Acoustic ppl- any acoustic or flat top I’ve ever owned has had the strings an inch off the fretboard. Still played the shit out of them, but I am so out of my element in this world. I have a small body Hensel I love that needs work done.

But now my dad very nicely gave me his tricked out single cutaway Taylor on a long term loan.

Are there any strings out there that can kind of balance out the Taylor’s zing a little bit? It needs a new set anyways.

Elixir Phosphor Bronze aren't quite as zingy as some strings that I've tried (and are less squeaky in the left hand due to the coating). If you're really fighting the sound of the guitar though I'm not sure they'll help much with that.

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Sun Nov 12, 2023 6:01 pm Acoustic ppl- any acoustic or flat top I’ve ever owned has had the strings an inch off the fretboard. Still played the shit out of them, but I am so out of my element in this world. I have a small body Hensel I love that needs work done.

But now my dad very nicely gave me his tricked out single cutaway Taylor on a long term loan.

Are there any strings out there that can kind of balance out the Taylor’s zing a little bit? It needs a new set anyways.

Nice dad - zing as in treble response/brightness or the action is so low you’re zinging notes out of tune?
You could try some heavier strings for the latter and the affect on your playing may help the former.
Otherwise if it’s the high end, the Elixir Phosphor Bronze suggestion is a good one, coated strings can be divisive.
We put coated Elixirs on guitars that left the factory for years and people made all kinds of speculation why, but it was just so they sounded good longer on the wall at whatever music store. Switched to D’Adarrio this year because they sound a bit better and we like working with them.
You could try nickel strings and should dull it out.

Also if you plug in and hate the electronics (it’s love hate with some people, really depends on the year, the guitar, the setup yadda yadda). I can send you a prototype preamp /pickup that I’ve been putting in artist guitars and getting good feedback.

TylerDeadPine wrote: Mon Nov 13, 2023 6:59 am Switched to D’Adarrio this year because they sound a bit better and we like working with them.

Which ones? The 80/20s?

Those, along with Martin Retros, to me are the "this is what your guitar sounds like, for better and worse" choice. That's great if you're really leaning into that acoustic character for a recording perhaps: open chords for layering, and want lots of brightness, squeaks, fret noise and all that. When I get a little more 'technical' and need a bit more focus that's when the Elixrs really help out. I change my mind about that constantly though, heh. Shit's fussier than choosing drumheads..

penningtron wrote: Mon Nov 13, 2023 7:48 am

TylerDeadPine wrote: Mon Nov 13, 2023 6:59 am Switched to D’Adarrio this year because they sound a bit better and we like working with them.

Which ones? The 80/20s?

Those, along with Martin Retros, to me are the "this is what your guitar sounds like, for better and worse" choice. That's great if you're really leaning into that acoustic character for a recording perhaps: open chords for layering, and want lots of brightness, squeaks, fret noise and all that. When I get a little more 'technical' and need a bit more focus that's when the Elixrs really help out. I change my mind about that constantly though, heh. Shit's fussier than choosing drumheads..

These coated ones. I like them better than Elixir

https://www.daddario.com/xs-strings-taylor-guitars/

Thanks, I’ll check these out! I think a battery was left in the electronics too long, so I haven’t plugged it in yet. It plays insanely well.

By zing I just mean a sort of jangly piano overtone sound that jumps out of it that I’m not used to. I definitely wouldn’t want to make any drastic changes on it, but ofc I can’t keep from messing with it a little either. Just seeing what a string change would do.

I usually associate "zing" with the sound of 95% of electric-acoustic guitars and what they sound like when plugged into a DI. I've lamented them over and over on this forum but god most of them suck so incredibly fucking bad.

I always have to negotiate this discussion during sound check w/ acoustic players and usually goes like this:
Me: "ok how's that pickup sound"
Artist: "super good actually"
Me: [knowing there are actually some quite natural-sounding pickup options out there] "ok cool, let's give it a shot"

[listens, annoyed by the "zing"]

Me: [engages talkback and already knowing the answer to the question I'm about to ask] "it's a little zingy, could I put a mic up for you or do you move around a lot"
Artist: "I move around a lot so a mic won't work."

Me: [stifles a sigh] "ok, I'll make it work, no problem" [attenuates as much high-shelf eq as I can get away with]

Anyway, what you're describing sounds like new strings...and since those coated strings are trying to hold that sound as long as possible, I'd go w/ FM TDP's suggestion and get some nickels on there...or really any non-coated string should tame those overtones after playing a while especially if you don't scrub them clean after every use.

Garth wrote: Mon Nov 13, 2023 12:16 pm Anyway, what you're describing sounds like new strings...and since those coated strings are trying to hold that sound as long as possible, I'd go w/ FM TDP's suggestion and get some nickels on there...or really any non-coated string should tame those overtones after playing a while especially if you don't scrub them clean after every use.

While it's true that coated strings should hold their optimal sound longer, they don't sound as bright fresh out of the package as uncoated strings.

I can understand being a little off put by the initial zingy-ness of very fresh strings (especially on a Taylor) but I don't think dead strings is the answer either.

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Mon Nov 13, 2023 11:06 am Thanks, I’ll check these out! I think a battery was left in the electronics too long, so I haven’t plugged it in yet. It plays insanely well.

By zing I just mean a sort of jangly piano overtone sound that jumps out of it that I’m not used to. I definitely wouldn’t want to make any drastic changes on it, but ofc I can’t keep from messing with it a little either. Just seeing what a string change would do.

Gotcha, glad to hear the setup is still good. I wasn't a huge fan of Taylor looks/sounds but then I played a couple and the playability won me over.
Yeah a string change, or even a pick change (I know I know) can tone things down a bit there.
What you're describing is likely part of the 'Taylor sound' of that guitar, in part due to the low action, bracing, headstock design, wood choices yadda yadda. What year is it? We also changed our saddle material in the last 10 years to a linen based micarta which can mellow things out a bit (and definitely sounds more even plugged in). Older guitars may have Tusk which can be all over the place, or similarly bone which can emphasize the zing even more (which some people love).

I would describe the classic Taylor sound as 'sparkly'.