It has a 24” scale length compared to my dreadnought’s 25.5” scale. The 1.5” overall difference translates to an 8mm difference between the nut and the third fret wire. That 8mm is HUGE when you are trying to span four frets. I still need to work on pinkie strength and accuracy, but the song is now achievable for me.
So if you have small and/or old hands and struggle to span four frets, I recommend you consider a shorter scale guitar. The smaller body size is much more comfortable to play too. It makes a great couch guitar.
The Taylor is mid-range pricing and unfortunately I couldn’t find anything cheaper in a short scale acoustic. The Martin LX1 is similarly priced but has a considerably smaller body.
The pic below is the GS Mini fretboard superimposed on my dread. The pics were adjusted for scale. It gives you a good idea of the difference at the nut end.
There’s the Harley Benton GS Travel which retails at 129 EUR without pickup, 159?with pickup, and the Takamine GX11MENS (349 EUR) GX18CENS (275 EUR at the moment, which is surprising as it normally is more expensive than the GX11MENS). The Takamines are listed as having an (even) shorter scale length than the other two, but body size and neck length are identical to those of a GS Mini. The HB and the GX11MENS are laminated, the GX18CENS is a solid top.
Can you tell I researched smaller guitars myself? I ended up with a second hand GX18CENS, which I really like.
As well as short scale, choice of strings can also help, not so much with the stretch, but lighter strings can make the fretting easier when your hand is stretched across 4 frets.
My Taylor AD11e (not a budget guitar) came with light strings which they say is the equivalent of playing with a capo on fret 1 in terms of ease of fretting. The scale is just over 24 inches
That looks like a classical guitar in the video which may have different dimensions to your instrument. Have you tried to play this on your own guitar?
3 or 4? I’d say you should work on fretting hand dexterity and strength regardless of the scale length of your guitar.
But of course, if GAS hits, that’s another matter.
Matt, the GS Mini came with 13 gauge strings fitted, which were very heavy. I removed those immediately and fitted 12s. Much better, but still hard work for my pinkie. I have a set of D’Addario 11G silk and steel strings coming in the mail.
Yes, of course Josef! That’s how I determined it was too difficult for me.
Third fret wire vs fourth fret. My definition of fourth fret being the fretboard between the third and fourth fret wires. But perhaps my definition is wrong?
I don’t suffer from GAS. Until last week I’ve had two guitars in the last 20 years. Now it’s three.
Just keep in mind that if you put 11s on that’s a drop of 2 gauges from the original so could have setup implications. The nut will be cut too large and there’ll be less tension on the neck which might affect the way it bows. Might not be a problem but worth keeping in mind
Yes, I will adjust the truss rod after I fit the 11s if required. Once that’s done, and assuming I like the 11s, I’ll look at whether there’s any potential to file the nut slots and lower the action slightly. They seem to come from the factory a little high.
I was able to significantly lower the action on my Fender Strat. It seems that even the US-made ones don’t come setup perfectly.
You can’t ship guitars perfectly setup. They can sit in warehouses and shipping containers for months, affected by heat, cold, humidity etc. If they were setup optimally they could actually be completely ruined by they reach the consumer once the neck has shifted due to the wood swelling or contracting. They have to be setup with a margin of error built in
It was a little confusing for me that you mentioned the difference in the 0-3 fret distance while saying you had a problem with the 0-4 fret reach.
In any case, only you will know what feels comfortable to you and what doesn’t. But don’t give up finger exercises, they really make a difference in what you can play.
This finger stretch excersize is a great one. Its not easy, but its got me a whole fret leangth of added extention in about 7 weeks with this in my practice line up daily for 3 mins each session.
I love my Taylor GS Mini. I was looking for a Parlour-size guitar, but couldn’t find one that sounded nearly as good as the GS Mini. The Baby Taylor sounded thin and lifeless, plus the scale was so short that I couldn’t comfortably fret many cowboy chords.
Surprisingly, the 24" scale doesn’t feel too small to my hands, perhaps because I’m used to the 24.75" scale on my Les Paul-style electric.
I put 10-47 phosphor-bronze strings on it, adjusted the truss rod ~0.25 - 0.5 turn to compensate for the lower tension, and it plays just as comfortably as my electric now!
IMHO, the GS Mini is the best couch-guitar out there.
I agree Eddie. Yesterday I fitted a set of D’Addario 11-47 silk and steel strings. They are easier on the fingers and they sound nice. The low E sounded a little muddy at first, but the ear quickly adjusts to the new sound. The neck curvature remained within Taylor’s spec, so I haven’t touched the truss rod.
Another Taylor GS Mini fan here. I actually got started on this journey because my husband had a Little Martin LX1 he was going to sell … unless I wanted to adopt it and try learning to play. Then last year, since I was having so much fun with Justin’s lessons, he presented me with a GS Mini birthday present. (Yes, I have an awesome husband. ) We’ve adjusted the action and changed to lighter strings to make it easier for me to play those darn barre chords … which are finally sounding pretty good most of the time.
I believe they’re Elixir Nanoweb 80/20 Bronze Custom Light 11-52 (I should have written that down before discarding the box). I haven’t experimented with other sizes, though; hubby suggested I start with this size, and go from there if I didn’t like them. They still sound good and my F chords are working okay (much better than on the Martin or on the GS Mini’s original strings), so I haven’t tried anything else yet.
Thanks. 11’s are working for me as well, but it’s good to know that 10’s work for Eddie too.
I always cut out the front side of the pack, write the install date on it and put it somewhere visible. I’m sometimes shocked at how long some of my strings have been on the guitar when I look at the date on the pack.
I ended up with a second hand GX18CENS, which I really like.
) We’ve adjusted the action and changed to lighter strings to make it easier for me to play those darn barre chords … which are finally sounding pretty good most of the time.