Taylor GS Mini - The Story So Far

Our first look at this Taylor GS Mini was on April 26, and yes, quite a lot of time has passed since then. To recap, as received, the bridge had almost completely detached itself from the top and there was a highly visible crack.

As Received - Lifting Bridge

Side View - Highly Visible Crack

Upon removing the strings, it took very little effort to pry the bridge off the top, and what lay beneath gave us the shudders. The wood was torn and splintered, and the bridge pin holes sheared out of shape. We would definitely have to somehow deal with this mess before thinking of doing anything else. Meanwhile, the bridge plate was in no better shape. It had split lengthwise right down the center line of the bridge pin holes, rendering it totally unusable.

Bridge Pried Off the Top

Damaged Top - Image 1

Damaged Top - Image 2

Damaged Top - Image 3

Cracked Bridge Plate

Thus began the long and arduous task of carefully rearranging the splinters, before proceeding to gently flatten the top and bridge plate with a little moisture, wooden cauls, and soundhole clamps. And then unclamp and let the wood settle, before repeating the whole procedure ad infinitum.

Looking Much Better After Flattening

Which brings us to today, the 31st of August. Yes, it's Merdeka Day, and I feel anything but liberated. Now, we've decided not to detach the damaged bridge plate as any attempt to do so, given prevailing conditions, could further damage the already tattered top. And so, we'll be gluing a piece of chengal wood onto the bridge plate to reinforce it. Long story short, we fashioned two "prototypes," so to speak, and ended up gluing on the one that fit best. Now we wait.

Makeshift Template From Ice Cream Sticks

Chengal Wood Sawn to Shape

Drilling Bridge Pin Holes

Two Prototypes

The Chosen One

Titebond Original Wood Glue

All Clamped Up

Kafe Pokok on August 21, 2026

Address

Simpang Rumah Banjir, No 1, Gerai Dato' Shahbandar, Shahbandar, 26600 Pekan, Pahang. 

Telephone

011-61373201.

First time here (August 21, 2026). Main plus point for me is the menu. Besides the usual Malaysian staples, this cafe also offers various pasta dishes. 3 of us had pasta, and it was fabulous. Same goes for the nasi goreng daging someone else had. Prices are very reasonable and portion sizes are more than generous. So generous, in fact, that one of us could not manage to finish her pasta. Not that it wasn't delicious, but just because she was too full to continue. The drinks are out of this world. Besides various fizzy and non-fizzy fruit based drinks (with real fruit), there's also an impressive range of coffee and tea-based libations to choose from. 

10 stars for sure 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Ibanez GIO GRG121PAR - Owner's Demo

Recorded at 5:55 PM on August 10, 2026. 

CA Guitar Repair. Taman Impian Ku, 25200 Kuantan.

Temui Pramaya di Fiesta Perkampungan Koboi

Salam semua. Jangan lupa temui kami, Pramaya di Fiesta Perkampungan Koboi. Bertempat di Pantai Sepat, 26060 Kuantan, Pahang pada 5 September 2026, jam 3.30 petang. Pramaya akan menghiburkan anda di opening sempena ketibaan geng motor bikers, termasuk geng Dato Awie dan Pae Sebah Bumi. Jumpa di sana!

1983 Fender MIJ Strat Demo

This Strat has been set up with D'Addario EXL110s (10 - 46) and a "wide open" middle pickup. In effect, we only have two pickups tied to tone controls. Tone 1 works on the Neck Pickup only, and Tone 2 exclusively on the Bridge Pickup. I do love being able to tame the highs on the sometimes "ice-picky" bridge. Granted, I could have tied Tone 2 to both the middle and bridge. However, I prefer not to have a pickup weighed down by two tone pots in position 2 (neck + middle). Recorded at 5:53 PM on August 7, 2026. CA Guitar Repair. Taman Impian Ku, 25200 Kuantan.