12-string cool experience/experiment.
 

First of, my Taylor guys: I’m sorry.
I gave up my 150e. For a sweet Takamine GJ72ce-12NAT.
Love the guitar, hate Takamine’s naming protocol.
Of course, did the first string change already. Got very nervous of the stupid Octave-G.
I actually thought the thing was going to break and wound me.
In response, I tuned it to the same pitch as the normal G.
If some of y’all have been doing this all along, WHY DIDN’T YOU SHARE THIS???
It sounds amazing, and I’m not afraid of the thing breaking.
If I’m the only one, you need to try it.

Those Takamines are a fine looking guitar.

https://i.imgur.com/1uR5oKTl.jpg

Lots of positive reviews too.
What are the major differences compared to the Taylor 150e?

p.s. no, I tune my octave G as it should be, however, I keep my 12-strings tuned down a 1/2 step. I like the way they sound and feel that way.

I loved my 150. In the grand scheme of things it was an awesome guitar.
The Takamine is a true Jumbo. It is a BIG guitar.
It also sounds big.
It has a lot more “Thump” than the 150.

It still has the harpsichord sound that you expect. It just has a lot more bottom end.
More than can be accounted for by not tuning the Octave G up a full nother octave.
I was on my way to that. However, the string was getting very taut. It seemed very much tighter than the others.
Rather than risk breaking it, I backed it down to match the pitch of the standard G. And the string doesn’t feel floppy or loose. So I decided to leave it.

SAWEEET!

That thing looks awesome. Flamed maple b/s and gold hardware. Lush.


Bet it plays awesome, Jumbo 12s are amazing

Very cool. Please add your story to the collective AGF 12-string experience...http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...guitars&page=5

If I try to tune the octave G on my 12 string, it's so loose that it hardly even makes a sound.
Are you sure that you are not an octave up?

My solution to the high G string is to use two wound G strings which are indeed tuned the same.

My ear says they’re the same.
I’ll check them against my phone when I get home.

I too expected it to be floppy.
It is looser than the standard g. But it seems to be working.
And it sounds really “lush”.

Edit:
I checked them. They are at the same Hz.

This is my favorite song and the reason I play 12-string

You only need to hear the first 15 seconds

I have a cheap 12-string tuned in "Steve Tibbett's Tuning" which has wound unison D and G strings. Tibbetts himself also does unison A string sometimes. I keep it tuned a step down, as at "concert pitch" the string tension would be quite high.

It's a slightly different sound. The Octave G string, for better or worse, is the most distinctive thing about a regular 12-string's sound. As I pick, the octave G sometimes seems to jump out like a wolf note (my fault of course, but...) and doing away with it lets me use some picking patterns that I fall into with a better result.

Leadbelly used unisons on the third string, also a two octave split on the sixth. Also tuned very low, sometimes as low as 'C,' IIRC. I've been playing a 12 for over 50 years, always at concert pitch and probably have only broken the octave 'G' while tuning no more than 3 or 4 times, if even that many.
Brad