Christmas came a little early this year . . .

Christmas came a little early this year in the form of a brand new "out-of-the-box" Taylor GS Mini guitar and a new ES-Go Plug In Pickup.

Info from the Taylor site about the GS Mini can be found here.

My deepest thanks to Sean at Grapevine Guitar Works for this sweet gift. I did some work for him this fall, spending several weeks helping him get the showroom ready for the Taylor Road Show he hosted on November 16th. By the way, it was a big success!

This is the guitar that replaces the Little Martin I got the end of last year. I love Martin products, as long as they are not made with laminates. The Little Martin I had did have a spruce top . . . but sound wise it just fell way short of my expectations.

I've been playing the GS Mini that Sean has on display in the Grapevine Guitar Works showroom for the past 4 months. I even got to install the ES-Go pickup into it. Took me all of 15 minutes, which correctly implies it would take anyone else less than 10 minutes to do it.

My plan is to use this guitar for hospital and nursing home visitation, and for singing in hospitals for children after the first of the year. It sounds great through my Fishman Loudbox 100, and even through the little Thin Amp I have at home in my study. This is going to be a very portable rig. It will go with me when I travel up to Philmont Scout Ranch for 10 days in September of 2011.

The sound . . . no it's not the full sound of a full size guitar . . . but to my ear it is surprisingly sufficient considering that the GS Mini is a designed as a souped-up travel guitar with it's own little world of support accessories. Without a doubt, sound wise it is many times better than the Little Martin I had. Again, please don't get me wrong. I love Martin Guitars. But they come up really short with their little travel guitars, in my humble opinion.

Sean, thank you again. I am glad we are friends and kindred spirits.

Please plan to visit the Grapevine Guitar Works located upstairs in the Grapevine Antique Mall on Business 114 (Northwest Hwy, next door to the Beall's Dept. Store) as soon as you can. It's a great local-home-owned guitar store. Sean carries several brands that other big box stores do not carry, and he probably has more Taylor acoustics on display that you will find in the DFW metroplex area.

God's grace still amazes me . . . ><>