Hi Brett. I've had a bit of experience in that area so here's my feedback, hope it helps.

A few years ago I got greg Deering to build me a maple bodied six tring. Twas a thing of beauty....but the lower strings simply don't register well. Nuthin' you can do about it.

If you've heard the recordings of Johnnie St. Cyr you'll know that the the old Vegas suffered similarly.

I tried a lot of things (at least twenty different combinations of strings) but the best solution was an extra light set, tuned up to F#. That brought a lot of the sound out. I sold the Deering and have owned a couple of others since then, but the higher tuning seems to be the ticket.

Rick