Unofficial Taylor Guitar Forum - UTGF
Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Taylor Acoustic & Electric Guitars => Topic started by: Strumming Fool on September 10, 2021, 05:23:19 PM
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Up until now, I've used HD lights on my 2014 K24 alone, which has always been a winning combo for me. I've used standard lights on my other guitars. My 2020 714 has been such a beast - lots of volume, sustain but with still more overtones than I'd prefer, especially on the treble strings. Well, I recently strung it with HD lights, and now I can't put it down! It has become a perfectly balanced guitar like my K24 and my 2019 614. As has been said before, a change of picks or strings can make a significant difference in tone, before one starts messing with other mods to improve the playing experience. I just hope that Elixir continues to offer the HD lights, because I'm sold on them for at least two of my guitars at present. Just passing this along....
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Agreed. I've used HD Lights on all my GA's since they were introduced in 2014. They give me a well-balanced tone for how/what I play.
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I've had a set of HD Lights that I really should try some time. (A door prize from a Road Show - remember those?) Mostly I use straight medium gauge (56-13) or light gauge (53-12) sets. Medium's are more common for me since I use several alternate tunings and need the heavier basses. 53's just get too floppy when tuned down to C or Bb, and I have adapted to the heavier treble strings over time.
When I'm tuning a given guitar up and down, I prefer to use cheaper non-coated strings like D'Addario EJ-17 mediums or EJ-16 lights. Repeatedly re-tuning a string up and down a whole step kills its tone almost immediately. Coated string are reserved for those guitars that stay in just one tuning, be it alternate or standard.
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Coated string are reserved for those guitars that stay in just one tuning, be it alternate or standard.
Funny, I've never had that experience using coated strings in alternate and standard tunings on the same guitar. Oh well....
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I play blues and Hawaiian slack key in seven different tunings. I also have a large finger style and jam repertoire in standard tuning. So certain guitars can be dedicated to a tuning for months at a time. As a set of strings is going downhill, I will practice in multiple tunings on the same one. Being able to re-tune expeditiously is an important skill set too. But going up and down repeatedly can kill a new set of strings in just a day or two. I am a cheapskate and do not especially enjoy changing strings.
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Big fan of Elixir HD Lights. Use them on both Grand Concerts, three J-200 Jumboes, and my Grand Orchestra. Bigger body guitars don't need heavier bass strings, and the treble boost contributes to a well balanced sound. I fingerpick all my guitars using my fingernails as picks.
In addition, the bump in the unwound strings helps in alternate tunings, especially DADGAD. Allows the guitar to keep a decent tension when tuned down.
Besides DADGAD I usually don't mess with other tunings much, but I do dedicate a six and a twelve string to DADGAD tuning. I usually tune my 12 strings down to D#, so my 355 is tuned to C# with the usual DADGAD intervals following suit. Big Drone Music if you want it. Including ragas and reels.
Here's an interview with Andy Powers about HD Gauge strings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbTSHDm-jIg&feature=youtu.be
Don