12 string recommendations.
 

Well my love for The Byrds, Gordon Lightfoot, Death in June, and Tom Petty has finally gotten the best of me and I need a 12 string.

I've only been able to try the Taylor 150e and while it sounded ok I wasn't thrilled about the three pots on the side of the guitar and the sides and back looked like fake veneer and not real wood. The face also had some vicious tool marks under the finish.
I guess the Martin equivalent is the Martin D12X1AE. Does anyone have any experience with this?
I've heard good things about the Guild F-2512E. But since guitar center does not stock Guild I have no way of trying one out.
Any other recommendations. I'd like to spend less than $1000.

Take a little time and shop around. You can pick up a good used Guild for under a grand. Most players agree they're the top dog for 12-strings.

I played the budget Taylor and Martin @ GC before. I was impressed w/the sound and playability of both, especially for the money.

Enjoy the hunt!

I agree with that - I don't like such things including their ES2 knobs

It is not veneer. It is laminated (which is not the same as plywood), but it is real wood.

Knowing Taylor's quality control consistency I find this very unlikely. It may have been marks in the wood or open poor areas.

I think the Seagull S-12 is pretty underrated but if you can reach for it, I would try to find a used Guild JF-30-12, which is basically an F-412 without the Bling. At one point early in the "GAD" phase, I think they offered a Chinese-made JF-30-12. I never played one, but they six-string version was a real good guitar.

I have Martin D12X1AE. I bought it used and the previous owner had it set up really nicely with low action, so I find it pretty easy to play.

I haven't played many 12's, but tone wise I think it sounds nice but leans more to the treble/high end rather than bass/low end. It sounds good plugged in...I've used it at open mic night a few times.

BUT...a few weeks ago I was able to play a Taylor 362ce, which is their 12 string/12 fret small body grand concert model. It was a joy to handle and play, no struggle at all compared to the Martin dread.

I don't know what your budget is, but the D12X with certainly get you into an nice 12 string, but now I'm gasing for the Taylor and looking for a used one. They are hard to find on the used market though.

I own a Guild F-2512e and love it.

I go through phases with it, since I have other guitars mostly play 6 string, but I always love coming back to it.


Since you can't play one, here is what mine sounds like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYmcVqeyDSI

I would like to try a Yamaha L series 12 string but can't find any locally to try.
The specs look very good on them.

I own a Guild (GAD) JF30-12 (made in China), and am very happy with it - huge lush sound, great bass response and sparlking high end. You should be able to find a used one well within the budget that you mentioned.

+1 on the Guild.

I had a similar budget when I started looking at 12s a while ago. I would say revisit Taylor and look for a used 354 or 355 - very easy playing 12 strings and solid wood too. May be some about without the ES if you don't want that sort of electrics. These can be had for under your budget, as can older used Guilds or the new ones coming out of China - search the threads here for the many happy owners especially of the all mahogany dreads. Yamahas also get a lot of love and if you don't mind a bit of mojo, you can pick up a used Gibson B45-12 or B25-12 within your budget.

What I would also say is try as many as you can in different wood combinations - 12 strings all sound very different. My first 12 was a Simon & Patrick, which I should have got set up, instead of selling it. Cedar & cherry has a totally different sound to sitka/mahogany, which is what my B45-12 is. Sapele might be related to mahogany but my Taylor 354ce sounds a completely different animal to my Gibson. And now my most recent 12 string addition, a Huss & Dalton in maple/Sitka (admittedly well outside your budget) sounds completely different. I think it was the sound I had in my head all along, but it has now got me thinking of trying a rosewood 12 too. Which is another warning I'd like to give you - 12s can be addictive, especially if you are a solo or bedroom player.

Good luck!

I have a 2002 Taylor 354-LTD (solid flamed maple back & sides, solid top) that I could part with within your budget. It does have the Fishman barn door electronics of that era, however. The 354 replaced my Seagull S12 years ago, but it has recently been pushed out by a carbon fiber twelve string at 3X the price.

I found a '74 Guild F212XL online at a very reasonable price and it sounds incredible.

I just sent you a PM.

I purchased a NOS 454ce a few years ago - it is a phenomenal guitar. Craigslist in my area always has a lot of pre-owned Taylor and Martin 12 strings available. I'd go that route and you can get a really good all wood guitar at a fair price. The Taylor 1 & 2 series and Martin X series sides and back are laminates. As usual my recommendation is the Taylor.

I agree with Cabarone. I tried one of the Martin X models a couple of years ago and quite liked it as well.

With 12 strings, just like 6-strings, you do get what you pay for. You can find a decent used Taylor 300 series. Their lower series are not going to sound as good as they are laminated/plywood while the 300 and above are solid wood). Or you can find a used Guild from the 1970s which will also be solid wood (so long as it is not a maple one). Guild "GADs" and Guild "Westerly Collections" are not actually made by Guild - they are made in China by non-Guild factories who have a contract to make them for Guild to sell under the Guild name. A guild from the 1970s will have been made in the US and will be a different instrument which in my opinion will be far higher quality in tone and build. Martin 12s are not in the same league in my opinion, especially their laminated/plywood models like the X series you mention. In the end, though, buy what you like and don't be in any rush. Find the one that sounds and plays the best to you and don't be hesitant to take a road trip to visit some larger stores that may have the models that you need to try out.

I've been a 12 string player for 40+ Years and owned Guild's, Yamaha's a Hohner (which, amazingly, sounds great-I still have it), and my current love, a Taylor 855ce I bought new in 2007-it is by far the nicest 12 string I've played, but tone is subjective, isn't it?

Go, play everything, and find something you simply can't live without-

Can you elaborate on your definition of laminated & veneer and why you feel it is not a veneer?

Martin X series is HPL, not laminated wood S & B. The Taylor is laminated S & B. It does have a rough finish though. Something that I don't like.

Picking a 12 string guitar can be as hard as picking a 6 string.
So many factors to choose from.
For me one problem is just how much do I want to spend on a guitar that I will only be playing for up to 10% of my total playing time?

I don't like a thin 12 string sound that lacks bass end.
To get a 12 string that has it all, you pay a lot.

I'm a big Guild fan, but in your price range I would look at the Martin you mentioned or a 12 string by Godin (Seagull, A&L, etc.).

I've always had at least one 12 string since the 70s.

Folks have hit the high spots for me already in the thread, but for re-enforcement:

Used 12-strings are always around in the used market because folks buy them and then don't play them much. All the usual caveats about used guitar apply (and then some) with used 12-strings, so unless you know what you're getting yourself into make sure the neck and action are right on an example you buy.

The Guild JF30-12 is fine instrument. It's big (jumbo), and at least in my example, it's heavy. If you want low end-clarity it can give it to you. Has an interesting sound capo'ed up too. Powerful sound when strummed.

The Seagull S6-12 is less expensive and has a sound that contrasts with the Guild. Not the guitar for authoritative, projecting bass runs, but there a fundamental sweetness to the sound that I don't find worse than the Guild, just different. Like most cedar topped Seagulls sounds best picked fairly gently.

Like any guitar, how you play and what you like will change which guitar works best for you.

You know, I would probably never buy a 12 string Seagull. Not because they're not great guitars, but between the cedar top, and the stories I've heard about the bridges lifting, I'd be too worried that the extra tension of being a 12 would cause the bridge to just randomly rip off one day.

12 String Recommendations
 

Taylor 150e. Great playability. Easy neck adjustment.
Sounds great. Electronics built in (ES2).

I really like Guild 12-string guitars. Even the GAD 12-strings sound better to me than other brands. I have owned 2 Guild American made 12-strings, an F212 from 1972 and a newer F512 from 2014. I bought both of these guitars used.

I don't know why, but I have never played a Taylor 12-string that appealed to me, except for the LKSM model. I do think the LKSM model is an excellent 12-string. Also, I have not played some of the latest Taylor 12-strings, like the 858, which I think have real potential. But this is an expensive guitar.

For some reason, maybe my history or my age group (I started playing at age 16 in 1964), for me Guild 12-strings simply have the right sound. I can't seem to help myself. I have owned a 12-string continuously since 1966, so that is 52 years now. My first 12-string was a large, 12-fret neck, Harmony H1270 12-string.

This is a playlist from my YouTube channel of 12-strings songs I have recorded.

- Glenn

Check out the Guild D1212, all solid mahogany, great sound, easy to play.
It will be worth your time to try one, and the price is right. ;)

A little left field suggestion if you can get a hold of one is the Ibanez 8 string models.
I've had mine for almost 3yrs now, and I love it. It's my go-to guitar now, the Maton doesn't get a look in.
It misses out on a lot of the jangle and tinnyness I found with many 12-string guitars.
Ibanez don't have them in this years models, so they may be a little hard to find now.

I recently bought a Takamine EF381. It’s a wonderful instrument and one of the finest 12 strings I have played.

Actually it's thin walnut veneer (new ones) or thin sapele veneer (older) over solid poplar.

My 12-string recommendation is a Guild made in Westerly, RI in the 1970s.

I bought a used Seagull 12-string I am very happy with, and if my memory serves me correctly I paid $350.00 for it.