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Old 02-27-2008, 12:32 AM
p0stman p0stman is offline
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Default Can I use medium gauge strings on my Taylor 314CE?

Hi guys, I've read on the Taylor website that I'm only supposed to use "light" gauge strings on Grand Auditoriums. However Taylor did mention that medium strings are OK for dreadnoughts. Any thoughts?
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Old 02-27-2008, 06:23 AM
stringbound stringbound is offline
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The guitar is set up for "light" strings. If you put "medium" strings on it, you may need a new set up. I play my Taylors with "custom light" strings, instead of "light" and never had any trouble. All the guitar needed was a new set up.
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Old 02-27-2008, 06:58 AM
Lewguitar Lewguitar is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stringbound View Post
The guitar is set up for "light" strings. If you put "medium" strings on it, you may need a new set up. I play my Taylors with "custom light" strings, instead of "light" and never had any trouble. All the guitar needed was a new set up.
Meaning a truss rod adjustment?

Or did you have to do more? You didn't have to enlarge the nut slots or raise or lower the bridge or anything like that did you? Lew
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Old 02-27-2008, 09:39 AM
p0stman p0stman is offline
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I was looking into the purchase of a 314CE and the ad said "this guitar has been set up for mediums." I'm not really sure what's involved in the setup, but in this case if the seller is using medium strings on it it should be okay right? Another thing is that I plan to play light strings, so if I do that on a guitar "set up for mediums" will it cause back-bowing?
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Old 02-27-2008, 10:20 AM
norcal norcal is offline
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I'm new to the forums but a long time Taylor owner so I can probably shed some light. The grand auditoriums are fine to use with medium gauge strings but as has already been said, are set up from the factory with lights. Typically when switching to mediums, the nut slots need to be enlarged a tiny bit and the truss rod tightened to compensate for the increased tension from the strings. The top itself is a lot stronger than people give credit to and I've spoken with JR @ Taylor about this. He suggested that it's not a problem switching to medium gauge.

If you want to back to lights, try it first and see how it plays. You'll definitely need to tweak the truss rod a bit and maybe shim the saddle slightly. The nut should be ok but it may be best to take it to a luthier and have them do a complete set up. And yes, a set up typically involves truss rod adjustments, nut and saddle adjustments... everything to get your Taylor to play like butter
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Old 02-27-2008, 01:32 PM
stringbound stringbound is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lewguitar View Post
Meaning a truss rod adjustment?

Or did you have to do more? You didn't have to enlarge the nut slots or raise or lower the bridge or anything like that did you? Lew
Yep, in the first place I mean a truss rod adjustment to match the change in stringtension. If you only want to try medium strings, this will be enough. As soon as you decide to switch to medium strings, you better have a luthier check if the saddle and the nut have to be adjusted to the strings.
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Last edited by stringbound; 02-27-2008 at 01:40 PM.
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