My GS MINI has a Belly!

syscokid

syscokid

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My other acoustic doesn't have this same problem. They both hang off the walls in the same house. Humidity inside the house averages around 55%.

The action has risen because of the belly. The neck is pretty straight, with just a hair of relief. There is plenty of the micarta saddle that I can shave off to bring the action down, but... Am I putting a "bandaid" over a much more serious problem?
 
Wow never seen that before.Think the side wood is shrinking causing this ? Ive no clue really.Maybe take all the strings and bridge and pins out and lay it face down on a flat table and then put some books or boards or what ever on the back and see if it will go back flat.Start out with a slight weight. I dont know Sysco its the only idea i got.
 
My old Fender acoustic suffers from this...string tension and humidity were blamed by the luthier I took it to. He was confident that he could fix it, but not confident that it would not return to this shape.
 
smitty_p said:
Here are a couple interesting articles on this:


Acoustic guitar belly repair - Strange Guitarworks

Guitar Guru – No Belly, No Tone | Bourgeois Guitars
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Good read, thanks.

As I research more...:
1: A little bit of belly bulge is ok and expected for an acoustic guitar to sound good.

2: Taylor GS Mini's are known for sometimes developing excessive belly bulge.

3: GS Mini's were designed with medium gauge strings... 13s, which have a lot of pulling tension.

4: GS Mini's have a very thin finish. More susceptible to humidity?

The action has risen to 10/64" on the low E. Stock factory setting is suppose to be 6/64". I see no evidence of the bridge coming apart from the top... yet! I've been wanting to try a lighter string gauge, like 12s, for a while. Maybe this will be a good time.

Maybe I should remove the strings, and place the guitar in its case with some of those silica gel packs that remove moisture. Hopefully the bulging will be reduced, and a string gauge set of 12s will keep it from happening again.

If that doesn't work, maybe one of these JLD Bridge Doctors might do the trick:
JLD Bridge Doctor | stewmac.com
 
Kerry Brown said:
You need some belly. If you google GS Mini belly you'll see it's normal. Mine is the same.
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Thanks KB. But did the action increase as much as mine? I can compensate by shaving off the bottom of the saddle. But I'm not sure if the top is done stretching.
 
I use 12’s on mine. I have since new. I had a professional setup done when I bought it two years ago. It’s been through several string changes but so far the action is quite low the way I had the pro set it up. When I bought it it had a little fret sprout. The store I bought it from agreed to fix it for free. One of the best luthiers in the area works there so I asked him to lower the action and set it up for 12’s. It’s been perfect ever since. It gets hauled out to jams and open mic’s at least once a week. It lives in it’s soft case behind my chair in the living room so when I get bored it’s handy. It gets used and abused more than any of my guitars.
 
syscokid said:
My Martin has the slightest bulge. And I mean very slight. It's been pretty stable, going on 5 years.
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I got the 12 string out and its flat, whew. I haven't played it in years and the strings need changing. I write the string change date on the new string bag insert and put it in the guitar case. The last time I changed strings on this baby was 1996 !!!!! :run:

896E17A2-BD83-47EA-AC33-E6347BA49804.jpeg
 
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Don O said:
I got the 12 string out and its flat, whew. I haven't played it in years and the strings need changing. I write the string change date on the new string bag insert and put it in the guitar case. The last time I changed strings on this baby was 1996 !!!!! :run:
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Ha ha... It's probably worth a lot more money in this condition!

Funny thing about your "string change date"... Just a couple days ago I created a Microsoft Excel Worksheet that in one column it lists all my guitars. The next column is the date of the last string change. Third column is for brand, type, gauge. Last column is for money spent and location of purchase. In the last few years, I've mixed up my string brand of choice instead of sticking to one brand like I used to. Plus, I'm using 2 types of string construction of one brand and 3 types of the other brand. Trying to remember what, where, and when, has become impossible for me. Hopefully this will help... :hmmm:
 
Kerry Brown said:
I use 12’s on mine. I have since new. I had a professional setup done when I bought it two years ago. It’s been through several string changes but so far the action is quite low the way I had the pro set it up. When I bought it it had a little fret sprout. The store I bought it from agreed to fix it for free. One of the best luthiers in the area works there so I asked him to lower the action and set it up for 12’s. It’s been perfect ever since. It gets hauled out to jams and open mic’s at least once a week. It lives in it’s soft case behind my chair in the living room so when I get bored it’s handy. It gets used and abused more than any of my guitars.
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What type of 12's are you using?
 
I’ve tried several. My first choice so far and what I have on it now is D’addario phosphor/bronze. My second choice is Elixer. I like the tone of the phosphor bronze best but they don’t last long.
 
It's been 10 days since the original post. I placed the guitar back in its case, with no string tension, and a silica gel pack (Desiccant) stuffed into the body, for about 5 days. The bulging has come down a bit. About 3 days ago, I put new strings on it, and tuned it up. Strings: D'Addario EXP (coated!) phosphor bronze lights: 12 - 53 on the gauges.

I just got thru checking, and the action remains the same as it was 3 days ago. High E string at the 12th fret is at 4/64ths, and that's where it's suppose to be. From the high E to the A string, the string clearance linearly increases to a hair under 6/64ths. But the low E was measuring a hair over 7/64ths, and felt there was enough room to isolate that part of the micarta nut's saddle area and shave off 1/64ths. I did > It worked! > No buzzing!! > Can't even tell that the saddle was messed with!!! > I'm a Happy Camper!!!!

The guitar originally came with Elixer 13's. Many moons ago, I replaced them with D'Addario 80/20 Bronze 13's (Medium) uncoated and bright. The D'Addario EXP phosphor bronze 12's, that are on there now, is by far my favorite... and feel and sound great on this guitar... :)
 
syscokid said:
This pic was taken almost a year ago:

View attachment 15998


Shortly after I first got it in September '16:

View attachment 16002


A nice comparison in size to a Martin HD-28:

View attachment 16001
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Wow...you have two top-notch guitars...a Taylor and a Martin! Those must be big dollars for sure. I actually really like the top on the Taylor guitar and the body binding on the Martin. What is the price difference you paid between the 2 guitars?:hmmm:


;>)/
 
BlackSG91 said:
Wow...you have two top-notch guitars...a Taylor and a Martin! Those must be big dollars for sure. I actually really like the top on the Taylor guitar and the body binding on the Martin. What is the price difference you paid between the 2 guitars?:hmmm:


;>)/
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The Taylor GS Mini, I bought new at $500. The Martin is an '08 HD-28, that I bought used 5 years ago, for $2000.
 
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