Unofficial Taylor Guitar Forum - UTGF
Lessons, Recordings, How Tos, Repair, Accessories => Lessons, Recordings, How Tos, Repair, Accessories => Topic started by: johnhpower on February 11, 2016, 10:07:41 AM
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I recently posted about this acquisition. My question is if it would be OK to switch from the stock .13s to .12s. I am guessing Taylor puts .13s on to maximize the volume from the smaller body.
I use .11s on my 414CE so I get a little "finger shock" when I switch to the 13s
Has anyone done this?
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I briefly had a GS Mini.
My fingers are used to extra light strings.
The Mini's mediums killed my fingers.
It hurt to play.
I put lights on, but then got fret buzz all over,
and had to have a luthier raise the action,
so then the fret buzz was gone, but the action was high.
Since I mainly am a strummer, that nice but small guitar
could not handle it, and I wound-up returning it.
:(
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I had a GS Mini and the medium strings were trouble for me. I put on a set of lights, but the sound was disappointing.
I put the mediums back on and again marveled at the sound. I ended up donating the guitar to a player in need.
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The mediums my GS Mini came with were really tough to play and the action was high from new. So i took it to a Taylor authorised guitar tech and got him to set it up with a low action with .12s. I love it. Yes, there is a bit of a compromise with tone, but it still sounds fab and it plays so much easier. Tempted on the next string change to try HD Lights. Has anyone tried them?
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The "theory" behind the mediums I believe is that since the scale length is shorter, there is less tension on the strings, thereby making them easier to play. In other words you can use heavier strings than you normally would, allowing you to benefit from the bigger sound of the bigger strings without them being too hard to play. That's what they say, anyway.
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The "theory" behind the mediums I believe is that since the scale length is shorter, there is less tension on the strings, thereby making them easier to play. In other words you can use heavier strings than you normally would, allowing you to benefit from the bigger sound of the bigger strings without them being too hard to play. That's what they say, anyway.
I have found this to be true. The short scale takes way less pressure to play for me. Of course I am already used to Mediums- have them on my 410 as well as my Martin. If you use them for a little while, you do get used to them.
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I recently posted about this acquisition. My question is if it would be OK to switch from the stock .13s to .12s. I am guessing Taylor puts .13s on to maximize the volume from the smaller body.
I use .11s on my 414CE so I get a little "finger shock" when I switch to the 13s
Has anyone done this?
Give it a try. You might like it strung with lights. Try tuning down a half step to see if that feels better. Good luck.
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The "theory" behind the mediums I believe is that since the scale length is shorter, there is less tension on the strings, thereby making them easier to play. In other words you can use heavier strings than you normally would, allowing you to benefit from the bigger sound of the bigger strings without them being too hard to play. That's what they say, anyway.
Yes, this is true.
I feared the mediums when I first got my Mini. I called Taylor to ask about using lights. They said I'd lose some volume and would likely have to tweak the truss rod a bit. However, after playing it awhile, I was pleasantly surprised on how comfortable the mediums were on the Mini. I have stayed with the mediums and love the volume that they produce. To me, they are as comfortable and easy to play as lights (or HD lghts) on my full sized Taylors. My advice, don't be intimidated by the mediums and give them a fair shake. You might be pleasantly surprised too. :)
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I also had problems initially with the mediums when I got my GS mini hog. I had been playing lights on my 214ce, so it a big adjustment. I looked into putting lights or HD lights on the mini, but after talking with the Taylor tech about it decided to just soldier on with the mediums in hopes of getting used to them. It's been a journey, but now I know to play the mini first, then the 214ce. That way the transition between string gauges isn't a problem. I have learned to appreciate the mini's lovely mahogany sound and feel that I just have to trust Taylor on the string gauge.
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My wife plays the GS Mini, and she does not like mediums. We put lights on it for her and it works fine. It maybe lost a little volume and tone (10% ??) but is still fine. (I was playing it just last night in standard tuning to compare to another small guitar). I don't recall adjusting the truss rod. And she tunes it down to Open G about 95% of the time too, so it is even "slacker" than normal.
Since I tune down a lot, I mostly have mediums on my guitars, except for the Rainsong and my current test set of Elixir lights on the koa GS.
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I have super sensitive finger tips on the middle and ring finger of my fretting hand from cutting off the fingertips at work over the years.
They grew back and are just fine in my daily life but playing the guitar has been a painful journey.
I've stuck with the original strings on my GS mini's but have used http://www.originalguitarfingers.com (http://www.originalguitarfingers.com) gloves and now I can pretty much play without them.
Playing guitar is all about the sound and I'd rather find another avenue to fix the pain problem than compromise the sound of a great little guitar.
:D Danny
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To elaborate on Danny's post, you can also tune down a whole step below standard, which will give mediums about the same overall tension as light gauge sets, and be easier on tender fingertips. I crushed my fretting hand middle finger tip in an industrial accident in 1978. It was 15-20 years before that finger tip toughened up to be comparable to the uninjured fingers - slow but it does happen eventually.
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Try Silk and Steel strings. They are so much easier on the fingers and seem to work well on my koa Mini. I did not like the HD string set on my rosewood Mini--too much twang on the high strings for my taste.
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You could try light-mediums (or is it Medium-lights?) where the treble E, B and G are lights (12-54) and the bass E, A and D strings are Mediums (13-56). Makes is a little easier on the hands while maintaining the bass growl you want. That's what I did with my mini...
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Just as a follow up I have gotten used to the .13s and do not want to give up any volume and bass response. I have .12s on my 414CE so its not much of a jump.
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I thought my mini came with 12s.. or did I put 12s on later.. humm ...I just checked (I keep all my old string boxes)well it plays great with 12's.
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You could try light-mediums (or is it Medium-lights?) where the treble E, B and G are lights (12-54) and the bass E, A and D strings are Mediums (13-56). Makes is a little easier on the hands while maintaining the bass growl you want. That's what I did with my mini...
I tried lights and lost the sound I fell in love with on my mini so I put on a set of Elixir PW (11075) Light mediums ( 12-16-24-35-45-56 ) and been happy ever since.
I feel the light top & medium strings helped me ajust to it a little better.
Will probably try the mediums next (13-17-26-35-45-56 ).
The Mini is one sweet little guitar. Now I want a 414 or 614 if and when the budget allows.