Official Luthiers Forum!

EDIT: This thread features setting a Taylor bolt on neck with Taylor's patented shim system. String height is fine adjusted with the saddle, but changing the shims is correct way to make a significant change to the action height. I have changed the title to reflect that.

Question: What is the lowest height, over the top of the bridge you would go on the treble side, 1st e whilst setting the action ? Taylor mahogany GS Mini 25.5" scale acoustic.

I have a Taylor mahogany GS Mini that has 8/64 E and 7/64 e at the 12th (.005" neck relief); too high...

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Measure Twice,

Karl Borum

Taylors are not adjusted by lowering the saddle, but by unbolting the neck and changing the neck angle using the Taylor shims at the heel and under the fretboard extension. Filing the saddle is only used to vary the relationship between the 1st and 6th strings

A few observations:
1. The GSmini has a short scale-length of 23.5”, hence the use of 13’s to achieve a suitable tension.

2. CraigG is correct in noting that the preferred way to adjust action height is by correcting the neck angle by substituting shims. There are two: one between the heel and the body (single bolt covered by a label), and a second 3/16" cap bolt under the fingerboard extension. It’s a clever system.
I have a lot of Taylor’s coming through my shop. I'm not a warranty centre, but I keep a complete set of shims and saddles in stock. If you’re only doing one, you can carefully increase neck angle by sanding the taper of the existing shims: thinner toward the heel cap and thinning the second shim a similar amount toward the neck.

3. Easiest to find a guitar tech equipped to do Taylor setups the factory way, but there's no harm in trying yourself.

You'll likely want to replace the saddle: Graphtech PQ-9200-C0 available at Amazon.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thank you.
Showed my @ss again.....

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Measure Twice,

Karl Borum

Action is measured at the 12th and I set action on GS minis to be high e at the 12th 4/64th or slightly less and the low e at the 12th <6/64th".

They do ship with 13's and many people don't like 13's on the mini so sure you can go lighter nothing says you can't. I often put 11's or 12's on them to suit a child player of an older adult who is complaining about the 13's.

Yes Taylor would like you to stick to their proprietary shims and if it needs the neck angle refreshed that's what we do too, new shim set. But within the adjustability of a set of shims I do take saddles down and not only for the relationship between the E's if the neck angle is OK I'll set action with the saddle only. This is a common practice and we are not alone in using a hybrid approach to action adjustment where the saddle is reduced or increased if the neck angle offers the range that will get us the action that I described 4 and <6.

Now there are specs with Martin having many specs too but bottom line people don't bring guitars to a luthier to have a spec set-up they bring their ax to us to make it playable and comfortable to them as individuals. Lots of things can change what this means that go beyond the relationship between the e's such as alternate tunings, the player attack, etc. I at times ask people to play for me and if they have any specific complaints and they often do with "the action is too high" being one of them I "hear" them and seek specific remedies just for them.

I always check any GS for a lifting bridge too they are known in our neck of the woods to shed bridges with our winters and lots of people not humidifying their instruments.

So Karl it's OK to some extent to mill the saddle to the appropriate action and if it wasn't however the things left the factory would limit possibilities forever more. The adjustable neck angle is not unlike any other instrument when the angle is appropriate you go to the saddle to dial it in.

So.... if the neck angle is OK I set a Taylor's action just like any other guitar with 1) relief set, 2) nut slots cut low and 3) mill saddle to desired action.

One last thing to have on your mind is the break angle over the saddle. So if your saddle gets too low for a decent break angle that's a tell tale of it needing a different shim set and the neck angle refreshed. But again, within the appropriate neck angle I do go to the saddle to get folks where they want to go and have done so for hundreds of Taylors.

Thanks guys, I should stick to building.

The neck angle does need to be increased, the straight edge not even close to clearing the bridge.
New saddle ordered; lessons learned.
I'll call Taylor for a shim kit and start again.

This reminds me of younger years when breaker points were replaced with electronic ignition, the new electric fuel pumps needed pressure relieved before changing a fuel filter and later when TVs needed a digital converter to receive over-air broadcasts.

And thanks for not busting my chops.

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Measure Twice,

Karl Borum

Hey Karl I'm always happy to help and not into busting chops.

StewMac has Taylor shim kits. Unless you are the original owner and/or a Taylor warranty center Taylor may not supply you with shims. Can't speak for them but if you need shims Stewmac has them.

Hesh, I can't see any Taylor NT neck shims on Stewmac, only electric neck shins and acoustic shim blanks.
I've always just made my own.
I do have a local luthier friend who was able to purchase some direct from Taylor, despite not being a Taylor shop, but I've never asked myself.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I can't find any either Colin. I checked Amazon and they have shims but are not saying who's....

Sure you can make your own and the old ones are a good template for a new one or two.

I did not find them on SM either. I did however call Taylor and after passing a "quiz" about the errant neck geometry, the guy sent me three complementary sets in the range most likely needed to get the neck set correctly. Middle set nailed it.

On a related topic, Taylor used a filler at the FB extension pocket in the top (and the tenon pocket). Is that just Timber Mate filler? Its very gritty and "friable".

The thickness/ taper did not correlate very well with the documentation, given they are incremented in .001". Next time I do a Taylor shim job, I will be reworking the shim tapers to match the design intent. Even then its still faster than making two shims. I might start another thread on Taylor Shims if anyone is interested, including the not-so-precise thickness of each end of each shim.

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Measure Twice,

Karl Borum

Well that was cool of them to send you some shims.