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  #61  
Old 01-18-2017, 01:55 PM
Nort Nort is offline
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The first 12 string I ever played was a Martin D12-20, it belonged to the leader of a band I was in during high school, the neck was bowed so he kept it capo'd
at second fret, and tuned at standard pitch to make it playable,
it sounded great.

My first 12 string was a Gallagher dreadnaught 12, it sounded o.k. was neck heavy, and I never could get comfortable with the neck shape, sold it.

My second 12 string was a mid 60's D12-20, surprisingly the neck was straight,
kept it tuned to standard pitch, stayed in tune, sounded great, well balanced tone as you would expect from the Mahogany/Spruce combination.
I kept it until after purchasing my 3rd and current 12 string

Current 12 string, David Santo Rosewood/Spruce, built in the early 90's
body size is about the same at the Martin 0000/M or a Santa Cruz OM Grand, with D body depth.
the neck is comfortable kept in standard tuning, stays in tune,
Beautiful sweet rosewood/spruce tone, yet very balanced clear tone, and in terms of volume/projection, it's huge, I play with a fairly light right hand attack, and it's outstanding.



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  #62  
Old 01-18-2017, 02:13 PM
fatt-dad fatt-dad is offline
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at 60yo, I got a tip from this web page that the GA3-12 was a good 12 string guitar. I bought one. It's the only 12 string guitar I've ever owned. No desire to go GASing over the 12-string. It's very stable, plays well tuned to concert pitch and I'm having fun with it!

Currently re-exploring music from the, "Folk Movement" (after all I'm old enough to have survived the '60s) and my duet partner are working up a few Bach inventions on dual 12-string guitars. That'll work your talents!

Meanwhile, I really do mostly play mandolin. . .

f=d
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  #63  
Old 01-18-2017, 03:09 PM
Brucebubs Brucebubs is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Willie Voltaire View Post
I'm just not that enamored of the 12-string sound, honestly. To me it's a novelty that wears thin pretty quickly and doesn't work well with my material.
That's cool Willie, I have a similar thing about small body guitars that just don't work for me .. even 12-strings.
Collings make an O2H-12 small body 12-string that's beautifully made but I grew tired of it's tone before the end of a youtube demo.
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Last edited by Brucebubs; 01-18-2017 at 03:20 PM.
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  #64  
Old 01-18-2017, 03:19 PM
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stephenT stephenT is offline
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Long time fan of Blind Willie McTell, I enjoy a 12 string from time to time. This is mine. I've had a few over the years; Guild, Gibson,.. but this one stuck.


Last edited by stephenT; 01-18-2017 at 05:41 PM.
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  #65  
Old 01-18-2017, 05:26 PM
jemartin jemartin is offline
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Originally Posted by mkitman View Post
I actually play my 12 strings about 40-45% of the time. I love going back & forth between the 12s & 6s...
Here...Here...!! I agree wholeheartedly! Early on, when I would play 12 string with the worship team, I got bored just strumming it... I just couldn't get enough clean sounding volume from it..(especially when there were electric guitars, keyboard, bass, and drums). I put it on the back burner for a while.. playing 6 string.. but eventually found a niche for it then, and still use it today, where I can fill in the quiet sections with arpeggios and noodle on intro arpeggios in between songs. Since fingerstyle playing on the 12 string is great sounding anyway, it works well for a great added layer of tone that is unique. It keeps my percentages up there where yours are.
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6 string... Taylor GS7 Custom / GO 818e 1st Edition

12 string... Taylor GO 358e / Guild F512 (79)

Baritone…. Guild 258e (8 string)
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  #66  
Old 01-18-2017, 05:37 PM
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Yamaha FG230, Guild F412, Martin D12-35, Norman B20-12, Penco A24(?) were my experiences. I'm done with 12-string guitar but can say that the Guild eclipsed all of them to my ear. It was a hefty guitar and it took getting used to but it was a worthwhile compromise.
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  #67  
Old 11-20-2017, 05:37 AM
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My love affair with my new Taylor 458 continues and everything seems to sound better when played on it. However, I picked up and played my 714 and 814 last night, and their tones just seemed flat. Have any other 12 string players found this to be the case???
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  #68  
Old 11-20-2017, 06:08 AM
ghostnote ghostnote is offline
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My only acoustic 12-string is an inexpensive Yamaha. It's surprisingly a decent player and it sounds pretty good, too. I don't play 12s enough to warrant a better one at this point. Maybe someday when I've exhausted all of my other guitar GAS and have an unlimited supply of money...
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  #69  
Old 11-20-2017, 06:32 AM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RP View Post
My love affair with my new Taylor 458 continues and everything seems to sound better when played on it. However, I picked up and played my 714 and 814 last night, and their tones just seemed flat. Have any other 12 string players found this to be the case???

For certain. When I’m playing a lot of 12 string, my ears become accustomed to the chorus sound. Going back to 6 string is dull. It all evens out, eventually. Enjoy that 458. They are awesome guitars.
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  #70  
Old 11-20-2017, 06:38 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by martingitdave View Post
For certain. When I’m playing a lot of 12 string, my ears become accustomed to the chorus sound. Going back to 6 string is dull. It all evens out, eventually. Enjoy that 458. They are awesome guitars.
Good to hear. I thought I'd have to unload those junkers....
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  #71  
Old 11-20-2017, 08:39 AM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Originally Posted by RP View Post
Good to hear. I thought I'd have to unload those junkers....

Yes, sell that junk pile to me cheap. They’re missing 6 strings each. Rubbish.
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  #72  
Old 11-20-2017, 09:27 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by martingitdave View Post
Yes, sell that junk pile to me cheap. They’re missing 6 strings each. Rubbish.
Thanks for my morning chuckle....
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  #73  
Old 11-24-2017, 05:28 AM
Theleman Theleman is offline
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I just acquired an old 70s vintage 12 string, and put it next to other 6 string guitars. It looks like it has thinner body than the 6 stringed guitars. They are all dread shape, but definitely the 12 string is thinner by about 1 to 2 inch in the distance between top and back.

I wonder if this is the part of the reason for their treble emphasied jangling unique tone. Because I just put 6 strings on it, and played it as 6 string, and it has totally different tone from usual 6 string guitar - still treble strong and jangling. - Different , crystal clear and very nice tone though. I like it.

Last edited by Theleman; 11-24-2017 at 05:38 AM.
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  #74  
Old 11-24-2017, 05:38 AM
AndrewG AndrewG is offline
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My one and only 12-string was the venerable Italian-made Eko Ranger XII. I bought mine, used, at the long gone Guitar Village on Shaftesbury Avenue in the West End of London around 1968. I liked it a lot and it sounded great on flatpicked fiddle tunes. Zero fret and adjustable bridge made for a really comfortable action on this heavy, laminated guitar.
You can still get them as NOS from a company in London who bought up loads of redundant Eko parts, including Ranger bodies and necks (bolt on), for less than £300. The 'reissue' Chinese models are rubbish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kcks...ksdCddd7I&t=17
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  #75  
Old 11-24-2017, 05:47 AM
Theleman Theleman is offline
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Mine is E-ROS, and all black colour -very cool looking.

It is paper light in weight. Very resonant and has good sustain too. Glued on neck and flowery pick guard.

The finger board is slightly wider than usual 6 string, so lots of room for big hands and fingers. Great guitar for finger picking.
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