Taylor 814ce had Elexir 11er tested

[Ade]

Hello
On my 814ce had i tested with Elexir Phosphor Bronze 11/52. Result was not good.
Now change the Strings back to Elexir Phosphor Bronze 12/53. It is a big difference.
Now have i a questions.
I like to test with Elexir Phosphor Bronze 13er. Had anybody 13er String installed and how is the result.

Many regards
  Ade

[Earl]

Ade, most of my Taylor guitars have worn lights (53-12) and mediums (56-13) about equally.  The guitar can handle them just fine, if your fretting hand can.  The tone can be a bit bolder and louder, maybe even described as "fuller", when using medium gauge.  I don't recall even making a truss rod adjustment or widening nut slots.  My preference for string type is Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze, as I find 80/20 too bright sounding.  I have never tried extra light (52-11) as you did, but anemic sound quality with extra-light gauges does not surprise me.  I am blessed / cursed with very strong hands.  When rarely playing electric guitar, I tend to grab too hard and bend whole chord shapes out of tune.  A lighter touch is something that I work on periodically.

I first got into heavier medium-gauge strings when beginning with alternate tunings.  Heavier gauges are needed when lowering the pitch of the bass string down from E to D, and even C for some tunings that I use.  Otherwise the basses get too floppy.  But I often tune medium gauge to E-e standard pitch too.  I've had good luck with "bluegrass sets" (medium basses, light trebles) for both standard and alternate tunings.

[DennisG]

I put medium-gauge strings on the guitar I use for open-D tuning, and it seems to work out perfectly -- it wasn't even necessary to adjust the truss rod.  The higher string tension of the medium-gauge strings is offset by the lower tuning.

[Edward]

Hello Ade,

Taylors were (traditionally) designed for 12s for the GC/x12 and GA/x14 bodies, whereas the old Jumbo/x15, dreadnaught/x10, and GS/x16 bodies were strung with 13s.  The guitar top's bracing is designed for the tension of the 12s or 13s, so that is the factory's intent for tone and volume of each body shape.  So a GA can accept 13s, and a GS can likewise accept 12s, all without issue to the structure of the guitar, but your ears and hands can decide which gauge is best. 

And as you noticed, the 11s on your 814 did not sound good to you, likely because the lighter 11s did not provide enough tension to "drive" the guitar's top so you probably perceived less bass and volume.  You can try 13s on your GAs, and let your ears determine whether the change is good, as well as whether you are ok with the increased tension for your fretting hand.  Similar to you, I recently experimented going down from the 13s to 12s on my dred because of nerve damage to my hand: I like the feel and the tone is good with the 12s.  But I am now reconsidering going back to the 13s on this guitar as my health is improving and I miss the "bigger" sound of 13s.

One other side note with trying 13s: you "may" be able to get away with slightly lower string action.  Depending on your playing style and how your guitar is set up now, the additional tension of medium-gauge strings may allow you to adjust your truss rod slightly (very slightly) for less "neck relief" which lowers your action a bit.  It is subtle but can be a noticeable improvement.  It is worth trying, and can always be put back to its former condition so there is no risk whatsoever.

May I also suggest Elixir's medium-lights where the EAD is from their medium set and the GBE from their lights.  I use these Elixir PBs on GA and GC body Taylors and love it.  For me, I prefer the bigger bass notes and feel the tonal balance across all the strings is better than with a regular set of 12s.

Hope this gives you a few things to consider! 

Edward

[Ade]

Hello

The assumption is that with 13s strings the sound is a bit fuller. That's why I want to try this out as well.

I have now put on new 12s strings on the 814ce and the guitar had changed slightly in the past 2 years. The string height at the 12 fret was a bit too high for me, since the neck was very straight, I didn't need to change the truss rod, but to loosen a bit at the bridge inlay and put it back in, so that an optimal string action was achieved.

On my 214ce DLX, I noticed a similar change in string height. Since the strings are already used up, I would like to put on the 13s strings on this guitar soon and if it is necessary of course adjust the string height. I once had a 12s Strings Elexir Phosphor set on an Ibanez AW 300 CENT and the sound was very positively balanced and fuller.

A negative side effect is that the thicker strings are a bit harder to play. A little more strength in the finger is needed.
I use now a translate programm and i hope now it is easy to understand.

 Many Regards
     Ade

 

 

[Earl]

An intermediate step that most do not think of is to tune down a half step to Eb.  If you need to play with others then a capo on the first fret brings you back to standard pitch.  By tuning down, the tension of a 53-12 set is reduced from ~165 pounds down to ~153 pounds -- much softer on the fingers.  There is a similar reduction for 56-13, where ~185 pounds becomes more like 168 pounds when tuned down.  And we understand what you are writing.

[Ade]

Hello

I just wanted to ask if anyone has played 12s and 13s strings and what difference was noticed. Perhaps no one here has ever done that. As I mentioned before, I'm going to try it out on my 214ce DLX soon so I can see for myself. Everything else is just speculation.
When I have a result, I will announce it here.

Greetings
   Ade

[Edward]

Hello Ade,

Yes, as I had mentioned in my previous post, I have two dreds that have 13s: one of them is tuned half-step down, the other is tuned to standard.  Only recently did I put 12s on the one tuned to standard.  To answer your question about the difference: slightly less volume (which is of no great concern to me).  The treble notes sound a bit "thinner" and less pronounced.  Certainly, the feel is lighter by a little.  I am considering putting that guitar back to 13s because I want the "thicker sound" of the treble notes, especially the plain strings.

You "can" use 13s on your 214.  But may I again suggest you try the "medium-light" set on that guitar.  The smaller GA body and its top is braced/designed for 12s.  So while 13s won't damage it, I feel it "may" be too much for that guitar.  The heavier bass strings from the med-light set, however, do sound good and in my opinion is a plus for GA-body (and GC-body) Taylors.  No harm in trying different gauges as that really is the only way to decide.  And only you and your fingers can decide whether the tone and stiffer feel of higher tension is ok with you.

Edward