The New Taylor GT vs. the Taylor GS Mini | Guitar Comparison

We're back with the most anticipated comparison in recent history: Taylor's new Grand Theater body style goes up against the widely acclaimed Taylor GS Mini. If you're a huge fan of the GS Mini like we are, you'll be super excited to see that Taylor has released a beautiful new shorter-scale, C-Class braced, all solid wood, American made guitar that is just a touch larger than the GS Mini. Take a listen to Cooper Greenberg playing on both of these great guitars and tell us what kind of differences you hear, which you prefer, and what kind of wood or finish combinations you might want to see on the GT moving forward!
Comparison sounds start at 12:24

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[stephenblyskal]

I don’t know, I don’t hear that much difference between the two guitars with him playing. He is so good that he can make any guitar sound great.

[aglitchinthematrix]

I came here to watch the comparison between two guitars, but what it blew my mind was Cooper's playing. WOW! speechless. Great job guys. Hope I can make another purchase from you soon, your customer service is AMAZING!.

[narupickles]

I just bought the GT and its the acoustic guitar I was looking for. The ergonomics made it perfect for me and stuff like shoulder impingement and carpal tunnel issues didn't flair up while playing. The nut width, the string spacing and the body size and the all solid wood and the electronics and the bag, it was worth the price.

[FLIrishmann]

Is there any guitar out there Cooper can't make sound amazing? That being said, I could listen to him jam on that GT for hours

[ericprintz]

I've played the GT in store and am a long time owner of a Mini. While I find the GT has a bit more bass and volume due to it's larger body, I don't feel at three times the price of a Mini it's three times better in sound or playability. Absolutely love my Mini, and if a person wants to move up in size I'd lean toward a full body and skip the "in between."

[pieterjansenvanrensburg]

Please make a video of Taylor GT vs Martin Dreadnaught That will be the ultimate test

[FloridaDave_]

I'm sticking with my GS Mini-e Mahogany, thank you very much!

[janmichaeljablonsky]

As many have stated before me, the way Cooper is playing, it makes it difficult to hear the difference. However, one thing that surprised me was the fact that the Mini can truly hold its own. I have a Mini and I would like to tell those who've never played one; when people infer that the Mini is a guitar for small people, it's not really true. It's for small, medium, and large people alike. I have fairly large hands and I have no problem negotiating the fretboard.

[dougrobinson]

I have to agree with the comments that Cooper's playing, while certainly impressive, (Ok. Mind blowing) makes it hard to hear the differences between the two guitars. It will be interesting to see how the GT sells. If it were my money, it would be the American Dream series just for the scale length. Pit the GT against the AD. That's the comparison I'd love to hear. No doubt the GSM is a little gem, though.

[kady]

The GS Mini sounds better! More complex, more pronounced harmonics and a terrific overall balanced tone! What a bargain!!!

[shaneroberts]

Wow, my 2 main interests in this video (1) you both holding the guitars side by side for a size visual comparison and (2) switching back and fourth between both guitars during Coopers playing. Honestly in this video I felt there is minimal difference. I'm a huge Taylor fan and have always thought the GS-Mini stood alone against all other competition, so the thought of the all solid GT got me super excited, however Taylor was able to make the GS-Mini layered sides/back sound as good as many all solid guitars. I commented on your first video thinking the GT may compete too much with the GS-Mini, but honestly I dont think so based on this video. I'll need to test one in person to confirm. That doesnt mean I will never get a GT, but it means my GS-Mini(s) remain absolute best bang for the buck when it comes to build, feel, and sound (short of my McPherson CF Touring)! Cant wait to watch all the other comparison videos that will surely flood YouTube soon.

[dmytrogarastovych]

Seems like GT is an amazing guitar. Also nice to see how cool a GS Mini can be in Cooper's hands. I bought a GS Mini as my first guitar about a month ago and still absolutely love it. I remember playing different instruments in a shop and when I picked up GS Mini and strummed the first chord (yes, I already new some tricks) I was just blown away. I immediately thought to myself: "Wow, this it it!". Now I know much more about guitars, but I still want that feeling of instrument speaking to me if I ever buy a new one. Maybe it's going to be a GT, who knows.

[jeffwhite]

In my opinion Koa Plus > GT. I just got back from trying these at the store. The Koa Plus sounds incredible: the bass tone is full and warm, warmer than the GT, The Koa plus sounds like a full sized guitar to me, but it does seem to lack overtones and sustain compared to the GT or a full size (was hard to discern as well over the faint air/humidifier noise), although I would actually prefer this since my maple 614e has tons of overtones and sometimes I want them to shut up lol - just depends on the song/style. I could also feel the K+ resonate against my body. The K+ defied expectations, while the GT sounded like what you'd expect from a slightly smaller than full sized guitar. Another difference (although this could change with action / string choice) was the GT was slightly slinkier (easier to bend) than the mini because by defualt the string tension is less. But the K+ I played also felt like the action was a little too high. One thing I liked better about the GT was that it was easier to find the sweet spot in tone/volume when resting my wrist on the strings for a semi palm muted sound when flat picking. On the K+ I found it easy to have too much palm resting on the strings and dampening the sound too much, but maybe with practice this would be overcome; on the positive side, since the K+ is more punchy and has less sustain anyways, even if I erred on less palm I could still get a percussive sound that didn't bleed. To my ears the K+ definitely sounds better than the other mini varients. I don't know the specs as to what's different, but its night and day difference to me - the bass tone on the K+ is amazing. I don't mean that it's overpowering - the EQ across strings was just right. Harder to say for the GT since I found it's bass to be brighter. I didn't try the GT plugged in. The K+ plugged in sounded fine, nothing to write home about - the higher the volume the more of that metalic zing there is with basically all amped acoustics. Not sure how it compared to the regular minis plugged in.

[Toskaleemusic]

A GT with a cedar or koa top would be superb. I seriously consider buying a GT with spruce / urban ash right off the bat. It feels like it’s just big enough to be seen as a guitar that’s not only made for travelling and for younger people. Also, as in this comparison I felt like the GT had a bit more depth in tone. When it comes to money, though...the Gs mini will probably always be the best bang for the buck when it comes to Taylor guitars. Great video, guys! Maybe comparison played by Chris would help to differentiate the guitars more from one another.

[gosman]

I played the GT811e yesterday and this may be the guitar for me. I have an arthritic shoulder, and this baby made my shoulder feel great!

[yannisvasileiadis]

Definitely a good move by Taylor, the GT sounds great and seems to fill a niche in the market; the two guitars are different enough that the new model won't affect sales of the GS Mini or make it obsolete by any means.
Listening to the two side by side, it's amazing how full the GS Mini still sounds considering its size.
As always, thanks for a great presentation and comparison. Cooper's sublime playing makes me suspect he's actually Jesus, trying to go incognito by disguising himself as John Krasinski...! :)

[johnlord]

Well, Chris, to be honest, I feel like your playing style would let the differences between the two stand out a bit more. With Cooper playing there’s some difference but not a lot, IMHO.

[Ricardorochamusic]

I'm a Taylor GS Mini player. I just love my guitar. It's my number one guitar, for live purposes, practicing, lessons. A real work horse. The new GT might be a game changer. It would be great to see a sunburst version with the option of a good magnetic pickup. Something like the popular M1 maybe... but a little less flashy

[youdagoob]

Every time he switches to the Mini, I get a big smile. Such a spritely little thing! It makes me happy.

[funkybasslady]

While Cooper's playing is virtuosic, there is too much going on with the fingers and the style including a lot of string muting. This does not really show the depth/fullness of tone of either guitar. It just shows lots of notes - very few of which are sustained. I'd like to hear both guitars played by Chris using the tunes he regularly plays to demonstrate acoustic guitars.