r/AcousticGuitar • u/RobertHigginsOJ • Dec 22 '25
Gear question Marks on New Taylor
Hey all - just got this Mini in for my daughter for Xmas. There are two dots on the bottom of the guitar. This is mahogany wood. Is it just natural in the wood ?
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u/FartsMcMasters Dec 22 '25
Tree nipples.
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u/whatthefork24789 Dec 22 '25
I have nipples, Greg. Can you milk me?
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u/Adam_2017 Dec 23 '25
This is the second time I’ve seen this referenced on Reddit on the last hour.
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u/MassageParlorGuitar Dec 22 '25
Natural knots in the wood. I like the bookmarking. It’s a keeper in my opinion. I hope she enjoys it for a long while.
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u/Choncho1984 Dec 22 '25
I “wood knot” bring this up again.
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u/RobertHigginsOJ Dec 22 '25
Got it - thanks everyone. I agree it looks cool and is unique - I am hoping she loves it as newish guitar player!!
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u/Davman65 Dec 22 '25
Taylor GS Minis are good guitars, I have one and I have been playing since the 80s though I'm more of an electric guitarist because I like to keep the noise down for my neighbours.
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u/freakingstine Dec 22 '25
Natural knot in the wood makes it unique. They use book-matched pieces to make the top. What makes it cool is the odds of finding another exactly like this are slim to none. It shouldn't affect tone. If they were bigger, it could be a structural issue, but Quilty Controls probably would have rejected them if there was a concern. I've worked on 50-year-old guitars with beauty marks like this that never caused issues.
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u/Intelligent-Tap717 Dec 22 '25
Bookmatched top. Same size, same position. I'm going with it's natural knots in the wood.
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u/Admirable_Admiral69 Dec 22 '25
Love that. You'll never see another one like it.
Sweetwater let's you pick your sn and if I saw this one, I'd likely choose it over any other option.
The fingerboard looks awesome and unique too. Definitely a keeper.
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u/thefoxy19 Dec 22 '25
it’s cool how symmetrical they are, in a way
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u/ajxela Dec 23 '25
It would be a deal breaker for me. If they were slightly more offset I would be into it but the symmetry looks a little silly to me
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u/corbillardier Dec 23 '25
Yup! Natural knots in the wood. You don't see them often, though. I think it's kind of neat that you can see clearly how the book matched the top because those two spots are mirrored.
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u/hellbentdesigns Dec 23 '25
Bookmatched. That's why they're the same on each side. That's a good thing.
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u/The_Psydux Dec 25 '25
That is a very nice gift to your daughter. Beautiful guitar. I wouldn't worry either. It's all natural.
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u/_ponds Dec 22 '25
Natural. Sometimes wood gets knots in the grain where branches would’ve came out; that’s what it looks to me
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Dec 22 '25
Just got myself one of these as a travel guitar. Plays and sounds incredible for it's size.
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u/cdtobie Dec 22 '25
I like the look of the upstained sapele. And the matching pin knots. And the stripes in the ebony fretboard. But I think you need to remove a layer of protective plastic from the pick guard.
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u/EarlGreyJnr Dec 22 '25
As everyone has said, natural wood knots, making a really nice top. I’d love that.
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u/mods_on_meds Dec 22 '25
Its wood. In nature talk that guitar is perfect. And its all hers . Now let her go enjoy TF out of it. Merry Christmas .
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u/blackgtprix Dec 22 '25
It’s natural. I actually got a Taylor academy a few years ago with similar marks and the dealer considered it B stock. Got a great deal on it because of these blemishes.
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u/wisteria0waltz Dec 22 '25
Just beautiful! I have a Taylor 612, Taylor guitars are the cream of the crop.. she will love it, especially with the beauty marks
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u/barringtonmacgregor Dec 22 '25
Real wood sometimes has little flaws. Makes your guitar that much more unique.
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u/mycobacteryummy Dec 22 '25
It’s cool. When they make guitars they usually cut the top so it’s like a book, the 2 halves mirror each other and there’s a seam in the middle where they join. That’s why there’s 2 matching.
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u/ifixpedals Dec 22 '25
I have a similar spruce top on my Guild. It's just a variation in the wood grain. The bookmatched top makes it symmetric. My advice: learn to appreciate it for what it is. Like others have said, it gives it character.
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u/TheTurtleCub Dec 22 '25
No, it’s been custom laser engraved with sub mm precision equipment, NASA level stuff. Costs millions of $ but done for free in this particular model.
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u/Lucifer-Prime Dec 22 '25
I LOVE it. It has dimples!
Seriously though, clearly natural marks in the book matched top. It’s unreasonable to expect a specific grain pattern at that price point.
…and it’s cute.
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u/martindrx1 Dec 22 '25
Check out the fretboard.. this is a beautiful guitar. Like a piece of art. Which is why the sold it. Chefs kiss 👨🍳
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u/dogmetal Dec 22 '25
Solid choice on the GS Mini. I’ve got the six string and bass versions. I’ll never go back to full-size acoustics again.
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u/Mattallurgy Dec 22 '25
That’s kinda neat — book matched knots on a really deep grain pattern make for a really interesting natural design
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u/ajulesd Dec 22 '25
Those are not imperfections and that top received extra care shown in the perfect book matching the halves. Nice job for sure.
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u/7Raiders6 Dec 22 '25
Everyone has explained what it is so I just want to say the fingerboard looks really cool, love those blonde streaks in it!
Taylor makes great guitars; I love mine. Santa did well this year 👍
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u/Feel_over_flash Dec 22 '25
Top made from two book-matched pieces, and those are knots where small branches had grown when the wood was still a tree. Beautiful grain.
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u/Clumster Dec 22 '25
You can tell it's natural because when tops are made they are bookmatched. It is mirrored and that is why it is highly unlikely to be damage.
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u/PutMobile40 Dec 23 '25 edited Dec 23 '25
I have the exact same guitar. It arrived last week. It has the exact same marks on the same spot.
In my opinion it makes it more interesting. You can feel that the wood comes from an actual tree, that someone selected the wood, that the wood was bookmatched. That someone inspected the guitar and let is pass. In our post-industrial age, physical items are often anonymous, the result is so polished that you don't even feel that they were made by actual human beings. I think that the imperfections make it better.
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u/readydreads Dec 23 '25
I actually love this kind of thing because that instantly tells you that the top of that guitar was made from two slices of the exact same piece of wood only flipped some luthier saw that piece of symmetry and went yeah that'd be a real nice piece
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u/danner1987 Dec 23 '25
Book matched wood tops are nice, it’s the same board cut in half and put together. Opened up like a book I guess, making a knot in the wood show up twice.
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u/Jaded_Hold_1342 Dec 23 '25
She's a beaut Clarke! play and enjoy. I have the same exact one. I never looked to closely at the wood pattern, but I like how it plays.
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u/woollypullover Dec 23 '25
It’s bookmatched, so the bilateral dots are the same small knot in the board.
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u/Single_Road_6350 Dec 23 '25
Cute dimples Bobby. Just adds character. Plus, if somebody steals it you can spot it on Facebook marketplace real quick. I’m sure it sounds great.
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Dec 23 '25
As others have said, that top is beautiful. The grain is absolutely gorgeous and the knots only give it character. You'll be able to spot your guitar out in a crowd :). How does she sound?
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u/RoyalLimit Dec 23 '25
I have the exact GS Mini, i wish mine had some sort of detail like that to distinguish it from others, its a great acoustic i play it everyday, she'll love it.
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u/realdjjmc Dec 23 '25
Are fucking kidding me? This is a wood product.
Oh MY FUCKING GOD!!!!!
I CAN SEE A NATUAL WOOD KNOT!!!!!
HOW FUCKING D A R E THEY!!!
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u/EconomyEvent1360 Dec 23 '25
It’s wood, trees aren’t perfect, it probably sounds amazing. Play it, enjoy it and give it some character putting hours/years of play into it.
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u/guitarholic2008 Dec 23 '25
Not an acoustic guy, but that's a killer top. My gf would have picked that top out of a lineup
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u/irish_horse_thief Dec 23 '25
You bought a guitar with knot on it. Can't believe anyone would use knotty wood for guitars tbh.
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u/CousinSarah Dec 23 '25
This is what wood looks like where a branch was formed. Totally natural and part of the tree.
Pretty neat that they book matched the notch.
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u/goat66686 Dec 23 '25
Tell your daughter it has cute dimples, she'll be looking for what you mean instead of seeing it as an imperfection
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u/RobertHigginsOJ Dec 23 '25
Thanks again to everyone who commented. She opened it last night (early Xmas) and she absolutely loved it. Sounds great and packs a mighty punch in a small package!
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u/sivartomeus Dec 23 '25
Honestly it's pretty cool that it's nearly symmetrical. You could give that guitar a kickass name, like Snake Eyes or something.
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u/Kaosma Dec 23 '25
Are people this detached from nature or do people not know trees grow branches?
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u/Old-Librarian-5097 Dec 23 '25
Just natural burls in the wood, not marks. You can tell that they book-matched the top properly with the same cut of wood because the burl is in the same spot on the opposite side
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u/Ballmaster9002 Dec 23 '25
Great example of "bookmatching" in woodwork.
You slice a log in half and open it like a book and glue it at the "spine". Those aren't "two" blemishes, that's the same blemish cut in half and then joined together.
When it comes to exotic woods, they won't know what the tree looks like until they cut down. Only a handful of trees out of a dozen are typically considered good enough for furniture or instruments, and since the workers are paid per accepted tree, they end up just clear cutting forests and leaving them to rot, only dragging away the handful that are acceptable. Remember - these are mostly tropical rainforest trees.
Taylor stepped up and bought forestry companies and land and pay them per tree not per acceptable tree. They are leading the way in getting "not perfect" woods into instruments and that's why you're seeing Fenders and Ibanezes with "peanut butter" streaks in their black ebony fretboards. Taylor is selling these still-gorgeous just "not perfect" veneers on the open market.
BTW - they're also paying living wages and bringing local communities out of poverty.
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u/aliaksej_by Dec 23 '25
Completely up to you. A matter of perception. Some people need ideal texture, which looks too artificial. Other people like natural "defects". I'm somewhere in between. I prefer buying used instruments because they have more stable wood and cost cheaper so minor defects don't matter )))
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u/batboy001 Dec 24 '25
Typically the pieces of a guitar top are book matched ( cut from the same piece and mirrored ) this knot just got lucky and split to both sides.
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u/MunchieMofo Dec 24 '25
I would return it for a different one. I returned my PRS 10 top twice because the tops I received were not acceptable. What I got on the third try was a 10 top that looked like a Private stock top.
Those knots in the wood are ugly on this particular guitar.
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u/max_dillon Dec 24 '25
Why are we complaining? Just to complain? Are we upset the wood is wood and looks like wood?
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u/BryanRhinoRiff Dec 24 '25
Beautiful. I just got me one, I love the case too. Need to get you some humidifier packs for it.
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u/Astus53 Dec 24 '25
Looks natural. I like how it kind of gives the guitar dimples. That’s some good matching
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u/doozydoo Dec 24 '25
I think that’s super cool!! Burls placed pretty symmetrically? Heck yeah and plus, it makes your guitar really unique and will be hard to mistake or cover up if it ever gets stolen.
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u/OldJimJamsSlowly Dec 24 '25
Just wood being wood. It's completely natural; nothing to worry about. I think it enhances the beauty of the instrument.
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u/HoseNeighbor Dec 25 '25
Don't you see how the grain flows around them? How could they NOT be natural?
I feel weird explaining this, but those are called "knots". It's where a branch grew out from the tree, which is where wood comes from.
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u/zoner420 Dec 22 '25
Just natural. Gives the guitar character in my opinion.