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  #1  
Old 07-30-2013, 06:14 PM
aplayer aplayer is offline
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Default Best 12 string acoustic for less than $1,000 ?

In the market for a 12 string acoustic, probably with electric built in.

What would be the best option- a used higher end guitar like a Guild or a new guitar.

Just play for fun and would like to keep the budget at $500-$1,000, but don't know which models would give me the best value in that price range.
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Old 07-30-2013, 06:22 PM
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I've played 12 strings all of my (amateur) guitar life. I try every one every time I am in every guitar store.

I got a 2008 300-series Taylor the low end of your range. After a lot of customization and setup its the best 12 string I've played.

You could easily get a higher end one for your price range.
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Old 07-30-2013, 06:30 PM
scottishrogue scottishrogue is offline
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Cool Best 12-string acoustic under $1000

You might be able to find a used Art & Lutherie 12-string dread in that price range, although they don't come up for sale very often. I have one and can say without hesitation, it's the best sounding 12-string guitar I have ever played. Cedar top, wild cherry back & sides, and the action on mine is very low without any fret buzz, whatsoever. Playability is fabulous.

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Old 07-30-2013, 06:49 PM
Dru Edwards Dru Edwards is offline
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Martin has a D-12X1AE acoustic/electric for $649 at MF:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guita...lectric-guitar

Seagull S12 also has a 12 string acoustic electric.
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Old 07-30-2013, 06:56 PM
Brucebubs Brucebubs is offline
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Have you checked the AGF classifieds?
http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=303544
there is also a 2010 US made Guild F-212XL.
http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=299964
or this,
http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=299882
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Old 07-30-2013, 06:58 PM
cpeehler7 cpeehler7 is offline
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Guild JF30-12 is a great guitar. Love mine, you can find em used around $900-$1000. You can get a guild 12 string that isn't a jumbo a bit cheaper, but I think it's worth the extra couple hundred to get the real deal. If you're into a 12 string that doesn't sound too "twangy" a Guild is probably the way to go. The high E/B strings don't over power the rest of the guitar like a lot of 12s do.

If you want 12 that has a great higher end classic 12 string sound to it. I played a larrivee that was $900 used, I can't remember the model name sorry. It might be worth checking their lineup out as well. My only complaint about the larrivee and a few Taylors I've played is that they have a neck like a 6 string. It's too cramped for me. I like how Guild 12s have a wider neck/string spacing. It's not for everyone, but it makes playing a 12 way easier for me.

Keep all that in mind when you buy one though. The string spacing on a 12 string is a pretty big deal, unless you think you can just suck it up and learn. I just accidentally pluck an extra string too often when I play a 12 with a narrow neck.
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Old 07-30-2013, 07:19 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scottishrogue View Post
You might be able to find a used Art & Lutherie 12-string dread in that price range, although they don't come up for sale very often...
...but the Seagull S6 Coastline does; made by the same company, same woods, same tone and playability, and it's available new for under $500 - about as good as it gets in this price range. If you're looking for something different (more on which later) the all-mahogany Guild D-125-12 is well worth a look at $629, and if you can stretch your budget and/or fight off the GAS a bit longer the $1200 Guild F-1512 spruce/rosewood jumbo may be all the 12-string you'll ever need...

Speaking as a 12-string player since 1970, if you're looking at the used market I'd recommend seeking out a Martin J12-15, an all-solid/all-mahogany 16" mini-jumbo that IMO is the best-sounding 12-string they ever produced: big, full, rich, smooth, and mature-sounding from the get-go, with surprising volume for a hog-top, and it only got better with time - completely displaced my Guild JF30-12 as my grab-&-go 12-string. It's also probably one of the finest guitars CFM IV & Co. ever discontinued in the name of the almighty dollar - stomped the snot out of a D12-28 and J12-40 when I A/B'd them at time of purchase, and the J12-16GT isn't even worth mentioning; small wonder, in the words of one well-known dealer, they "flatly refused" to produce any more, even on a custom-order basis, for nearly a decade. I understand they've done at least one dealer-exclusive limited run in the last couple years (at $1500-1600 as I recall - well out of your stated range) and, with the recent introduction of Taylor's hog-tops, I have a feeling there may be a corporate rethink in the (fossil) ivory towers of Nazareth; until that time, however, you can pick up a good used one for ~$1K - well worth every penny. Absent that, if you want to cop some hog-top mojo the aforementioned Guild D-125-12 runs a close second; although it lacks some of the characteristic Martin mid-bass "whomp", I suspect a slightly heavier string gauge (11-50) and a Gordon Lightfoot marathon jam will open things up...
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Old 07-30-2013, 07:26 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpeehler7 View Post
...the larrivee and a few Taylors I've played is that they have a neck like a 6 string. It's too cramped for me. I like how Guild 12s have a wider neck/string spacing. It's not for everyone, but it makes playing a 12 way easier for me.
Yeah understandably - its a very personal preference. I went the other way. My 1977 Yamaha had a fretboard like a airport runway - I had to take a shuttle bus to move from E-to-E strings.

My Taylor is noticeably more congested.
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Old 07-30-2013, 08:01 PM
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This thread is timely. Was in upstate NY this past weekend and played 4 different 12 strings... by Breedlove, Washburn, Takamine, and a Guild. All the made in China cra...uh, stuff. The Guild was the GAD G212e dread. Totally wiped the floor with the others. Its only downside was it was neck heavy. It had a full profile neck but felt great while playing.

Of course, I chose to play "Give a Little Bit" by Supertramp. My wife loved it...amazing tone. If I ever buy a 12 string someday, it will be a Guild for sure.
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Old 07-30-2013, 08:25 PM
AZLiberty AZLiberty is offline
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One of these two:

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=299882

Actually you can usually find a pretty decent deal in the Classifieds. 12-strings usually cost an extra $200 or so when new compared to a 6-string equivalent, but tend to move a lot slower on resale and get marked down accordingly.
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Old 07-30-2013, 08:26 PM
Michael-Robert Michael-Robert is offline
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This same guitar (I am quite certain) was for sale on Craigslist-Seattle only three weeks ago. The asking price then was a shockingly low $375, if I recall correctly. Since that time, it seems that someone has bought it (presumably for that price) and he is currently trying to flip it for a little profit. Even at the current asking price ($550), one could almost afford to take a chance on this guitar without paying it. I apologize in advance if my inclusion of the following link falls out of compliance with certain forum rules...I just wanted to throw this out there really quick to see what you guys thought about the prospect of owning this particular 12-string for so cheap: http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/msg/3948507268.html
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Old 07-30-2013, 08:34 PM
The Old Gaffer The Old Gaffer is offline
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Guilds are great 12-strings. Here you go:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1997-Guild-J...item2580b12c26

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1980-GUILD-1...item2580d148ea

I have no relation to either.
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Old 07-30-2013, 08:57 PM
Wuchak Wuchak is offline
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I had a nice westerly Guild dread size (the model Tom Petty) plays and it was ok. Sold it off with a matching 6 string.

My Dad has played a Yairi 12 for years that has great action and sound and like all Yairi's they are undervalued on the used market for the quality.

I recently picked up a used made in Japan (f prefix in the model) Takamine cut away 12 with electronics that plays like a dream and has that big 12 string sound for $300. That was a good deal but I have seen others like it for not much more. If I needed another 12 I would look at the Tak's first. Great bang for the buck.
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Old 07-30-2013, 10:49 PM
JohnW63 JohnW63 is offline
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In 12 strings, in my view anyway, it's all about the tone. Some like a very bright sound, some want something more balanced, string to string. I wanted something less jangly and more even so it would sound like a 6 string with more going on. I am quite sure some of the Guilds a very good. I would have tried one, if I could have found one in my price range, which was about half of yours. What I found was this.... with the help of another forum member.




Very easy to play. Sound really nice. They're are probably harder to find ( US made Ovation 12 string with Deep Bowl ) than a Guild or Taylor 12 string, but to my ears, it would have to be a darn NICE 12 string to be better playing and sounding.
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Old 07-31-2013, 03:09 AM
WannabeWillie WannabeWillie is offline
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Default I Second the Roundback Vote...

I wasn't disappointed with any of the Ovation 12 strings I've had. That goes for my most recently purchased Applause AE-35 as much as the Adamas I used to have, and the Ovation Elite I once had, too.

But my favorite back and sides material has been Lyrachord since I started playing guitar on a Balladeer back in 1980, so I'm probably biased.

As much as I always wanted to own a Guild 12 string, when I had the cash for one and it was time to buy, the Adamas is what came home with me and I never regretted it.
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