Taylor GS Mini neck reset (with shims) and set up

[@Rich-cq4gz]

Hi Sam great job on my resent set-up on my GS Mini many thanks. I took a leap of faith purchasing the guitar without seeing it and having sent to you for a set up. The process went like clockwork, the results are amazing….I have GS Mini that I cannot walk past without playing……the set up is perfect. This is the second guitar Sam has made significant improvements on, he will be doing a third, if he has the time, I suspect he will be in big demand…….thanks again Sam from one happy customer! Best regards Rich

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

Thanks Rich! I put up the video yesterday... it's a bit frazzled as I got caught out getting the nut to the perfect action - and then cleaning some gunge out of the nut slot...and finding myself below the minimum and having to re-work the nut. Just when you think it's going to be straightforward! :D

[@Steviejapanesegarden]

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this I have just bought a gs mini I might have to send it to you to set up if I can’t get it done up my way northants

[@GoneSailingCA]

Thanks Sam - I need to do this - strings at the 12th are about 5 mm off the fret on mine

[@Euthymia2020]

Anyone know what the numbers on the shims signify? 12,16,18,22,24 so on.

[@eddybarker5072]

Sam is the type of guitar tech I’d want working on my guitars. Meticulous and sweats the details! Nice job Sam.

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

I missed your kind comment (KZbin seems to notify me of a small fraction of comments, no idea why... ) but thank you Eddy!

[@CaptainWrinkleBrain]

Should the number difference between the shims always be 6? Or should it stay the same difference as was set in the factor? (If it’s 10, keep it 10)

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

@@CaptainWrinkleBrain The difference is always 6

[@neilhenshall8062]

Hi Sam i have a GS Mini and am looking to get it set up properly i only purchased it a few weeks back but it is 3 years old , i was wondering if you did them and is so were abouts are you and in general how much does it cost , many thanks Neil

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

Hi Neil - I'd be happy to set up your GS Mini for you. I'm in West Devon, not far from Tavistock and I do most of my set ups via courier (with a 100% no loss, no damage record on well over 1500 courier sends). I've currently got another one here to set up this week as it happens. If you'd like to email me [e-mail] and we can go from there. The set up - including new Taylor shims, a new Tusq nut, new saddle (if required) and new strings costs £135.

[@ronnielopez1968]

Sam, isn't it important to the transfer of the vibration to the guitar top to have the ball ends of the strings seated against the bridge plate??? Stick your hand through the sound hole when installing the strings to be certain that they are. That's what I do. Love your channel!!!

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

The ball ends pull up as far as the pegs allow them to go (which theoretically should be against the plate)… but the main transfer of vibration from string to guitar top is vertically down through the saddle. Realistically, where the ball sits doesn’t impact this as long as it’s fixed solid and doesn’t move.

[@GoneSailingCA]

Sam if I sent you my mini would you reset the neck?

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

I'd be happy to; I've got the shims necessary for the GS Mini neck reset - but your KZbin name makes me think you're either in California or Canada?

[@GoneSailingCA]

@ we are from Canada but spending the winter Portugal - I could send my gs to you - I’ve asked Taylor for the shims, maybe they can sell them too me. It doesn’t look too difficult to install them after watching your video.

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

​@@GoneSailingCA I'm just looking at your most recent video (I'm guessing it's you!). I follow a couple of sailing channels - I love to sail but haven't done any for a couple of years :( You might be able to request some shims from the Taylor centre in Amsterdam (the main European office)... they ask for a load of information (serial number, current shim #s, action, target action etc) and if you're lucky they'll send you a few pairs to choose from. Sounds to me like the action is so high that you'd be needing the maximum ('30' heel shim / '24' extension) and that may only just bring it back anywhere near what I would consider a low action. But it would be a huge and noticeable improvement nonetheless. Of course you could ship it up from Portugal but since Brexit it's become both expensive and administratively difficult to send from EU to good old 'non-EU' Britain (sigh). That Brexit vote killed my European business off overnight back in 2016. Drop me an email at [e-mail] and I can give you my Taylor contact & number in Amsterdam. Someone recently suggested that Taylor was 'rowing back' on supplying shims.... but I don't know how true that is. One other thing - if the guitar is beyond the point at which shims are effective then my Taylor contact said they would take the guitar in and mechanically reset the neck/body join to reset the shim sets back to the lowest. I've not tested this promise yet - but you'd have to be the original owner and the guitar would have to be within the 10yrs warranty period. I'm certainly hoping to call them on this promise at some point for a customer! PS I think I spotted your Taylor GS bag in the front berth ;-)

[@eldrepepino1180]

Hey Sam! Love your work! Just wanna ask questions. I recently contacted taylor about shimsets. They said that for the GS Mini is that if you get a +10 size on the neck extension then you pair it +20 for the heel. They said it is a 10 difference unlike the standard sizes but watching your video you used the difference of 6 now I'm confused. Since this is the only video I can verify, How does it held up? I recently just changed it to the new shims with difference of 10 now I noticed there is a gap that you can see on the heel close to the backside of the guitar. You can literally seet the shims inside if you look through it. Does the guitar had noticeable gaps also when you changed shims?

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

Hi - sorry for taking so long to reply (I made a mental note to come back to your comment and I have!). The instructions I have from Taylor are very clear. You work out the heel shim variation you need which gives you a heel shim number. The extension shim number is ALWAYS 6 LESS than the heel shim number. So for example, I've got one to do tonight and I know I'm going to need to increase the value of the heel shim. It's currently +4 (and the extension -2 i.e. 4 minus 6)... let's imagine the heel shim needed to pull the neck up to where I want it is +8. This means 8-6 = +2 for the extension shim. Does that make sense? If you'd like to email me I can share with you the pdf showing the number pairs and explaining more about their system. Now the one question that your comment raises is this: although the GS mini, the Baby and the 414 Grand Auditorium (for example) all use slightly different kinds of shims DO THEY ALL FOLLOW THIS LOGIC? When I first asked for GS Mini shims they told me the '6 less' thing and that's what I used. They didn't say "Oh, for a GS Mini you have to have a "10 more.." logic.. Unless I find out otherwise, I have to assume that for all Taylor 'paired shim' guitars the logic of the shim pairs will be the same... there's no logical reason why it wouldn't. Only the shape of the shims changes very slightly between models. Email me at [e-mail] if you'd like that PDF.

[@philipp5883]

Hi Sam, taylor sent me a shim set of 18/28 14/24 (for free) Difference : 10 , will this work too?

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

Hi Philipp - I've double checked the Taylor NT Neck manual pdf and it states explicitly that the difference is that the extension shim number is ALWAYS 6 (six) less than the heel shim number. There are no examples anywhere of pairs that do NOT follow that rule. Which really surprises me that they sent you two pairs that are 10 (ten) apart! It might be because you already told them your neck joint was set up for a difference of 10 (meaning that your original shims were 10 apart) but I don't know. I don't know whether your guitar was bought new by you i.e. whether someone at Taylor fitted shims with a 10 difference or whether perhaps someone (a first owner or guitar tech) installed this pair with the 10 difference? The bottom line is that if YOU told Taylor your guitar's shim pairs were 10 apart then they may have selected some pairs with 10 difference under the assumption that (for some reason) your guitar needs or has got used to having a 10 difference; hence they sent you a couple of pairs with 10 difference. I don't remember what the heel number on your guitar was to begin with; IIRC a jump of + 10 on the heel value resulted in 0.9-1.0 mm of action reduction at the last fret (where I like to measure it). Out of the two pairs, the pair with the 18 heel shim value will give you the largest action DROP. If your guitar should never have had a '10 difference' pair in the first place then it is likely that because the difference is greater than the specified '6' there might be some very slight bending of the fingerboard extension. It's likely to be very slight if it's even noticeable. To re-iterate; Taylor states very clearly that the number difference should always be that the extension shim number should be 6 less than the heel, right on into the minus figures. So for example, a heel shim with the number -4 will have an extension shim with the number -10 (minus 4 take away 6 = minus 10).

[@philipp5883]

yeah my actual shims are 2/10. do you have any suggestions what shims to try first with the measurement from the top of the 12 fret to the underside of the 2 E strings : low E : 4mm high e: 3mm

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

​@philipp5883 I can't understand why they've sent those pairs. First thing: you COULD combine the 24 Heel with the 18 Exension for a pair that IS 6 apart (as it should be). This would leave you with H28/E14 which is 14 apart and unusable really. Your measurements show a fairly high action (in my book) so if you stick to the '6 separated' pair (H24/E18) that's the best reduction you're going to get. I think that will translate into something in the region of 3/4mm lower at the 12th fret - (that's just a guess). It's not a huge reduction. But remember, the largest reduction shim pair Taylor makes anyway is H30/E24. The steps down are H28/E22, H26/E20 and then what you have which is H24/E18. So you're only 4 stops from the largest available reduction.

[@philipp5883]

@ thanks, i will try 24/18 with the new unsanded tusq saddle i got , when i get my guitar back.still waiting for the headplate veneer replacement :)

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

@Good luck. Try to keep / set your 1st fret action to no more than 0.4mm to ensure notes and chords are easy to play at that end and to avoid intonation problems (notes playing sharp when fretted near the nut).

[@aquajew3000]

What is the cost of this compared to a traditional reset. My 214 needs a reset amd just wondered what ballpark figure i should expect

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

Hi - well a shim reset on a Taylor costs me nothing for the shims (thanks to Taylor Netherlands) so it comes in at about the same price as my full set up on an electric guitar - around £135. The time involved with working out the required shims, fitting and fine-tuning a new saddle etc is about the same as I spend on precision fret levelling an electric guitar. Acoustics rarely need fret levelling to play at a low action (because a low acoustic guitar action is still higher than my target electric guitar action where fret levelling IS required). I've not done conventional neck resets but have researched it and the amount of work / expertise required is substantial. I've seen prices for conventional neck reset ranging from £350-600 and judging by the work involved and what's at stake, I wouldn't say that the upper limit of that was even unrealistic. So the Taylor shim-based neck reset is about 1/3rd of the price of a 'normal' reset. All the more reason to go for Taylor if you want a guitar that will accompany you for a lifetime!

[@aquajew3000]

@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars Thanks for the reply. If I could obtain the shims I'm sure I could do this myself. I'm not a luthier or repair person, but I can do set ups, fret levelling etc. I also have a masters degree in mechanical engineering so have a good understanding of how things work. Do you think they would send me the shims if I emailed them? My guitar is a 2009 model so is out of warranty anyway so I wouldn't be protecting that by having a taylor technician doing it.

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

@@aquajew3000 Contact Taylor HQ in the Netherlands and they should send you shims. They will ask for serial number, current and target action plus the rating of currently in stalled shims. You might have to assure them you know what you’re doing, they seem quite nervy about that

[@jaywong8023]

Hello does the shims for gs mini same diameter size with 200, 100 series?

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

Jay - I don't know is the simple answer. If you contact Taylor nearest to your location they should be able to tell you. In the UK the nearest Taylor service / aftermarket location seems to be The Netherlands.