TOPIC: getting more volume out of my Taylor

I'm looking to get more volume out of my taylor guitar. I have med. size string on it right now and the stock plastic bridge pins.I have heard that by changing the pins to a harder material like Ebony or bone that this would help, has anyone out there tried eitherone , if so which worked better? thanks for your help Oscar:dry:

Oscar,
I believe that if you want to increase the voume produced by your guitar, there are a few things you can do.

1. Use Ebony pins. Do not use bone. Bone is a crock, as bone is full of little cavities, it is not solid like wood (and thus bone does not transmit as much of the vibration, thus reducing the overall output volume).

2. Use a heavier gauge of pick.

3. Use a heavier string gauge (if you can handle that ).

4. Many people overlook this, but you may need to adjust the truss rod on your guitar so as to not allow as much relief in the neck (if you don't know what this means, you can ask your local luthier). This way, when the strings are vibrating, they will not hit the frets, which decreases volume, sustain, and causes annoying fretbuzz .

5. This one is related to the previous one, but do not play too hard. Instead, use a heavier gauge of pick. You'll get the same volume with less picking effort, but won't get fretbuzz, which will dampen the sound of your guitar. I will warn you though, if you use a heavier gauge of pick, you will get a more mellow sound. That is the reason jazz guitarists use 1 to 3 millimeter (yes, it's like playing the guitar with a key dongle for your car) picks.

If you still can't get the volume you want, you could amplify it, using mics or an amp (assuming you have onboard electronics in your guitar).

If you don't want to amplify it and all of the above listed things didn't get the volume you wanted, you will have to get another guitar. Usually a guitar with mahogany back and sides will have good volume (not that I'm going to be an enabler for any guitar acquisitions, or anything like that )

Hope this helped,
Mr535

what's a key dongle?

Some peolpe call them "fobs" I think.

What are "fobs"?

Fobs are the thing with the buttons you press to lock and unlock the doors.