A few days ago the 12-string from Thomas in Germany arrived. I've been playing and experimenting with it; pictures are below the report.
When Thomas and I were discussing it, we were restricted to using the same body size, neck width, and headstock size as the standard Leviora 6-string; I couldn't afford to have him make a new mold for the headstock. So I measured various 12-strings I could find, and the closest to the neck width and such was a Collings small-bodied 12-string at Dusty Strings in Seattle. So I set the spacing to 2 mm between the strings of each pair, and divided the rest of the neck width evenly for the spacing between pairs themselves, leaving 1.5 mm between the outer E strings and the edge of the fretboard. The body is the same as the Leviora six-string, with a sound port and fanned frets. It has a truss rod and an adjustable heel-block, though that is above my pay-grade. Thomas was unable to implement his usual bayonet bridge design, so he made the bridge a slide-through format like a Breedlove. The pick-up is a K&K Double Helix with the Ultra-Pure mini and external pre-amp.
This is without a doubt the finest guitar I have ever owned. The action is PERFECT for me - low and smooth and feels like a high-end Taylor or Breedlove. No buzz in the strings, and it is still sufficiently responsive that hammer-ons are very clear and not muted. This thing is LOUD, and so easy to play that I might very well switch some tunes I usually play on the 6-string to this one for the added shimmer and sound. Capoing high up the neck (7th fret) does not diminish the tone or the sustain. It feels compact, super responsive, and like a well-made, precision tool.
The tuners are very close together, given the 6-string headstock, and I knew that would be the case. Tuning requires a wee bit of dexterity with fingertips as opposed to being able to fit the entire hand between tuners. I think some players might find the narrower neck frustrating, along with the smaller spacing between string pairs than is usually found, but I am enjoying it.
This is currently strung with Elixir 12-string lights, and I might experiment with changing the two primary bass strings to regular lights to increase the bass relative to all the treble.
Thomas did a fantastic job and implemented everything we discussed. I couldn't be happier with this instrument. Woot!!
