T5, Any Tips You'd Like To Share?

[resonator48]

I recieved the T5 yesterday. It plays very nice and sounds great unplugged. In fact, it's the best unplugged sound I've heard on T5's I've played in the past. It came with PB Light Acoustic strings. I'm guessing this has a lot to do with the great unplugged tone. I plugged into my Jam 150 Plus and came up with a nice acoustic tone. I found that rolling off the the treble and adding some bass took the thinness out of the sound. Made it fuller/richer sounding. Haven't tried the electric side yet. How much am I going to loose on the electric side with the PB Acoustic Lights?

[Edward]

Congrats on the T5 ...glad you like it, at least on the initial reaction!

FWIW, I was at a Road Show once and asked the demo player (Marc Seal, amazing player, wow  ...who had some stellar acoustic tone going on with their T5) what his thoughts were on elec vs acoustic strings on the T5s.  He said he was aware of folks going to acoustic strings on them, and he "sees their point" ...but he personally preferred the T5 with the electric strings on them.  From where I was sitting, I felt his acoustic tone was quite good, and while I clearly had no opportunity to A/B between electric and acosutic strings, their setup though a small PA sounded rich, warm, and acoustic-y.  Perhaps it comes down to what each owner is looking for: more of electric-guitar feel but the ability to cop decent acoustic tone, or more acoustic tone with the feel biased that direction, but the ability to cop an electric vibe.  Then again, you will have the opportunity to A/B, so perhaps you are the best one to tell us

Edward

[resonator48]

Another day under my belt with the T5. This time I ran it through the BBE Accoustimax and BINGO! Very nice. I have noticed something though. the high E and B strings have more volume than the wound PB acoustic strings. The high E and B are also the hardest to dial in for acoustic tone. Anyone else experience this?

[Gutch]

Darned magnetic pickups.  The bronze or phosphor bronze windings on acoustic string sets can buffer the steel core a bit from the magnets in the pickups which, in turn, reduce their volume.  The unwound strings are closer to the pickups and, in the case of the B string, can be a larger diameter than the core of the wound strings, which will cause it to be louder. 

Electric strings are wound with Nickel or Steel or some other magnetic materials that will create a stronger signal with the magnetic pickups and, therefore, balance out the volume between the wound and unwound strings.  Using electric strings will help you balance out the tone when plugged in and still drive the top well for the acoustic sensor.  I use the Elixir heavy electrics (12's) that are the same gauge as acoustic lights, and they sound great plugged in and in acoustic mode.

[coldshot]

I agree with Gutch Elixer electric heavy gauge .012's give me what I'd consider good acoustic tone. Position 2 & 4 for work best for me as far as acoustic tone goes.

I don't think I ever use position 1.

[resonator48]

I agree with Gutch Elixer electric heavy gauge .012's give me what I'd consider good acoustic tone. Position 2 & 4 for work best for me as far as acoustic tone goes.

I don't think I ever use position 1.

I've been playing the T5 through the BBE Acoustimax and also straight into the Jam 150. When I first went through the BBE Acoustimax and dialed it in, I thought It was better than going straight to the Jam 150. After more experimentation, It's actually better going straight into the Jam 150 and cutting the treble, adding bass and cutting the mids way down. I'm getting a rich full balanced acoustic tone now. It's really really good. I almost hate to change the strings to the electric heavy gauge .012's. How much of this great acoustic tone am I going to loose by going to the Electric strings? The other thing I hate about using .012's (acoustic or electric) is I do a lot of string bends and the heavier gauge is more than I can handle with these old bad hands. The bad hands is why I wanted the easier playing T5 to begin with.

[Gutch]

If you are playing with light gauge acoustic strings (.012-.016-.024-.032-.042-.053), they are the same diameter as heavy gauge Elixir electrics.  The difference is in the wrap material and interaction with the pickups.  The T5 is shipped from the factory with the Elixir electrics, BTW.

The important thing is your enjoyment and comfort.  If you like the way it sounds and plays now, then all is right with the world and our job is done.  By all means, do what makes you happy!!!   

[resonator48]

If you are playing with light gauge acoustic strings (.012-.016-.024-.032-.042-.053), they are the same diameter as heavy gauge Elixir electrics.  The difference is in the wrap material and interaction with the pickups.  The T5 is shipped from the factory with the Elixir electrics, BTW.

The important thing is your enjoyment and comfort.  If you like the way it sounds and plays now, then all is right with the world and our job is done.  By all means, do what makes you happy!!!   

The only way to find out for sure is try a couple different string sets. There are also Acoustic strings that are specially made for use with pickups. The GHS White Bronze is one of them. They are wound with Alloy 52, which is a special magnetic material over a hex core. I may give them a try.

What happens to the sound if you don't use a wound 3rd? I'm guessing the stock Elixir Electric that come on the T5 does not have a wound 3rd?

[Gutch]

Yes, the third string is wound on the electric Elixir set.

Alloy 52?  Wasn't that from a 50's B movie?  "The Aliens of Alloy 52", starring Leslie Nielsen & Raymond Burr...

Absolutely give the White Bronze a try and report back.  I'm always interested in trying new stuff out, and I like GHS strings just fine.  Looking forward to your results!

[resonator48]

Yes, the third string is wound on the electric Elixir set.

Alloy 52?  Wasn't that from a 50's B movie?  "The Aliens of Alloy 52", starring Leslie Nielsen & Raymond Burr...

Absolutely give the White Bronze a try and report back.  I'm always interested in trying new stuff out, and I like GHS strings just fine.  Looking forward to your results!

Taylor's website says the T5 comes with Elixir Electric Medium 11 through 49 gauge. This set does not have a wound 3rd. The Elixir Electric 12 through 52 gauge has a wound 3rd.

[Gutch]

I use the electric 12s.

[Cooperro]

Yes, the third string is wound on the electric Elixir set.

Actually, the T5 is shipped with Elixir 11s, which have a plain 3rd.

I also have a similar dilemma - the 12s sound great for acoustic and jazz, but are tough on the hands for any bending (blues/rock)...

[Steam]

I saw this thread, and was hoping to get some helpful hints as well.  My T-5 is a gorgeous guitar with one of the easiest playing necks I have ever used.  I have been using either my 414CE or Martin GPCPA1 (sorry) and my Takamine EF381SC 12 string on my gigs, but  I was hoping to use the T-5 for some electric type work at them.  I am still struggling to get a sound I really like when using it with my Fishman SoloAmp. It sounds just ok, either acoustic or electric.  Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[ericjungemann]

This is a really great thread.  I've got a T5S1.  It is my second T5 . . . I got one when they originally came out but didn't really 'get' the T5 concept and was left disappointed and traded it.  Lately, due to shoulder irritation when playing my dreadnaught, I got this wonderful new T5.

Armed with some important information, I really really like the sound of this guitar.  When you see someone like John Doyle use one (an acoustic purist) you can understand the appeal of the single guitar.  In my case, it works perfectly.

Some thoughts:

1.  The TRS/XLR transformer mentioned by others is really important.  That signal boost is critical.  I got the Hosa XLR Female LO-Z To 1/4" Male HI-Z Microphone Transformer from Amazon.
2.  The T5 EQ controls are really sensitive (which is great) but, as many others have said, patience is required.  I would say slight adjustments are important as another way of saying it.  Taylor says this over and over but they really mean it!
3.  I've tried the Elixir Electric heavies and liked the sound but it wasn't enough to lure me away from the wonderful light touch of the instrument as shipped from the factory . . . original bridge with mediums.  So, just use it for a while 'as is' would be my suggestion.

I have a T5 TRS/XLR plugged into the Hosa transformer plug going into a BigShot ABY. 

Channel A goes into my Loudbox Mini on the Instrument side. 

Channel B goes to a Apogee Jam and into my iPad where Garageband is running. 

Out from the iPad headset jack is a 1/8" to the Aux jack on the Loudbox.  By the way, that leaves the Microphone channel free for another instrument or mic.

Acoustically, I use the T5 switch position 1 with flat everything on the T5 EQ.  The Loudbox has scooped Mids but everything else flat.  Very slight Chorus and Reverb.  It sounds great to my ears.  Not the same as my acoustic dread but then its Fishman piezo doesn't sound the same as the instrument does acoustically anyway.

I would say the T5 is a wonderful instrument as designed.  For pure acoustic, perhaps the heavy strings and wave bridge would be nice but I enjoy the option to switch over to Garageband (or Amplitube) for more electric sounds.

Although this is about the sound, the fit and finish on these guitars is just a marvel.  Mine is literally perfect.  The Taylor factory tour videos on YouTube are worth watching to see how they achieve this level of detail.

Anyway, thanks to everyone in the Forum for the suggestions that helped me get going for my T5 redux!

Eric

[dcopper]

Really great to see all my T5 buds on this thread: from coast to coast and from down under too!
The first thing I always suggest is to try Elixir 12-52 electric strings with the wound G. You will get a fuller tone and it will stabilize your tuning. On my black standard T5, I switched out tuning gears for the Sperzel locking tuners. That is NOT necessary but I like the quick string change option. Just remember what I found to be the Number 1 rule - the T5 is a T5. It has its own inherent tone which IMHO is a combination of airy acoustic tone with hollowbody electric. It can go the distance and even do some grind if you like. There are Taylor clinicians who demonstrate that option on YouTube.

I bought the first Taylor T5 that came into my dealer after seeing Doyle Dykes play one and getting a chance to try out Doyle's. He told me that I was going to love the guitar - he was right. The only thing was that I tried so many different effects/amps/modelers/pedals, even added an undersaddle LR Baggs Element Active to my standard and a wavelength to my KOA T5 custom. I got so caught up in all the options that I did not initially understand the guitar for what it is - a T5. IF evil crept into the world and I could only have 1 guitar, it would be a T5. It will do anything I ever need - from acoustic solo gigs to band work with full out amps (the only one I don't like with the T5 are Marshalls with that deep midrange).

So in buying/swapping/selling all the gear what I found is just plug the T5 in and work with its inherent tone RATHER than try to change the tone. If you just plug in to a good acoustic amp/PA and work the magic of the pickups (my fave is #2) and the active electronics, you can get good clean acoustic T5 tone. Remember though it is not 810 tone. The best way to use the T5 that I have found is to A/B and send one signal to the PA/acoustic side and one to an electric amp. I use either a PV Delta Blues with a 15" speaker; a MesaBoogie Subway rocket with 1-12 extension cab; or Roland Cube 60/80 amps. I mentioned this before but you can try this option: add a full range PA cab as an extension cab to your guitar amp. The T5 responds well to that.

For effects, as far as multi-effects go, I like the simplicity and clean tone of the BOSS ME70 with the T5. I also recently purchased a DigiTech RP1000 which works very well with the T5 for tons of tone. For individual pedals, I think the TC Electronic pedals are the cleanest and add the least "color" to your tone. I have the Hall of Fame reverb; the Flashback Delay and Corona Chorus which I power with the Sanyo power block so no need for AC chords. These pedals and multi-effects work well with my regular Taylor acoustics too.

So, there is my dos centavos and again, it is great to see all my T5 buds here. Sorry i was a little slow on responding- work has a way of getting in the way of life.
davidc