Hey Luke,
Good to hear that things are better with new strings! Kind of like wiper blades getting worn: not only can you see the difference, you hear the chatter across the windshield. Worn strings will start to feel "off" as well as sound dull, and of course intonation will drift. The huge plus that I have found with Elixirs is that they keep their tone and feel
consistency for a longer time than other strings I've tried which degrade slowly and predictably. By contrast, the Elixirs sound and feel like they are at 90-100% all the way up to when time to replace, which is also longer than others. For acoustics, Taylors or otherwise, Elixirs are my go-to all the time.
And fwiw, your soundhole tuner is "ok" ...I use D'Addario micro headstock ones on some of my guits because of convenience. But these are not the best at evaluating intonation. May I advise you get one genuinely good tuner that you rely on. Yes, keep whatever others as they are useful and convenient, but one good tuner is a genuine plus in any player's toolbox. It doesn't have to break the bank. I personally like the TurboTuner line, and these are excellent at around $100 or so (you don't have to break the bank, btw). And it's not mere "accuracy" that is in question as even the least expensive tuners brag .02 cent accuracy. It is the stability and accuracy of the display that counts: drifting or bouncing needles are irritating and don't let you do what you need to do easily. A good visual meter "damps" whatever harmonic "noise" that makes the needle (or strobe, like the TurboTuner, Peterson, et.al) bounce (like that sharp when you first hit the string then drifts back down ...annoying and inaccurate for the user). A good tuner allows you to better see what the tuner is hearing without the sonic clutter, allowing you to tune not only more easily but more precisely. So "equally accurate" tuners in spec are
not necessarily equally effective is my point. Food for thought fo ya
Edward
