martin OM . I feel a gs mini is a perfect first guitar for most people . I feel the gs mini is super easy to play and that is perfect for a new player . I also feel if you start with a gs mini and you are still playing guitar a year or two down the road you can buy another larger guitar at that point ….. but you will not regret owning a smaller guitar . I love picking up my mini at the end of the day , watching tv and practicing a bit . I love my koa mini

I’m a retiree, my gs mini mahogany is the only guitar I use currently. It goes in the RV and to the cabin easily. Love it to bits.

I travel with a GS mini all the time. It handles all the big changes in humidity from travel just fine and has the nicest case. It also sounds and plays great!

I have a Taylor Gs mini Mohagony and i love it from the day one

I use my Koa mini quite similarly. Bought it sorta for my wife to teach her during Covid , but also for me as I always wanted to try one. All our others are downstairs. It’s on display in the living room, and the only one I have upstairs -that Koa top pops next to our wood furniture, stands out and calls out to me every time I pass by - fits both of us well and I love the brightness of the sound. Quite enjoyable to play on.

I have a full-size Seagull s guitar. I have picked it up and put it down more times then I wish to recall.After watching your travel video . I went out and ordered a Yamaha JR1. I love it . I am 5.4..and it’s so light and accessible I can’t wait to it up.l also favor this guitar for learning. Thanks

Just got the GS Mini Koa Plus and love everything about it. I own 7 guitars and this is by far my favorite

Martin D-Jr is an awesome travel guitar, too! Thanks for the great content, David.

Thank you for this video. I am a beginner that picked up guitar later in life. I have smaller hands and wondered if a mini would fit me better, but stayed away thinking the performance/sound would be subpar. But now i am going shopping

I have the GS mini as my only acoustic and I agree with your assessment. It is super comfortable and means I pick it up all the time. Most of my song ideas emerge while I am noodling and strumming on the GS mini. As you, I find the sound lacking a bit of "body" but that means I make less noise for the rest of the household 🙂. I only ever record via the pickup because I don't have a good mike and yes, it needs a bit of EQ to fill up the sound. That button on the tuner/pre-amp is really easily left pressed in, especially when you stick the guitar in its (super handy) travel bag. Thanks for the video, new sub to the channel.

I didn't know Paul Rudd played guitar! Great video!!! 51 and haven't played in a long time, was never that good to begin with but I've been playing a bit lately and my old Alvarez cracked where neck meets the body and won't stay tuned. You've convinced me to pick up the GS Mini. Thanks!

Great video. I owned a GS Mini and the problem for me was the 1 11/16 nut width and the really short scale cramps my fat fingers on the sixth fret and fat finger tips buzz other strings. There are lots of travel guitars with 1 3/4 nut width.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out whether I should by the Mini. Your vid pushed me over the edge. Thanks for taking time to tell me your thiughts

Got the exact guitar .. it’s the only one on the wall. I always play it.. the others are in their boxes

I have an Ortega Ebony guitar/uke. It is under 30 inch small. But I prefer my 36 inch Enya carbon fiber silver glitter. It came with busted electronics (which I tore out) and I slapped some thick Plectrum Austrian strings on it (.11 or .12's). I made intonation adjustments; the lower bridge was too low so to eliminate the fret buzz I dropped the thin wire in a bread bag twist under the string support. The thing stays in tune like no other guitar and I use a pretty thick pick on it. The silver glitter is really something I don't see them offer now. incredible sparkle and shine.

Love my mahogany mini and have traveled a lot with it, super comfortable. I put souvenir pins on the bag to show where it has traveled. But love my Martins more.

As I get old 62 the smaller guitar gives me more control on the fretts. As strength in arm deminises from age .

I own a gs mahogany and, although, i don't play open mike or honky-tonk gigs anymore, i do play at church jams and also use it in my ministry and i can tell you that the gs has plenty of voice and see sound for this. Good video!

For some reason I've always wanted a small guitar. I initially worked my way up to a Martin 000-15e Granadillo which I love, and it has a 1.75" nut width. It's fantastic, but I'm a smaller player and the GS Mini-E (Spruce/Rosewood) is SO comfortable and fun to play. It's also super handy in a smaller studio where it's easy to bonk your larger guitar on a desk if you're not careful. The GS can go right into the DAW and with Studio One I can make it sound like anything, but I'm not risking dinging my $1600 Martin. One thing about the GS is that it has a 1.6875" nut width, so this might mean disrupting some muscle memory if you're used to the typical 1.75" nut width. But, this smaller nut is also comfortable for some, especially for those with smaller hands. It's also nice to have a second guitar if you want to keep different tunings. I have medium strings on the GS, and that tension is offset by the shorter scale length. If you pitch down a half step it's even easier. The guitar projects so much more than one would think. I love the GS Mini! Capo is pronounced "cah po" as it's shorthand for the Italian word "capotasto", meaning "chief note".