Taylor string gauges

[Chrose1201]

So I bought myself a Taylor 417e and it came with a set of .013s. On my electrics I have Ernie Ball Mighty Slinkys 8.5 to 40 so as you might imagine the 13's were tough on my fingers! I switched to the D'Addario XS 12's. Much easier to play but still pretty tough! The Taylor is a deeper sounding guitar to begin with. I'm afraid if I drop down to 11's it might make it easier to play but I fear losing any tone/volume.
What are your thoughts on this?

[Earl49]

One way to find out will cost you a new set of strings. I cannot speak for your left hand, your ear, or the setup on that guitar.

You can always try tuning down the current 12's. At standard E-e tuning, 12's are ~165 pounds. At Eb tuning they drop to around 152 pounds, and at D-d tuning they become ~143 pounds, give or take. That should give you a fair approximation of XL 11's for tension at E-e tuning. Those are numbers recalled from previous investigations of string tension. I did not try to look up XS strings specifically. D'Addario publishes a string tension table. https://www.daddario.com/globalasset...hart_13934.pdf

[jwing]

The only way to know is to try it on your guitar.

[Lillis]

Maybe you could put 11’s on it until your fingers get more acclimated then go back to 12’s. I don’t think 13’s are necessary. Nice guitar BTW.

[CharlieBman]

Start at string gauges that are only slightly challenging. When you become proficient, slightly increase the gauges. Rinse and repeat. It's takes awhile to build strength, but if you're persistent at pushing that boundary, it will come.