Show Full Spec Comparison
| Taylor GS Mini Mahogany | Yamaha CSF-TA | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand: | Taylor | Yamaha |
| Year: | 2012 | 2016 |
| Strings: | 6 | 6 |
| Made in: | Mexico | China |
| Series: | GS Mini | TransAcoustic Guitars |
| Colors: | Natural | Natural |
| Left-Handed Version: | Yes | No |
| Body | ||
| Type: | Hollowbody | Hollowbody |
| Body Material: | Solid Tropical Mahogany | Solid Sitka Spruce |
| Sides Material: | Sapele | Mahogany |
| Back Material: | Sapele | Mahogany |
| Bridge: | West African Crelicam Ebony | Rosewood |
| Neck | ||
| Neck Joint: | Set | Set |
| Tuners: | Die-Cast Chrome | Die-Cast Chrome |
| Fretboard: | West African Crelicam Ebony | Rosewood |
| Neck Material: | Sapele | Nato |
| Decoration: | 4mm Dot Italian Acrylic | Dots |
| Scale Size: | 23.5" | 23.625" |
| Shape: | Acoustic Taylor Standard | Acoustic C |
| Frets: | 20 Medium Nickel Silver | 20 Medium Nickel Silver |
| Fretboard Radius: | 15" | 16" |
| Nut: | NuBone | Plastic |
| Nut Width: | 42.9mm (1.688'') | 43mm (1.693'') |
| Electronics | ||
| Pickups: | SYSTEM70 TransAcoustic (Preamp / Active) | |
| Hardware | ||
| Strap Lock: | No | No |
| Hardware Color: | Chrome | Chrome |
Reasons to Get
Taylor GS Mini Mahogany over Yamaha CSF-TA
Reasons to Get
Yamaha CSF-TA over Taylor GS Mini Mahogany
Other Key Differences
Taylor GS Mini Mahogany vs Yamaha CSF-TA
Shared Features
Taylor GS Mini Mahogany vs Yamaha CSF-TA
Common Strengths
- Solid Top Wood
- Expensive Wood
Common Weaknesses
- Solid Side Wood
- Solid Back Wood
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Locking Tuners
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- Top Pickup Brand
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Price History Comparison
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Hand Size Comfortability
After taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that both favor small hands .
Taylor GS Mini Mahogany:
Yamaha CSF-TA:
Beginner Friendliness
Both meet 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players. If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, you can't go wrong with either of them.
New Player Friendliness
Taylor GS Mini Mahogany- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Short scale
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Soft Strings
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Yamaha CSF-TA- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Short scale
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Soft Strings
- Locking tuners
Sound Quality Comparison
The most important thing that will determine the tone of an acoustic guitar is the wood. Let's take a look at the differences between both .
Woods Used in Both
Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.
Woods Used in the Taylor GS Mini Mahogany
It's similar to Mahogany in both color and tone. It can produce warm tones, and it's known for its beautiful figured grain patterns. Find out more about Sapele.
Ebony is a high-end wood, so it is not cheap. It's only used for fretboards because it's also very heavy. It does an excellent job as a durable material while looking elegant. Find out more about Ebony.
Woods Used in the Yamaha CSF-TA
Nato a hard and dense wood similar to Mahogany, but cheaper and not quite as hard. Tone-wise, it's also similar, but it doesn't have quite the same attack as Mahogany.
Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.
Spruce has a light color with tight grain patterns. It's very stiff but relatively light. It's known for producing a well-rounded tone with a broad dynamic range. Find out more about Spruce.
Winner: Tie.
Electronics
The Yamaha CSF-TA comes with a preamp that allows you to connect it to an amp, unlike its competitor. This allows it to have more versatility and sound quality if you want to record with it or play live.
Winner:Yamaha CSF-TA.
Final Sound Quality Scores
Build Quality Comparison
When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Taylor GS Mini Mahogany compares to the Yamaha CSF-TA.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Taylor GS Mini Mahogany is built in Mexico while the Yamaha CSF-TA is made in China.
Mexico has been for a long time where Fender has built their semi-premium series. If you don't want to overpay for a wellp-built instrument, a guitar built in this country by a good brand always offers good value for the money.
China has a bad reputation when it comes to building quality. However, times have changed and now respectable brands use China's cheap labor to build good instruments for a lower price. Don't discount a guitar only because it was built in China, but also expect more quality from countries like Korea.
Winner: Taylor GS Mini Mahogany
Nut Material
If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.
The Taylor GS Mini Mahogany has a NuBone nut. It's made by the same company that makes TUSQ nuts. It's slightly softer but hard enough to give you a brighter sound when playing open strings. It's also self-lubricating, so it's good for tuning stability.
On the other hand, the Yamaha CSF-TA comes with a Plastic nut. This is a low-quality nut that you might want to consider upgrading soon. Bone and TUSQ nuts are the best for guitars with a fixed or simple tremolo bridge.
Winner: Taylor GS Mini Mahogany.
Fret Material
Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.
Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.
Winner: Tie.
Tuners
Both come with regular tuners. Both come with Die-Cast Chrome.
Winner: Tie.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Taylor GS Mini Mahogany
- Expensive Wood
- NuBone Nut
- Synthetic Bone Saddle
- Solid Top Wood
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Mexico
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Electronics
- Laminated Side Wood
- Laminated Back Wood
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Yamaha CSF-TA
- Expensive Wood
- Electronics
- Solid Top Wood
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in China
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Top Brand Pickups
- Low-Quality Material Saddle
- Laminated Side Wood
- Laminated Back Wood
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Final Build Quality Scores
Playability Comparison
Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.
Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.
Nut Width
The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Yamaha CSF-TA has the wider nut with 43mm (1.693'') vs 42.9mm (1.688''). This is a 0.1mm (0.0050000000000001'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Yamaha CSF-TA, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.
Scale Length
The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.
The Yamaha CSF-TA has the longest scale: 23.625". The Taylor GS Mini Mahogany is only 23.5" long. This is a 0.125'' (3.2mm) scale length difference.
This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.
This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.
Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).
Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.
Neck Profile
No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.
Both the Taylor GS Mini Mahogany and the Yamaha CSF-TA have a C-shaped neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.
Fretboard Radius
Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.
In this case, the Taylor GS Mini Mahogany's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Yamaha CSF-TA's. This extra arc will make playing chords easier in this model. You won't be as likely to mute the strings, especially if you have big hands. However, playing single notes and bending will be easier on the Yamaha CSF-TA.
Still, both tend to favor soloing over chords, so if you're looking for a guitar for playing rhythm, you might want something else with a radius closer to a Stratocaster's 9.5''.
Fret Size
Both have a Medium fret size. If you like feeling the fretboard when you play, but also appreciate some easiness to press down the frets, this size offers a good balance for that.
