After 3 days of playing it and just looking it over from ever angle, I can find no negatives.
Any suggestion on type and gauge strings?
A-ha! I'm notorious around here for suggesting what Westerly strung 'em with:
D'Addario EJ-16. (uncoated PB lights .053-.012)
And if you
really want to get the "original" sound, buy an extra PB025 single from D'A as well, and sub it in for the .024 G that the EJ-16's come with.
THAT will duplicate Guild's "L350" set from 2001 exactly, and it's how I still string up my 2 dreadnoughts. (the F65ce actually came with extra light .010's, it's not to be confused with the
JF65, it's smaller with a thinner top)
D'A made Guild's strings at that time.
Full disclosure: I
am a D'Addario fan boy as are many others around here.
I think it's one of those cases where if something is the world's best selling whatever (as D'A is in the string market) it's because it really is that good and not just hype or the cheapest option like Big Macs..
Not to imply the brands other guys'll recommend isn't better, but you usually pay more to get better quality.
And everybody's ears are different let alone the little individual nuances between individual guitars of the same model.
I did find it kind of interesting that West R Lee also kept all his Westerlys strung with Pearse's
except the D30 for which he used Thomastik plectrums.
So that'd probably be one of the first altenatives I'd check out.
I'm also notorious for refusing to put anything heavier on 'em than what they were shipped with which I assume is what they were designed for.
It's a little known principle that in the higher-end build design process one of the first decisions is what gauge strings will be used, and the guitar's then designed to extract the maximum from that amount of tension on the top.
Overloading a top designed for lights with mediums can actually be counterproductive for tone and volume, and really bad for neckset life besides.
I've seen some converts to that philosophy over the years, after a little practical experience.