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The story behind the strings

Taylor Guitars worked with Elixir Strings on a special set of strings that would give the Grand Concert and Grand Auditorium guitars more powerfulhighs and fuller basses.

One criterion for a high-quality guitar is its ability to sound like one and the same instrument from the lowest to the highest note. From Bob Taylor's point of view, Andy Powers has a natural instinct to realise this in a guitar, as demonstrated by the balanced character of the Grand Orchestra note for note. The type and gauge of a guitar can play an important role in bringing this out.

First it was the 800s, where Andy switched from Elixir Acoustic 80/20 Bronze strings with NANOWEB® coating, which he had been using for years, to Elixir Acoustic Phosphor Bronze strings with NANOWEB® coating.

"The Phosphor Bronze strings give the highs a silky, intense sheen and overall more fullness and warmth," he adds.

Andy and the rest of the product development team were so impressed with them that they made the decision to install Phosphor Bronze strings on all Taylor acoustic guitars in 2014.

Creating a balanced tone

One of the qualities Bob Taylor admires about Andy's approach is his ability to create a balanced tone across the entire guitar.

"The highest notes you can play at the 12th fret on the high strings are just as loud and full as the lowest," Bob explains. "It sounds like a single guitar, from one end to the other. That can be difficult to realise, often the first five frets sound like one guitar, the next four like another, and four frets further on like a third. But Andy's guitars sound like one and the same instrument, like a piano.

With the Nanoweb strings, Elixir is the only string brand that uses a very thin coating to protect the string from dirt and thus from corrosion. The strings impress with their consistent performance and tone. In addition, the playing noise is reduced to a minimum - ideal for stage and studio.