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#1
11-16-2001, 10:30 PM
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Do you put 12's on your Dreads?
I've been back and forth a few times between 12s and 13s on my Taylor Dreads. While I like the warmth and Depth that I get from the 13s, I seem to revert to the better playability of 12s.
Am I missing out on what my guitars have to offer or do some of you play lighter than spec? If so, is it for tone preference or playability?
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Mike 
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#2
11-17-2001, 08:27 PM
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I prefer 12's because of their playability, but I still like the sounds of 13's. If yuo are not playing on Elixers, there is your first mistake, also, Elixer makes a guage call "Light tops/Medium bottoms" the treble strings (e,b,g) are light guage (12's) and the bass (d,a,E) strings are medium guage (13's).
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-Chaz 714ceLTD (Engelmann) Baby T. (Engelmann) Martin D-16RGT CST Dean Tradition QS12 GN Maple Alvarez RD30sSB Gilb Flamenco Nylon "One lucky man, With my feet in the sand, Tonight I just need... My Guitar."
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#3
11-18-2001, 01:48 PM
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Hey Taylor Kid, Thanks for the reply. The Elixer thing is a whole other can of worms. See previous threads where we all share our opinions on the coated wonders. It's a love em or hate em thing. I'm on the "hate em" side of the fence.
 To each his own. I am considering going back to 13s for a while though.
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Mike
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#4
11-19-2001, 09:25 AM
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I use 12s on my 510ce, because I like to strum pretty hard sometimes and get buzzing if I don't have my action set high enough. Then with medium strings, my fingers hurt, so I use the lights. I hate a tinny trebly sound, but I play plugged in most of the time so I adjust it out with the blender/ p.a. EQ. It works for me...
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#5
11-19-2001, 11:40 AM
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I always use 13s on a dread--it feels more solid. I use 12's on my Bourgeois JR-A, which is a Jumbo OM (similar to the 14 series), because it's a smaller guitar. When I play the smaller guitar, I tend to play more delicately. For me, a D is meant to be hit harder with a pick, so the fatter strings facilitate that.
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#6
11-19-2001, 05:45 PM
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I use 13's on my 810ce, but I also use on my 710ce, mediums on the steels and Lights on the bronzes. Because the dreads are pretty boomy to begin with, the lights on the bronzes are still pretty strong and you still have the playability on the lower strings yet the steels don't sound tinny.
Peter
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#7
11-21-2001, 08:16 PM
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thanks for the comments all. Well, I put 13s on 3 days ago and they came off last night for a set of 12s. There is no question that the guitar sounds more full and rich but I do like to bend and fingerpick 50% of the time. When at home I'll use one of my x14s but my 310 is the all around workhorse and I really don't like the extra string tension for fingerstyle.
Compromises 
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Mike
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#9
11-26-2001, 09:45 AM
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Quote:
I use 13s on my dread and play a lot of fingerstyle with it. I tried lights but thought I lost to much tone. You do get used to the mediums, it takes a couple of weeks of serious playing time to build up your fingers. For me, 13s feel like lights now and my instrument is much more dynamic. Just a suggestion...Do you play in tunings at all? I do a lot of DADGAD and CFCGCE so the tension is much lower than concert pitch and lights would be way to floppy. Maybe you can ease into mediums by tuning to e flat or a lower tuning? Sometimes a 1/2 step lower really opens up a guitar too. Erm
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#10
11-26-2001, 01:54 PM
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That's a great suggestion Erm. My 310 is pretty much useless for alternate tunings with 12s so maybe I'll leave it in a drop tuned state with 13s for a while to get acclimated. I really do like the tone better with mediums.
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Mike
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#11
12-08-2001, 10:34 AM
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I use "medium-gauge" on my '96 410 because I am a strummer. Besides, it's what Taylor recommends on their dreadnoughts and jumbos anyway.
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franchelB: TGF member #57! 
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#12
12-17-2001, 12:13 PM
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Hi
I have an 810B. Sometimes I use medium/lights with no problems, but I like a guitar that has lots of projection so I never use any full lights on my dread. I do believe that an instrument is actually braced for a certain string guage and I like to work the wood the way it was intended. Just a personal preference... -grm
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