ES-B Disconnecting

This is a question that is neither about Fender guitars, nor is it about traditional pickups. But the wealth of knowledge on this board is such that if I didn't ask, I'd probably be kicking myself into the middle of next week.

I have a Taylor GS Mini-e Koa acoustic guitar. It's one of my two favorites. If it weren't for this niggling problem, I'd say it was perfect for me in every way.

But I have this problem: The onboard electronics have a curious/nasty way of coming loose. Put another way, if I go unplugged for a while and then plug back in, I get... nothing.

I asked Taylor about this and they suggested I unscrew the preamp, lift it, and disconnect and reconnect the jack to the pickup. I did, and problem solved.

Until the next time. Rinse and repeat. The problem is remedied after I take the few minutes to tinker with what's below the surface.

The first time I did this, I lost one of the little screws (there are 4) that hold the preamp. Taylor kindly sent me a free replacement. Now I use a magnetized screwdriver when performing this surgery.

But I shouldn't have to perform this inelegant solution all the time. At the most, I should only have to replace the CR2032 battery every so often.

Any ideas of how I can get underneath this and solve it once and for all? The electronics appear to be fastened to the underside of the top of the guitar, and I can't see for diddly when I lift the preamp off the body.

I'm a mechanic, and have several sizes of mirrors, (mine have an extendable handle.) Just find one as large as possible that will fit through the sound hole. You might need to tape something to the bottom to get the proper viewing angle

I found this post via a Google search for "taylor es-b preamp disconnect". I felt like I should share what I discovered as OldStrummer's post pointed me in the right direction.

I was having the same issue with my Tayor GS Mini-e Koa which uses the ES-B preamp (pre-2022). It was especially noticeable after moving the guitar from gig to gig. If I disconnected the 2 mini jacks from the preamp and reconnected, I was good for a little while. Until it cut out right before I was going to play live!

I ended up contacting Taylor, and even though my guitar was past warranty they were very helpful. It must be a known issue. The customer service rep asked if I would be able to solder some contact points. I was provided with the following instructions:

"ES-B-1 preamp repair.

1. Loosen strings and gently unplug both jacks on the preamp. They are different sizes so do not worry which one goes where.
2. Remove the 4 screws holding preamp to the body and remove preamp
3. Remove the back cover plate to the preamp. You’ll fine 2 screws holding it.

Looking at the photo below you’ll notice a series of solder connections at the top where the 2 PC’s meet.

Those connections need to be re-soldered.

We have found somewhere within those connections is either a cold solder joint or cracked solder joint. By re-soldering those connections we have had a very high success rate of repairng this preamp in both output and tuner function."

I tried embedding the image Taylor sent but I don't think it worked. Here's a link.

I ended up ordering this soldering kit from Amazon and was successful. I no longer have any issues with sound cutting out.

For those that aren't handy, you can order a new preamp directly from Taylor. Just call 1-800-943-6782 and ask for parts.

Hope this helps someone else out.