Medium strings on CF guitars
 

Would 13-56 be ok for Carbon Fiber generally? I am wondering how CF reacts under string tension anyway, compared to wood. Does it crack or deflect/distort in a different way? And does it change under long term tension?

Generally, medium will be just fine. You of course may need a slight adjustment due to string size, but the CF material won’t notice the extra tension, and it definitely won’t crack. This would be true of the Emeralds, Rainsongs, Blackbirds and Mcphereson that I have owned and probably any other quality CF guitar. The Klos has a wood neck so I would think that might yield a different result.
Good luck, it can be an expensive rabbit hole to go down.

Good to know. Suddenly I'm thinking CF guitars and did not know a thing about them a week ago. Apparently Don Ross has a Leviora.

I had 13s on my CA GX, thought they worked great, especially for flatpicking. I preferred 12s for fingerstyle - a bit easier on the fingers.

Only speaking for Blackbird Lucky 13 and some Emeralds, I think the only way to hurt these guitars is to run them over with a tractor. 13s will do fine. I am considering 14s on one of my Emeralds.

So you are saying 13s and vehicles smaller than a tractor are fine. :D

This thread has me wondering who has tried 13’s or 14’s on the CF guitar and how do they sound (I’ve contemplated going to 12’s-56’s on my Emerald 12 string)

I have used true mediums and "new mediums" with a 13 and 17 trebles on two different short scale CF guitars. With tone and playability being both subjective to the player, I've found a preference for them. Certainly wouldn't be something CF can't handle and mostly a matter of opinion.

My favorite gauge is about 56-42-32-24-17-13 (LJ's Choice Martin Retros) or 55-42-32-24-17-13 (John Pearse New Mediums).

To my ear you get more volume, and a rounder, more powerfully defined top end. (lights can sound a bit metallic and tinny to my ears, but is more noticeable on CF than wood guitars)

That's some good thinking right there!

I’m using Leviora guitar and change from Elixir 12-53 to Martin SP 13-56 half year ago. I do suspect a little bit less (very subtle) sustain has been traded off for more (quite notable) volume. The most obvious cons of using heavy string is harder to press. It may result in slow down your left hand a bit. However, 013 gauge strings seems survive a bit longer than the 012 gauge strings, but may be just different bands…

I like the attack and volume of 13-56 strings now and will stick with it awhile, but still inspecting any other pros and cons with fun as well.

13s are ok but vehicles smaller than a tractor are not fine


https://i.imgur.com/OoAtTOP.jpg

That's not a very lucky 13. Superglue anyone? Mine has been dropped and stepped on with no problem. I'm not going to test it with a tractor. Not even a riding lawn mower.

I saw a GS Mini turned into splinters by a guy who didn't navigate an icy sidewalk well. Doubt that would have bothered my CF guitar though.

Ouch! Lucky 13 is one of the best-of-the-best in CF world... hope you can find a way to have it repaired. What happened?... gotta be a good story there... if not, make one up.

I have an Emerald X20. Tried medium strings on it just to see what happens. I have no concerns about mediums damaging the guitar -- it will certainly outlast me and probably my kids too. However I didn't favor the mediums on that guitar. Conclusion: the lights (12-54) actually sound better. More volume, fatter tone. And of course easier to play (though my action is set pretty low so that wasn't a huge difference). I've got lights back on it again. It was a cheap experiment, glad I did it, now I know.

Same observation on the OF660 and it is an inch shorter in scale than the X20. Lights sound better and I prefer the feel too, but the guitar can definitely handle the medium set