Taylor GS MINI Walnut vs Koa Tone Comparison
Vložit
- čas přidán 4. 04. 2017
- The time has come! The Taylor GS Mini-e Tone Comparison! We've got the Walnut vs the Koa up today. Which is your favorite?
More info available at:
Walnut → www.alamomusic.com/gs-mini-e-...
Koa → www.alamomusic.com/taylor-gs-...
🎼 Contact us:
www.alamomusic.com/contact
🎵 Call toll-free:
(844)251-1922
🎶 Connect:
/ alamomusic
/ alamomusic
/ alamomusiccenter - Hudba
9:47 walnut fingerpick
12:56 Koa fingerpick
An old video just made my day. Thank you for sharing. I just had a pretty hard day, and listening to you, helped me out. Thanks.
I bought the GS mini Koa as a smaller couch guitar but it’s small size produces a great sound. I thank Chris and AJ from Alamo music they are two great guys and Chris is a straight ahead guy who recommended this gem of a guitar. He’s very personable and a really nice guy to deal with. Alamo on a whole is a great place to deal with. Thanks guys !
I bought the KOA, it's pricey, but I kept visiting my local guitar stores until I found the KOA that had the most beautiful color and pattern on it. It sounds amazing. I wish I could play like Chris though.
Each one is a unique work of art.
i cant wait for your gs-mini koa plus video!
8:11 vs 11:23
9:00 vs 12:08
9:46 vs 12:56
Cheers
Thanks. That's all I needed to see and hear.
Thanks! Barely a difference to my ears, we do a lot of listening with our eyes I think...
Thank you , really minimum difference really , I will go for the cheaper and more sustainable one
Totally agree. I deal with stress daily and the guitar calms everything down.
I don't use my smartphone enough to become stressed out.
And I don't have a TV. I chucked the last one into the dumpster behind the house 23 Years ago. It was working perfectly, but I didn't want to burden anyone else with that crap.
If I really want to hear some lies, I'll just get in front of the mirror and bullshit myself for a bit :D
@@Pharesm Get yourself a guitar and learn how to play
@@Pharesm Yes, get yourself a decent quality guitar are learn to play. I recently bought the GS mini Koa plus and the Koa GS mini bass and both are a dream To play, and for under a grand you simply can’t go wrong. 👍
@@Thorkell64 Its good advice, though I did get a Taylor 517 Builder's Edition last year, which has an incredibly well balanced and transparent sound. I have Emerald Carbon Fiber guitars in 3 different sizes and 2 Steinberger electric guitars - plus a Hohner Flamenco guitar. At this point, I don't think I need to get any more...
@@hathaway.1166 I went and did that when I was 16. I took an ill-considered 4 week summer job at a stone-wool factory, and bought my first guitar. It's been replaced with better guitars long ago, of course...
Love this review, brother. Thank you.
I just bought the koa and was regretting not going with walnut, but the truth is they each bring such distinct emotion. One isn't better than the other. Have to get both!
You are so right, playing guitar is best self healing method I know. Quality of guitar plays its part too. I just realized it’s been 37 years since I picked up my first guitar; it’s a good way of getting old 👍🏻
This was really helpful to me. The koa is gorgeous visually but you showed me that I much prefer the glassy highs of the walnut version. Thanks!
These guitars are amazing just played the waning and omg the things packs a punch , saving up some dough for it
I like your videos. Thank you for doing 'em.
Koa is definitely more warm and kinda nasal, spruce with walnut is more bright and punchy, I went for spruce as I preferred that bright punchy sound especially when playing outdoors around a campfire. Koa might sound nicer in the studio but I don't record much. Still very beautiful
At that price I would choose a charity shop guitar for campfires. They are going up in price all the time..
My first Mini-E was spruce and walnit, which was OK. Sold it 2 years later to buy the Mini-E in Koa. Got it for $600 and it's worth every penny. Fingerstyle or picking, it cuts through the mix either unplugged or plugged in. I'm keeping this one for travel/local gigs and saving up for a more expensive one with a cutaway, but it'll either be koa or mahogany. The ES-2 pickup system is everything they say it is.
Great playing man!
I like the banter. I get the humor. Nice review
Thanks to your videos, I own BOTH.
Nice comparison!
I'd love to see a sound comparison between the mini-e Koa Plus and the 224ce K DLX - like how much more projection do you get...
spruce tops are so often too yellow... And the colors of Rosewood and Koa often bite each other on Taylor guitars...
Their color coordination is often dubious. But the sound is great...
I‘ve watched lots of your videos and enjoyed them a lot. I was surprised to come to this video which nearly made me weep. Bad days and difficult life, to me, the biggest comfort may be music. It's like talking to one's own heart and music hears you, comforts you. I'm not professional, but I can't live without music. If you play, for sure you understand that kind of communication and enjoyment.
Thanks for your bright smile in most videos and sincerely sharing your feeling about music and life in this video.
Ps: I like the Koa version much more; ) The sound is very impressive and consoling.
Love it man
I prefer the sound of the Koa for its richer tone.
Therapeutic note: my work is counseling. My self-care is playing my three mandolins, my tenor guitar, and my electric guitar. I've played for others when they were stressed, and it has calmed them down. (I'm hoping to do the same for patients in hospice in the future) Playing an instrument can be a calmative and can sometimes be classified as a form of meditation - which can also be a stress-buster. And, as the Suzuki method has proven, it can also help cognitive development. There's my two cents worth.
Which is the best guitar??? The one that gets played! Have a great day!
How awesome, AZ! You're doing great work out there, keep it up! We couldn't have said it any better :)
Koa is WAY prettier but i do love walnut.
Haha, find another therapist that plays guitar. Then play and counsel each other until it becomes a song ^^
My Koa Mini is often at my university office (I'm a professor---I should help you with that paper). Students and other faculty occasional hear me playing and says things like "I love that someone is making music here". You also find out who else plays. It fits in overhead luggage so I also take it on work trips. Best of all it matches the 324-K and 326-K FLTDs that you sold me a couple of years back. Nice demo.
Thanks Anthony! No worries on the paper. All is done and I graduated last weekend. Appreciate the offer though. Good to hear from you. - Chris
Likewise! Just watching your other great vids
And whoa congratulations on graduating!!
Ha! I'm a university president and keep my GS Mini Spruce top in my office!
Anthony Wanis and Matthew Ayars: I’m a college professor who keeps his GS Mini-e koa in his office. I’m seeing a trend here. 🙂
Love the figuring on the Koa. The how has warmer all around balanced sound, like you said a good tube amp sound (orange amp); nice harmonic overtones. I have a 300 series koa Taylor with a buetiful figures spruce top that brings a wonderful bell like tone. The walnut is meaty bottom and bright tops but flat mids that don't shine (maybe good for clean flat picking). Koa is my pick and that one with the white grain is unique.
I bought a Koa and Walnut Mini-GS - Love the mid-range warmth of the KOA, and the bite of the treble on the Walnut Mini-GS. Different strokes for different songs. Oh! I have an original Mini-GS too.
Great video, and Indeed music is the answer when you need to forget everything else sometimes 🙌🎸🎶
I'm definitely getting myself a Koa one day, very interesting sound 👌☺️
Great video, I'm leaning towards the spruce.
I like the way you talk and playing !!
what song do you play in all your videos. I think it always sounds perfect to judge the tone in a guitar?
I don't agree that what you are hearing is just the tops. While laminate the sides actually make a big difference. It's obvious from trying the different spruce top models.
nice speech, respect!
Great video! I really can't decide which gs mini I should get... They're all so good!
I have the 2014 GS mini Kia and live it. I put a bone nut, saddle and bridge pins on it and it sounds amazing.
For anyone buying one of these, you should get an SKB hard shell case for it. It’s perfect for keepin your guitar safe and for controlling the humidity.
I’m a police officer and I use guitar as a stress reliever. I don’t know what I would have done if not for finding guitar.
Guitar review begins at 3:15
Thank you!
Walnut demo 8.12+
Koa demo 11.01+
Direct comparison, no narration to interrupt the changeover - VERY useful.
Yeah, thank you.
Thanks. This guy needs to get a clue and keep his personal BS to himself.
I love the Koa one best! These little guitars are unbelievable !!!
Yes they are!
Nice ,had watched more of your Taylor Guitars demos.Great,really helps on choosing what first Taylor Guitar should I buy.Thanks.
Koa almost has a Martin-esque tone to it - AWESOME!!! Both guitars sound great. I have the GS Mini Mahogany and I love that guitar for both fingerpicking and strumming. Taylor, Martin, Breedlove, and Gibson are the best when it comes to acoustics.
James Hustler Lowden sounds great. Listen one of them on youtube.
I hear you brother
Have you noticed a lot of tonal differences within different koa topped minis? I’ve demo’d a ton of GS’s lately trying to find my perfect match, and the spruce and mahogony tops are very consistent tone wise while the Koa tops have varied. All a bit warmer/darker but some have been brighter too (similar to spruce). Love the beauty of the koa top but prefer brighter tone, probably because of losing some upper register hearing. Just curious what others have perceived.
Dave Petersen I tried both in the last week and I'm not sure if you are around to converse? I fell in love with the Spruce and Walnut because it sounded balanced but louder than the full size Martin guitar that I also tried out and liked. While the Martin had more bloom in the bass and lower midrange, the Mini sounded simply louder but sweet and balanced. Then they sold it. They brought me a koa to try and I didn't care for it. The koa is harder and brighter and the strings sounded rather buzzy. It seemed I was listening to amplified strings whereas with spruce I felt like I could hear the wood bring out a bloom in the lower octaves to even out the sound.
Koa sounds richer and smooth and balance, it’s quite expensive but i think I will pick this one as a gift for my Son’s birthday😉, thanks for the comparison.
Good choice!
Lucky lad!
PREACH IT!!! Great video.
Having watched a few comparisons, the walnut & spruce guitar has the best all round tone for me. Nice!
These little gs mini koa guitars sound very good with a tonewood amp added. I feel it makes a much more interesting sound on the mini vs my 214 spruce.
I have a walnut gs mini. Just wanna ask which nut driver do you use to tighten the pegs?
Beautiful guitar Koa
I just bought a Gs mini koa plus, how do you take care of humidity, I live in North Carolina
That Koa has a soul !
Thought about fast forwarding the life lesson about guitar, but this guy nailed it. Nicely said...
I traded a 214 e custom deluxe in for the koa. While on the surface, it may have seemed like a stupid decision, but I love the koa, so I don’t se it that way. I love the size and sound of the koa. I take mine to work and play on breaks and lunches, also in the park when it’s nice out. I initially didn’t like Taylor’s bc of their brightness, but I really liked my 214e and absolutely love the hs mini koa. It’ll be my go to ace for years to come and I feel and sound like a better player bc of it.
Like the warm sound of the koa. Won't probably play a .12's on them. Maybe I'll go for a .10 to balance the warmth of the wood sound and light strings
Very Interesting. Koa vs Walnut vs Spruce.
Koa is the Best...the King of wood
anyone can explain the differences why taylors have fishman type and 3-knob EST electronic especially for their GS minis? looking forward to buy with the fishman type but afraid because of the huge price difference. too many counterparts these days
I can listen to this guy playing for days
What mic did you used?
There’s that familiar sounding music again! Is it from ‘Legends of the Fall’ ?
How much are these guitars?
K O A
All the way !
Hi Chriss ! Really great video and also inspirational for me as I try to decide to buy a friendly guitar. Please tell me what kind of action has this Taylor. I'm looking for a guitar with a really low action as I am a beginner. If you can recommend a low action guitar for me I would appreciate. Thank you so much!
The action is extremely low for an acoustic. I traded a 90's Epiphone and a bunch of other stuff for the Mini koa. Well worth it.
it's almost as low as my Strat. VERY easy to play. Very light. Smooth playing action.
Some guitars can be lowered if that's your only issue with yours. I'd call a highly rated luthier and ask them.
@@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823 Thank you so much!!!
Playing starts @ 8:13 The man plays quite well and very professionally. Very sweet song @9:46
Thanks for this review. I'm thinking about getting the Koa as I'm branching out from my ukuleles - so Koa is for me with its Hawaiian connotations. Is the action low on this? Might have to try it in a shop before buying 🙄
Would recommend you call one of our sales people! They are great at helping people find a good guitar match!
Ricky James have you purchased your GS mini yet ? If not you might want to consider the baby Taylor Koa. It’s a bit smaller but sounds amazing. Wouldn’t be such a jump from the ukulele. Just a thought , I have one and love it.
@@benallmark9671 ah, thank you so much for the reply! I actually bought a Martin Mini - the little guitar Ed Sheeran plays. I love it. I do like Koa wood though so I can understand why you love yours! 😍
Sir plz do some comparison between Taylor gs mini koa e vs orange wood ava live..
Is the orange wood Ava a 3/4 size guitar ?
7:21 no the answer is definitely to get both.
Appreciate your words in the beginning! Anyway, I'm about to buy this. Do you think this particular koa is good for playing live on stage like in a church?
Yes!
Definitely! I ran sound for church last night in Boise Idaho and our new guitar player who came from Redrocks worship team has a gs mini koa and I was amazed! He let me play it after church and I fell in love with it.
@@travisjohnson7155 Yeah, I agree! I actually bought it and have played it in our church. Even our lead elder was impressed with it.
@@psalmgirl Thats awesome I have always wanted the 224ce koa but want to get them side by side and make my decision based upon that. But currently Guitar center does not have either in stock.
@@travisjohnson7155 I would totally go for the 224ce if I could afford it! For now, it's just a dream guitar :) I got my mini koa in Guitar Center in San Jose, CA. I made a video playing with it. I think though the only challenge in buying a koa is if you're after a particular design (like I was) as their patterns all look different. Otherwise for me it's a no brainer between a mini and 224 haha. I do hope you get 224ce if you're able to do that 👍🏻 good luck!
Do you have a preference in sound between the GS and the academy 10e? I am on the fence. Isn’t the academy still a little smaller than a full size guitar? I do prefer a brighter tone. Thanks!! Merry Christmas!!
12:08 was simply beautiful mate 👌
Thanks!
I think that section helped me decide. I love the overtones of the spruce/walnut, but the individual notes can get lost at times 8:59 . What you highlighted let me hear the separation of the notes when picking that KOA. Beautiful.
I LOVE TAYLOR GUITARS
As do we!
Koa 🔥
Goodluck with your Paper and thanks for the review, you guys are the first ones I think?
Yeah, do we ever get to find out how this played out? Inquiring minds want to know!!!
The Taylor GS Mini, is made in California o Mexico???
I love them both for different reasons. I love the Koa for that deep, rich tone...decadent like a rich piece of chocolate cake. I love the maple for its bright, yet warm articulation. I already have the all Sapele version but have really been lusting after the Koa version for awhile. Now there's the Maple version. Oh oh. I'm in trouble now. Lol
Ellisa Gutierrez spruce?
i started playing guitar on a fender acoustic that my dad found in a dumpster. It played good enough for a while but recently the saddle has completely deteriorated and is the neck is buckled (nearly unplayable due to horrific fret buzz). I still play some jazz on my electric to cool the shakes but i really want to get a new acoustic to be able to take with me to the mountains near where i live. Gosh the gs mini e sounds and looks so good. I'm not exactly and amazing guitarist but strumming a few major 7ths and noodling around calms me down like nothing else.
What's the name of the song at 13:53?
I think I'm gonna choose the walnut just for aesthetics purposes 😅 cause they both sound really great already, but the aesthetics is the last tipping point for me. Note, just my preference and opinion.
Love the message more than the guitars
Hi Almo, what do you think of taylor's 2017 114ce (walnut) and 214ce(koa back)? Look forward to your review :)
The 2017 114 ce with walnut is an awesome guitar.
CAN YOU COMPARE THE Yamaha APX500 VS TAYLOR GS8?
4 years ago you got the ES2 system for like $700 and now only the Koa Plus model has it for $1100. Sheesh.
koa no doubt
Koa koa koa ❤❤❤
Walnut
Good luck 😉
You can clearly hear that walnut has way more pronounced HIGHTS but it's not balanced and nuances at high notes are too weak and being lost. At this video koa has way more pronounced MIDS, high notes are more pronounced but low notes being little strange. Overall Koa here sounds more balanced and if lows/base notes will get better with age Koa is way to go. Keep in mind guitar is MIDS oriented instrument but it all depends on your style of playing, on your fingers, strength and how light or heavy pick you are using. Best thing to do is to go to actual store and try couple of them and see which one fits best your style. Play & Enjoy
walnut sounds the best to me koa is a muted bass sound.
The bass end will really open up in a few years on the koa instrument. I have a koa uke that has transformed over time. It was amazing when we got it (builder aged the wood for 13 years), but it has only improved with playing.
@@MarkMenardTNY Well I ended up buying the 214 taylor Koa and you are right. It sounded great from the get go but now with time the Bass end sounds better and better :0)
@@TheWildWomenofYesteryear Give it a few years and wait for the high end "shimmer" to show up. Shimmer is the best word I can find for it the overtones that you get from aged koa. Koa is just such a magical wood, from an amazingly beautiful place.
Mark Menard are you using the elixar strings taylor has on their guitars?
@@TheWildWomenofYesteryear I put lights on my 812 and I'm probably going to go with lights on my GS Mini next change. I do use the Elixars because I'm lazy about changing strings.
Koa version wins for me. It has more life: Deeper lows, more sparkly highs, warm mids... Walnut just seems lacking...
onthealtarband i
The body isn't walnut. The neck is. I've worked with this wood as handmade dollhouse flooring.
walnut is dark :)
@@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823 is walnut you dont know anything
How hard it is for you to USE THE CURSOR and actually find the moment the guitars are being played?
Lol true
Acho que ele bateu com mais vontade no Koa! hahahah... Great video! Thanks and Hello from Brazil, here they cost about 2000 dollars us...
Stoped using rosewood to protect the species and from poaching. But then uses koa that is more rare.
@James Douglas lol dummy.
What model of GS mini Koa is that?
I see it has the controls at the top, I see others for sale have it on the side.
The ones one the side are a newer model
Which gs mini best handles humidity?
Anth Da Man those made after they added the tone bar around 2012. That being said Taylor had recommendations for dehydration if your in an uncomfortable humid climate.
Koa wins hands down....really nice sound on the Koa.
Walnut is $300 less than koa too, just saying
the first not listen with the same volume that the second.
I like your reviews but there is too much talking I'm more interested in the guitars
Farmer John that’s fine he doesn’t care if he loses views based on your opinion.
Do you know there's something called "mouse?" And that mouse moves something called "cursor." And such cursor lets you play the video whenever you like.
I kinda like the stories much better than the sound tests. 🤔
Slide along
if you don't like chat
but the man is interesting -
so that is that!
I agree. Play first THEN give your analysis. Dude spent 8 mins giving s monolog about the guitar.
Koa wins!
should i get koa, mahogany or walnut
I think I'll get walnut
walnut
He keeps saying "spruce".. but it's supposed to be "walnut", right? I'm confused..
He is referring to the top of the walnut, which is (solid) spruce, only back and sides are (laminated) walnut.
Right. Thank you
For me, Walnut for the win. Why? The one I have sounds like mahogany execpt is louder, it has the rich tone with layers. The Koa in the store sounds wierd to me.
Festivfire.TF I totally agree with you and had the same impression. Guitar Center sold the Spruce/walnut one that I wanted. When they took the Koa out of the box it sounded like the koa is brighter and strings sound more buzzy. The prior sounded richer and more normal.
is it me or does the koa way different. maybe hes just playing it different. when he plays the koa hes in the zone u just feel
Walnut sounded muffled in comparison to the Koa.
This ispretty badly mic'd btw.