Did any of the forum members try the new 800s serious with 80/20 elixir instead of phosphor bronze to get it sound more like the legacy?
I heard back in the days, Taylors came standard with 80/20 and Andy Powers changed it
I'm definitely curious how the new 800's would sound with 80/20's. The PB's aren't bad strings, I just gravitate more to the 80/20's, especially with rosewood. My GA7 sounds way too dark with PB's.
However, I recently took my GA5 in and tried it out against a new 814 and a CV 914. All 3 guitars had Elixir PB's on them. My GA5 blew them away, in both volume and clarity. I felt like the 914 came in 2nd. The 814 was very mellow in comparison. I can't imagine things being much different with 80/20's. The differences in characteristic would still be there.
I respect Taylor for thinking about the future, and one of the great things about their company over the years is that even with changes, they still offer a variety for everybody. I hope that continues to be the case, because I'm not liking the direction they're taking with the new bracings. To me it's somewhere between a Taylor and a Martin, and I'm sure that will bring Taylor more business in the future from players that wouldn't have otherwise bought one of their guitars. But I hope they don't seek out to "mellow" every single model, because there are those of us that started playing Taylors in the first place (particularly the GA's) for that 'shimmery' modern tone that we weren't finding with the other brands. In fairness, I have yet to try the new 614, and I would like to. But from what I've read, and the few sound clips I've heard, I get the impression that it's going a similar direction to the new 814.
I had thought about selling my GA5, but now after comparing it with the newer Taylors, I'm convinced more than ever that I need to keep it.
