A bit hefty at 9 pounds 3 ounces. (The same as my AL 3500)mighty_duck wrote: ↑Wed Feb 03, 2021 11:15 pmLooks like they improved the inlay work a lot since I got my pair. How much does it weigh?
Whats your' latest gear acquisition?
I tried, but it is like finding a needle in a haystack since you can't search and all of the old links go to Momo and most were purged it seems.LancerTheGreat wrote: ↑Thu Feb 04, 2021 5:10 pm @honyock I wonder if the waybackmachine might have a decent archive of the old board. I'll check when I get back from taking the lady to work.
I'll do some looking, I found some posts over at Gibson forums from TWANG.
10 years, 2 months, and 8 days of blissful ignorance ruined by that snake in the grass Major Tom.
jeebus h christmas!
i ordered this lot on thursday... was not expecting it so soon
i need to stop watching TPS....
i ordered this lot on thursday... was not expecting it so soon
i need to stop watching TPS....
frogs love to eat flies,
the devil's name, Beelzebub, lord of the flies
evil spirits love to spiritually feed upon those whom Beelzebub rules
joined AGF March 20, 2013
the devil's name, Beelzebub, lord of the flies
evil spirits love to spiritually feed upon those whom Beelzebub rules
joined AGF March 20, 2013
- belleswell
- Reactions:
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Wed May 27, 2020 4:57 pm
Not exactly musical equipment, this ION ice auger will drill through 1000 inches of ice on one charge of the 36 v battery. It saves me the sore shoulder
and arms from using my old manual ice auger. Drilling a couple dozen holes or more to find the fish through 12 to 16 inches of ice makes my arm sore for a day or two afterward. I'm not as young as I used to be. This electric auger cuts through the ice like butter. Now I can play guitar the day after an ice fishing trip without the soreness that came from using the manual hand auger.
11 inch, 1 lb + hybrid bluegill caught out of our pond a couple weekends ago. All fish in the pond are catch and release, unlike some of the local lakes
where fish fear me.
Nice perch from the pond. My largest is 14 1/2 which is a very nice sized perch. A female that was bloated with eggs. Released of course.
The pond has a nice batch of young of the year perch now in the 2 to 3 inch size. Smile. Perch at the hatchery are not cheap. 5 to 7 inch
perch from the hatchery cost 1.85 each, so having some successful spawning in the pond is nice.
This one was about 12 1/2 inches, also a female with eggs. They spawn early spring as soon as the ice goes.
and arms from using my old manual ice auger. Drilling a couple dozen holes or more to find the fish through 12 to 16 inches of ice makes my arm sore for a day or two afterward. I'm not as young as I used to be. This electric auger cuts through the ice like butter. Now I can play guitar the day after an ice fishing trip without the soreness that came from using the manual hand auger.
11 inch, 1 lb + hybrid bluegill caught out of our pond a couple weekends ago. All fish in the pond are catch and release, unlike some of the local lakes
where fish fear me.
Nice perch from the pond. My largest is 14 1/2 which is a very nice sized perch. A female that was bloated with eggs. Released of course.
The pond has a nice batch of young of the year perch now in the 2 to 3 inch size. Smile. Perch at the hatchery are not cheap. 5 to 7 inch
perch from the hatchery cost 1.85 each, so having some successful spawning in the pond is nice.
This one was about 12 1/2 inches, also a female with eggs. They spawn early spring as soon as the ice goes.
- mkgearhead
- Reactions:
- Posts: 103
- Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 8:46 pm
I got this package deal last weekend. A ‘95 MIM Fender Squier Series Strat, Rivera Clubster 25 Doce amp, Road Runner hard case, Fender deluxe gigbag, leather Harley Davidson strap and a bunch of accessories. I had every intention of flipping everything piece by piece but I think the amp is staying with me for a while. I’m going to do a few mods to the guitar (pretty much replace everything but the wood) and I should get close to what I paid for the whole package when I sell it and the hard case.
- Partscaster
- Reactions:
- Posts: 1557
- Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 12:41 pm
- Location: Mars: Sector 6
I got their massive Quartermaster controller as well as many packages of power supply gear like in your pic.
Damn rabbit holes.
"The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils. The motions of his spirit are dull as night, and his affections dark as Erebus. Let no such man be trusted."
- JimyTheAssassin
- Reactions:
- Posts: 170
- Joined: Wed May 27, 2020 1:50 pm
Nice score! I have a ‘94 squire series strat and it became my #1 after upgrading the bridge pickups and wiring harness. I never touched the tuners because they actually work fine. I always tell myself I don’t need another squire series for a backup but it’s hard to resist such a steal.mkgearhead wrote:I got this package deal last weekend. A ‘95 MIM Fender Squier Series Strat, Rivera Clubster 25 Doce amp, Road Runner hard case, Fender deluxe gigbag, leather Harley Davidson strap and a bunch of accessories. I had every intention of flipping everything piece by piece but I think the amp is staying with me for a while. I’m going to do a few mods to the guitar (pretty much replace everything but the wood) and I should get close to what I paid for the whole package when I sell it and the hard case.
I have an incoming acquisition of sorts soon. I grabbed a chassis complete with speaker for a future radio/phonograph restoration. This belongs to a Bendix 676. But the remaining parts will likely be utilized in a Fender 5c2 Princeton build. Or maybe something more! It’s got a lot of filament supply to handle more than one simple input channel, and enough power to possibly accommodate being built into a 5c3 if I later change the output transformer. I dream. More on that another time. I’m busy with other projects.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ji
AGF refugee11/30/08-5/28/20 (8,502 posts)
Picked up an Ibanez BC-9. It's basically a CS9 with two bucket brigade device chips.
I don't use Chorus that often and I've never tried it in stereo so it's a bit waste on me but sounds better than the famous CE2 to my ears:
It's really a boost and a good OD paired together. The demos are high gain but it's a really good OD. The boost seems to add some brightness and has a lot of volume on tap.
I got a Solo Dallas Schaffer Replica (one on the right). @andrewsrea put this pedal on my radar. He's actually building a clone or two of these in the future. I flipped this already but only after hearing Rob use it. It adds some noise and uses a non standard power input (i.e., not center negative). Rob is hoping to fix the noise issue with his clone.
I also picked up one of these in the deal which included 3 pickups (Lollar P90 Bridge, Super Disortion, and Super 2 pickups).
I picked up one of these for about as cheaply as they ever go for:
Apparently it was originally a dual humbucker model:
And from what I could gather from online sleuthing the previous owner got pissed at LSL because of the slow turnaround from the conversion from HH to H-P90. So I think that's why I got it cheaply?
My greatest find was actually a SC594 Semi Hollow. I got in trade for a Doug Rappaport that Rob says was the best dual humbucker I'd yet owned. But personally, I prefer the SC594.
I don't use Chorus that often and I've never tried it in stereo so it's a bit waste on me but sounds better than the famous CE2 to my ears:
It's really a boost and a good OD paired together. The demos are high gain but it's a really good OD. The boost seems to add some brightness and has a lot of volume on tap.
I got a Solo Dallas Schaffer Replica (one on the right). @andrewsrea put this pedal on my radar. He's actually building a clone or two of these in the future. I flipped this already but only after hearing Rob use it. It adds some noise and uses a non standard power input (i.e., not center negative). Rob is hoping to fix the noise issue with his clone.
I also picked up one of these in the deal which included 3 pickups (Lollar P90 Bridge, Super Disortion, and Super 2 pickups).
I picked up one of these for about as cheaply as they ever go for:
Apparently it was originally a dual humbucker model:
And from what I could gather from online sleuthing the previous owner got pissed at LSL because of the slow turnaround from the conversion from HH to H-P90. So I think that's why I got it cheaply?
My greatest find was actually a SC594 Semi Hollow. I got in trade for a Doug Rappaport that Rob says was the best dual humbucker I'd yet owned. But personally, I prefer the SC594.
New cables day! Found these guys - SORRY Cables - on Reverb while looking for cables that matched my jazzmaster. Mission accomplished!
frogs love to eat flies,
the devil's name, Beelzebub, lord of the flies
evil spirits love to spiritually feed upon those whom Beelzebub rules
joined AGF March 20, 2013
the devil's name, Beelzebub, lord of the flies
evil spirits love to spiritually feed upon those whom Beelzebub rules
joined AGF March 20, 2013
- tonebender
- Reactions:
- Posts: 1505
- Joined: Sun May 31, 2020 8:39 am
- Location: Wheremyhathangs, FL
- Gearlist: Fav: Gibson LP and Gibson Goldtone Amp. Other gear: Gretsch, Peavey, Taylor and more.
Added another Parlor to the stable. This one did not dethrone the Baby Taylor Academy 10e but it is a close 2nd. Better than the Tak New Yorker but the Tak by far has better aesthetics. The Tak is bright unplugged and hard to EQ it out plugged in and still have decent tone. The PRS is a little bright unplugged but warms up nice to my ear when plugged in and properly EQ'ed. The Baby Taylor sounds nice a warm both unplugged and plugged. I have tried many parlor size guitars and the Taylor is preferred.
"Will follow through with a transaction when the terms are agreed upon" almightybunghole
- Lacking Talent
- Reactions:
- Posts: 181
- Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 11:22 pm
Don't know yet what this might get slapped onto, but psyched to have found one for tryin' out...
- nomadh
- Reactions:
- Posts: 1745
- Joined: Wed May 27, 2020 1:32 pm
- Gearlist: My Gear:Electric
Gibson '13 studio dlx hsb
Gibson '79 flying V
Gibson '06 sg faded
Gibson '15 LP CM w gforce
Epiphone Casino coupe
Epiphone dot studio
Fender USA strat w mjt body _w Original body 81
Fender lead II
Firefly spalted 338
Squier affinity tele bsb
Squier strat std relic
Squier subsonic baritone
Agile al2500 albino
Agile al3001 hsb
Sx ash Ltd strat
Sx ash strat short scale
Sx ash tele
Sx callisto jr
Dean vendetta
Washburn firebird. Ps10
Johnson trans red strat
Johnson jazz box Vegas
Seville explorer
Inlaid tele
flametop bigsby tele wood inlaid neck
23
Acoustics
new Eastman acoustic
Sigma dm3 dread x2 (his and hers)
Fender 12 str
Ibanez exotic wood
Silvercreek rosewood 00
Ovation steel str
martin backpacker acoustic
Johnson dobro
My latest is a glarry bass. I was considering it after my kid "borrowed" my kawaii I really love I wanted something cheap in a pj and these look good and have had pretty good reviews. (If they ever show up). When one showed up for 80 (70 after chip discount) and it was on the way back home . It played ok on testing and a lot better after setup. I thought the j pickup was very buzzy but only when standing certain places. Good range of tones. And just crazy light. Nice in a way but a little neck heavy. It works fine with a grippy strap but even that long upper horn doesn't compensate. I give it a thumbs up probably even at double my price.
not exciting but i got these.
i had some elixir pbs on the taylor 317e and found that it sounded great fingerpicking acoustically but when i flatpicked/strummed it and especially played through the roland acoustic chorus amp it was super jangly and bright in a way that i didn't like. i find elixirs to be especially bright (not always a bad thing but in this case definitely was) but figured i'd go all-out on some mellow strings and see how it did.
really digging it with these on it so far (put them on a couple of days back). they are light gauge and quieter material anyway so the volume suffers some but i much prefer the tone--sweet and still plenty bright enough but not just a mess of highs. i'd gotten to the point where i rarely picked up the taylor in favor of the j45 studio or the martin mmv which don't have that issue. it even sounds pretty good through the roland although i think the martin with the magnetic soundhole lr baggs m80 still works the best loud thru the amp/mixer/etc. i'll try this one out next jam though.
i had some elixir pbs on the taylor 317e and found that it sounded great fingerpicking acoustically but when i flatpicked/strummed it and especially played through the roland acoustic chorus amp it was super jangly and bright in a way that i didn't like. i find elixirs to be especially bright (not always a bad thing but in this case definitely was) but figured i'd go all-out on some mellow strings and see how it did.
really digging it with these on it so far (put them on a couple of days back). they are light gauge and quieter material anyway so the volume suffers some but i much prefer the tone--sweet and still plenty bright enough but not just a mess of highs. i'd gotten to the point where i rarely picked up the taylor in favor of the j45 studio or the martin mmv which don't have that issue. it even sounds pretty good through the roland although i think the martin with the magnetic soundhole lr baggs m80 still works the best loud thru the amp/mixer/etc. i'll try this one out next jam though.
Im in the negative here: sold 3 of 4 guitars I have for sale and 5 pedals so far.
Clawing back some cash for buying the Gibson Studio.
All proceeds surrendered willingly to The Warden.
Clawing back some cash for buying the Gibson Studio.
All proceeds surrendered willingly to The Warden.
Old AGF since Feb. 2015; refugee of the Great MOMO Purge of May 2020.
I'm cheating a little here; did the leg work and picked this up for a friend on another forum.
Keeping it for him until he gets up here to pick it up.
Has some real relic / damage, needs a little TLC. fretwork is really good, and shows almost NO wear.
I'm thinking it might be SS or a harder than normal alloy.
after set up it plays and sounds KILLER, and the licensed FR stays in tune, something my Dinky does not.
2008 MIJ RR3
Keeping it for him until he gets up here to pick it up.
Has some real relic / damage, needs a little TLC. fretwork is really good, and shows almost NO wear.
I'm thinking it might be SS or a harder than normal alloy.
after set up it plays and sounds KILLER, and the licensed FR stays in tune, something my Dinky does not.
2008 MIJ RR3
Old AGF since Feb. 2015; refugee of the Great MOMO Purge of May 2020.
-
- Reactions:
- Posts: 159
- Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2020 10:05 pm
- Location: East Tennessee
- Gearlist: Agile 3100 MCC
Eastman TB 486
Jay Turser 220
Gretsch Jim Dandy
SX Ash Telecaster
SX Ash Thinline Stratocaster
Fender GT-40 Amp
Let me know how those work for you. I have used Martin silks on my Gretsch Jim Dandy and like them but Martin seems to have changed names and packaging. I have one set of the old ones left but need to know what to buy the next time.voodoorat wrote: ↑Wed Mar 03, 2021 9:48 am not exciting but i got these.
image.png
i had some elixir pbs on the taylor 317e and found that it sounded great fingerpicking acoustically but when i flatpicked/strummed it and especially played through the roland acoustic chorus amp it was super jangly and bright in a way that i didn't like. i find elixirs to be especially bright (not always a bad thing but in this case definitely was) but figured i'd go all-out on some mellow strings and see how it did.
really digging it with these on it so far (put them on a couple of days back). they are light gauge and quieter material anyway so the volume suffers some but i much prefer the tone--sweet and still plenty bright enough but not just a mess of highs. i'd gotten to the point where i rarely picked up the taylor in favor of the j45 studio or the martin mmv which don't have that issue. it even sounds pretty good through the roland although i think the martin with the magnetic soundhole lr baggs m80 still works the best loud thru the amp/mixer/etc. i'll try this one out next jam though.
Can't really call him "gear" but he is forever in high gear! Will be two years old in October.
Got a call a couple of weeks ago from my brother that they could no longer take care of him.
My brother is 82 & his wife is 76, both terminally ill.
Murphey is about 15 pounds of non-stop energy.
Got a call a couple of weeks ago from my brother that they could no longer take care of him.
My brother is 82 & his wife is 76, both terminally ill.
Murphey is about 15 pounds of non-stop energy.
Gandalf the Intonationer
- nomadh
- Reactions:
- Posts: 1745
- Joined: Wed May 27, 2020 1:32 pm
- Gearlist: My Gear:Electric
Gibson '13 studio dlx hsb
Gibson '79 flying V
Gibson '06 sg faded
Gibson '15 LP CM w gforce
Epiphone Casino coupe
Epiphone dot studio
Fender USA strat w mjt body _w Original body 81
Fender lead II
Firefly spalted 338
Squier affinity tele bsb
Squier strat std relic
Squier subsonic baritone
Agile al2500 albino
Agile al3001 hsb
Sx ash Ltd strat
Sx ash strat short scale
Sx ash tele
Sx callisto jr
Dean vendetta
Washburn firebird. Ps10
Johnson trans red strat
Johnson jazz box Vegas
Seville explorer
Inlaid tele
flametop bigsby tele wood inlaid neck
23
Acoustics
new Eastman acoustic
Sigma dm3 dread x2 (his and hers)
Fender 12 str
Ibanez exotic wood
Silvercreek rosewood 00
Ovation steel str
martin backpacker acoustic
Johnson dobro
What a cutey. Good on you taking him in. It must be a huge relief for your brother. Sorry to hear about your brother and sis in law. Still such a shame they cant enjoy their dog in their declining years. Is it because the dog is such high energy? Its terrible that when getting sick and old there may be no better comfort than a mellow middle aged dog. Yet no way to take care of him.mickey wrote: ↑Sat Mar 06, 2021 8:54 am Can't really call him "gear" but he is forever in high gear! Will be two years old in October.
Got a call a couple of weeks ago from my brother that they could no longer take care of him.
My brother is 82 & his wife is 76, both terminally ill.
Murphey is about 15 pounds of non-stop energy.
Murphy3IMG_0626.JPG
Murphy2IMG_0575.JPG
We were able to keep my fatherin law with his 2 dogs as he lived with us. The problem is now hes been gone 3 years and we have his 2 dogs. One old and blind and pees on the floor the other is jealous of our 3 dogs and has a shrill bark. Still likeable guys.
Have fun with the new dog.
I have a possible opportunity to play bass for a new band, and I'm going to jam with them on Tuesday, so I took the opportunity to trade up my Ampeg PF 350 to the PF 500. It wasn't as much for the extra power as for the built-in compressor and more flexible EQ, which are pretty nice.
Also I finally got some proper neck bolt ferrules for my Frankenpeavey, so I don't have to use Home Depot finish washers anymore.
Also I finally got some proper neck bolt ferrules for my Frankenpeavey, so I don't have to use Home Depot finish washers anymore.
okay, we had a jam night last night and i have some impressions. i was actually considering selling the taylor 317e because there was like that jangliness to it that i didn't like. it was also pretty quiet acoustically and the nature of that guitar is such that there's some dynamics missing--it's kind of quiet but there's a lot of balance between the strings so it's not like the bass isn't there but it's not booming. i actually like that, but on top of it was that irritating (to me) treble almost whine which i really didn't like and it was worse amplified.Stoli wrote: ↑Fri Mar 05, 2021 8:25 pmLet me know how those work for you. I have used Martin silks on my Gretsch Jim Dandy and like them but Martin seems to have changed names and packaging. I have one set of the old ones left but need to know what to buy the next time.voodoorat wrote: ↑Wed Mar 03, 2021 9:48 am not exciting but i got these.
image.png
i had some elixir pbs on the taylor 317e and found that it sounded great fingerpicking acoustically but when i flatpicked/strummed it and especially played through the roland acoustic chorus amp it was super jangly and bright in a way that i didn't like. i find elixirs to be especially bright (not always a bad thing but in this case definitely was) but figured i'd go all-out on some mellow strings and see how it did.
really digging it with these on it so far (put them on a couple of days back). they are light gauge and quieter material anyway so the volume suffers some but i much prefer the tone--sweet and still plenty bright enough but not just a mess of highs. i'd gotten to the point where i rarely picked up the taylor in favor of the j45 studio or the martin mmv which don't have that issue. it even sounds pretty good through the roland although i think the martin with the magnetic soundhole lr baggs m80 still works the best loud thru the amp/mixer/etc. i'll try this one out next jam though.
as far as the strings go: i like them. i've tried silk and steels before but only because i was trying to baby a fragile instrument, not because of any tonal desired effect. previously i put them on some vintage guitars i was worried about and on a 12 string that i was worried about because of the somewhat lower tension. i'd never tried the martins before though. i knew they'd had a soft feel and be darker (much darker than the elixir pbs that were on there) and quieter. they were all those things. acoustically it's significantly louder and sort of duller--i almost wonder if i shouldn't try something in-between. last night i played it amplified though and i thought it sounded great, like a completely different guitar from before when i'd play like half a song and want to put it down. the only downside is that there was kind of a lot of finger string noise but they are still pretty new strings. they are softer to the touch, quieter, and much darker. bear in mind that i like nickel strings on the j-45 studio rosewood so my tastes may not apply to most, not sure.
that said, after i put the strings on earlier this week i trialed playing through the amp and it was still more jangly than i like. i was about to put together a listing for it, maybe try to trade it plus cash for a d18/28 or a j45 standard, but i googled and ran across someone who had posted about adjusting the es2 grub screws behind the saddle that tighten or loosen the contact with the bridge plate (i think, i haven't really investigated how the es2 system works). i tightened up those screws a little and i think that may have made as big a difference (plugged in) as the strings. that whining is gone, there is much more body percussive sensitivity (maybe a little too much, i might dial it back a little bit), so much that percussively it sounds a lot like the lr baggs m80 magnetic/body-sensing i have in the martin mmv, just with a little bit more clarity. that martin has been my go-to in recent months but with the new strings and the pickup tweak the taylor may take over, not sure. anyway not thinking about listing it any more. the softness of the strings also i think made last night's like six hour session a little easier on my fretting fingers, bonus.
short version: the strings helped to solved my problem and i'm pleased with them although the acoustic volume suffered a little more than i expected and they are surprisingly finger-noisy (that could also be a function of over-tighening those pickup adjustment screws though now that i think about it and might go away if i dial that back a smidge). i may try some other strings on the guitar in between these and the elixirs but for now these are going to stay and i'll probably pick up another set or two to try on other guitars--wonder what they would sound like on the j45 studio rosewood for example.
sorry for typos etc, still a little hungover. it was a fun night, less fun morning so far.
- mkgearhead
- Reactions:
- Posts: 103
- Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 8:46 pm
I just picked up this one yesterday.
- slowhand84
- Reactions:
- Posts: 982
- Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 2:12 pm
Most recently got this Okko Diablo dual overdrive, always wanted to try something from this company because all the demos I've seen were mindblowing but I always like to wait for a great deal. Found this one at GC for 50% off the $250 new price and grabbed it. Now I'm selling a bunch of great overdrives because this one has bested them all.
-
- Reactions:
- Posts: 159
- Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2020 10:05 pm
- Location: East Tennessee
- Gearlist: Agile 3100 MCC
Eastman TB 486
Jay Turser 220
Gretsch Jim Dandy
SX Ash Telecaster
SX Ash Thinline Stratocaster
Fender GT-40 Amp
Thanks for the review. My guitar is a very cheap one. I find that new strings take a few days to settle in. My Gretsch can sound very good with an amp and OK unplugged.voodoorat wrote: ↑Sun Mar 07, 2021 10:47 amokay, we had a jam night last night and i have some impressions. i was actually considering selling the taylor 317e because there was like that jangliness to it that i didn't like. it was also pretty quiet acoustically and the nature of that guitar is such that there's some dynamics missing--it's kind of quiet but there's a lot of balance between the strings so it's not like the bass isn't there but it's not booming. i actually like that, but on top of it was that irritating (to me) treble almost whine which i really didn't like and it was worse amplified.Stoli wrote: ↑Fri Mar 05, 2021 8:25 pmLet me know how those work for you. I have used Martin silks on my Gretsch Jim Dandy and like them but Martin seems to have changed names and packaging. I have one set of the old ones left but need to know what to buy the next time.voodoorat wrote: ↑Wed Mar 03, 2021 9:48 am not exciting but i got these.
image.png
i had some elixir pbs on the taylor 317e and found that it sounded great fingerpicking acoustically but when i flatpicked/strummed it and especially played through the roland acoustic chorus amp it was super jangly and bright in a way that i didn't like. i find elixirs to be especially bright (not always a bad thing but in this case definitely was) but figured i'd go all-out on some mellow strings and see how it did.
really digging it with these on it so far (put them on a couple of days back). they are light gauge and quieter material anyway so the volume suffers some but i much prefer the tone--sweet and still plenty bright enough but not just a mess of highs. i'd gotten to the point where i rarely picked up the taylor in favor of the j45 studio or the martin mmv which don't have that issue. it even sounds pretty good through the roland although i think the martin with the magnetic soundhole lr baggs m80 still works the best loud thru the amp/mixer/etc. i'll try this one out next jam though.
as far as the strings go: i like them. i've tried silk and steels before but only because i was trying to baby a fragile instrument, not because of any tonal desired effect. previously i put them on some vintage guitars i was worried about and on a 12 string that i was worried about because of the somewhat lower tension. i'd never tried the martins before though. i knew they'd had a soft feel and be darker (much darker than the elixir pbs that were on there) and quieter. they were all those things. acoustically it's significantly louder and sort of duller--i almost wonder if i shouldn't try something in-between. last night i played it amplified though and i thought it sounded great, like a completely different guitar from before when i'd play like half a song and want to put it down. the only downside is that there was kind of a lot of finger string noise but they are still pretty new strings. they are softer to the touch, quieter, and much darker. bear in mind that i like nickel strings on the j-45 studio rosewood so my tastes may not apply to most, not sure.
that said, after i put the strings on earlier this week i trialed playing through the amp and it was still more jangly than i like. i was about to put together a listing for it, maybe try to trade it plus cash for a d18/28 or a j45 standard, but i googled and ran across someone who had posted about adjusting the es2 grub screws behind the saddle that tighten or loosen the contact with the bridge plate (i think, i haven't really investigated how the es2 system works). i tightened up those screws a little and i think that may have made as big a difference (plugged in) as the strings. that whining is gone, there is much more body percussive sensitivity (maybe a little too much, i might dial it back a little bit), so much that percussively it sounds a lot like the lr baggs m80 magnetic/body-sensing i have in the martin mmv, just with a little bit more clarity. that martin has been my go-to in recent months but with the new strings and the pickup tweak the taylor may take over, not sure. anyway not thinking about listing it any more. the softness of the strings also i think made last night's like six hour session a little easier on my fretting fingers, bonus.
short version: the strings helped to solved my problem and i'm pleased with them although the acoustic volume suffered a little more than i expected and they are surprisingly finger-noisy (that could also be a function of over-tighening those pickup adjustment screws though now that i think about it and might go away if i dial that back a smidge). i may try some other strings on the guitar in between these and the elixirs but for now these are going to stay and i'll probably pick up another set or two to try on other guitars--wonder what they would sound like on the j45 studio rosewood for example.
sorry for typos etc, still a little hungover. it was a fun night, less fun morning so far.