Moving from 12's to 13's... pedantic?

[ct]

Hi guys,

my custom built acoustic (very similar to Avalon/Lowden) has been great with Elixir 12's. It has a 5 piece neck, and was built to be rock solid.

I play almost exclusively in DADGAD. But what's been bothering me is that the 2nd string (B normally, A for my purposes) seems tonally more dead than the rest, as if there werent enough tension on it.

I'm considering moving to 13's as I think this may correct the problem, and give better tone overall. But what I want to know is - what are the implications for the neck? Is any adjustment required for such a small increase, or is it still well within boundaries given that the tuning is lower than concert?

Any advice appreciated.
Ciaran
www.myspace.com/thewindingstair

[JB]

What's the string break angle like behind the saddles ?
If it's a very shallow angle the guitar may be suffering from a lack of tension and therefor reduced tone.

One quick test would be to put some wood shims under the saddles to raise the action, increasing the break angle and see if that increases tone.
This is not a fix if you like low action but a test to see if it's part of the problem.

[ct]

Cheers JB - I moved to 13's lastnight and I'm really not sure if it's for me. The B string is still a little duller than the rest even now

[JB]

I know what you mean ... i really don't like the feel of 13's ... too much like piano wire

try raising the action to test the tone / break angle .

[ct]

Totally. Back down to 12's methinks. What would you suggest as material for a shim under the bridge?

[JB]

You could use something like a matchstick, carefully cut thinner with a scalpel.

Or, you could call by our workshops and I'll give you some proper rosewood shims that would be perfect for the task