Well guys I carried the guitar to my local dealer Friday where I purchased it. The tech which is Taylor certified checked the guitar out and he said that it was in factory specs and that it looked OK to him. He said that he could lower the action on the nut a little but he was afraid that would open up other problems such as string buzz, etc. He recommened that I put Custom Light Elixr's on it and that should help. Gonna try the strings tonight sure hope that helps. Guess I need to work on the callus thing.
Just because the guitar is within factory specs doesn't mean that the set-up is going to be optimal or desirable to the person who owns and is going to be playing the guitar. A set-up that varies from factory specs would not be covered under warranty, but I would think the set-up could be 'tweaked' by the dealer the guitar was purchased from and that they would be willing to do so without an additional charge, other than if the strings were to be changed.
I just told him that I was just starting to learn fingerpicking. He said that guitar was fine and that I should change the strings to custom lights..
To the tech, the guitar may be 'fine', but he is not the one that owns or is playing the guitar on a daily basis. If the G, B and e strings feel the stiffest and require the most effort to fret, the Custom Lights will make a difference, as the lighter treble strings are where most of the change in tension will be compared to a Light gauge set.
However, it is possible to set-up a guitar to have lower action with Light gauge strings with less of a tendency to buzz than with Custom Lights because the increased tension on the treble strings will not be as apt to be 'floppy' and causing fret buzz or rattle.
Changing to Custom Lights may require a slight adjustment to the truss rod to alter the neck relief (increase it a bit), or it may not depending on how the guitar is currently set now. If after the strings are changed and have settled in, the guitar still feels a bit 'stiff', I would contact Taylor Customer Service to see if there is another Authorized repair center locally that you might be able to have the guitar looked at.
If you were using Light gauge strings on the Yamaha and Hohner and they have a standard (25.5") scale length, there really shouldn't be any reason why your 714CE would need to have Custom Lights put on it to make the playability more favorable. There seems to be some area(s) of the set-up that need to be examined and addressed. I'm just wondering if the tech sighted down the neck to determine the neck angle was correct, measured the neck relief and the action at the nut. Some things can be 'looked at', but others should be inspected a bit closer.
Hopefully, everything will turn out well in the end. Please let us know how it all works out.
