Is there an advantage to medium gauge over light if I'm not adding tension?
I recently got a 12 string acoustic, and due to availability, put a set of D'addario mediums on (they had light, the store owner recommended meduim). It sounded great, however that's my first time buying non-coated strings in a long time. They died quick (my hands sweat when I play), much quicker than I'm used to my elixirs dying.
12 string elixir, nanoweb, medium strings don't seem easy to find, and they're 55$ a set on amazon, light strings are significantly cheaper (30$)
So my question is this - will I notice a significant decrease in sound if I drop to light strings, but then tune back up the half step? (This will also make it easier to play with friends without needing a capo)
Currently, the string nut is cut for light strings, I have yet to file it out for mediums and that's causing sticky tuning right now. I also feel like I'm right on the edge of fret buzz as well at the moment, sometimes a bar chord will buzz if I don't fret it right.
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I'm not sure you'd have the same tension there - you'd need to use one of the tension calculators - but yes, changes will include:
a thinner tone (perhaps not much, though, so don't let this be a showstopper)
slight decrease in volume
slightly greater sensitivity to bends or pressing too hard against the fret
It doesn't sound like fret buzz is going to cause any greater problem. The fact that it is down to how fretting incorrectly is not an indicator of insufficient neck relief.
Cutting the nut to accept thicker strings may cause a slight increase in buzz, though, as you will bring the strings marginally closer to the neck.
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