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Conversion of a Guild 12 String to a 6 String.
I am not a luthier, but I'm lucky to have access to two good ones here in New Orleans, and I thought some on this forum might find this project interesting.
I was wanting to buy a 70's Guild F30 because I love the tone and body shape (mahogany b/s) and they can be bought at a pretty reasonable price compared to old Gibsons and Martins. The problem is that the nut width on many of them them can be as tiny as 1 5/8" (the specs say 1 11/16" but in my experience they seem to really run smaller). As luck would have it, during the same era Guild made a 12 String called the F112 which had the exact same body shape as the F30. Two main differences: a slightly heavier build (which doesn't bother me) and of course a bigger nut width (1 13/16" or maybe 1 7/8") to accommodate 12 strings. Nice! When I got on the Let's Talk Guild Forum forum I found that a member had converted an F112 into a six string and was very happy with the results. He had done the work himself. I found and purchased a 1972 F112 and started corresponding with the guy about his experience. He was very gracious and helpful. I do not have his skills so I enlisted Aaron and Benjamin at Strange Guitarworks here in New Orleans to do the work. They did this: 1.) They used the tuning keys at the 2, 4 and 6 positions and filled in the unused holes at the 1, 3 and 5 on the headstock. 2.) I bought six replacement tuning machines to replace the 6 on a plate that came with the guitar. 3.) Then of course they had to cut a new nut to get the spacing correct since the old nut was for 12 strings. 4.) Since we were only using the 6 front end pin holes, they filled in the back 6 holes. 5.) They refinished the headstock to somewhat camouflage where the six holes have been plugged. I got it back a few days ago and I could not be happier! It looks great and sounds even better. The nut width makes it so comfortable to play and it is a fingerpicker's delight. Here are the before and after pictures: Before: After
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1974 Martin D-28 (A gift for my 20th birthday from Mom and Dad) "Frankenstein" 1948 Gibson J-50 Body/1938 L-00 Neck 2008 Martin 000-18 Norman Blake 2006 Jubal Jumbo 2016 New Era Crooked Star Prairie State Jumbo 2016 New Era Crooked Star Senorita 2020 Iris Smeck 1972 Guild Killdeer F112-6 Part Deux |
#2
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First off, your happy thats all that matters, I think the work done looks good.
But It is extremely unusual for a 12 string to sound okay when modified to a 6 string, the body has been built and stiffened for the additional load, without the same rotational forces on the bridge, the top is stiff and sounds dead. We shoot when building a guitar for a certain degree of bridge rotation, the rotation is a must for it to sound good. Steve
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Cole Clark Fat Lady Gretsch Electromatic Martin CEO7 Maton Messiah Taylor 814CE |
#3
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1974 Martin D-28 (A gift for my 20th birthday from Mom and Dad) "Frankenstein" 1948 Gibson J-50 Body/1938 L-00 Neck 2008 Martin 000-18 Norman Blake 2006 Jubal Jumbo 2016 New Era Crooked Star Prairie State Jumbo 2016 New Era Crooked Star Senorita 2020 Iris Smeck 1972 Guild Killdeer F112-6 Part Deux Last edited by bayoubengal; 06-01-2018 at 10:56 PM. |
#4
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What's kind of cool about this it that it looks like you could put it back to a 12 string if you wanted to.
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#5
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ages ago I was changing the strings on my Takamine FP-400s and noted the nut wasn't glued in place...hmmmm...so I had a new nut made for 6 strings and when I got the desire I would simply swap out the nuts and configure for what I wanted to use it for at that moment in time. in general I would use it as a secondary guitar in case I broke a string on stage, or have it in a different tuning for stage work. don't think I ever used it as a 12 on stage, but did so plenty of times recording. yeah, it wasn't the most lively guitar when set up for 6, but it worked just fine all things considered. |
#6
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Well, I wouldnīt have done what you did, but if you like the result,itīs ok,itīs yours.
If you go further into the 6-strng direction, you could lighten the braces a bit to make the top lighter and more resonnant, swinging easier... Better sell the axe and buy a real 6-string guitar. Only my 2 cents
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Thanks! Martin D28 (1973) 12-string cutaway ...finished ;-) Hoyer 12-string (1965) Yamaha FG-340 (1970) Yamaha FG-512 (ca. 1980) D.Maurer 8-string baritone (2013-2014) and 4 electric axes |
#7
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You like it and that it all that really matters. I might have been inclined not to fill in the peg head or bridge holes to make reconversion (reversion?) easier.
I tried this years ago with a Seagull S-12 so I could experiment with a wide 1.8" neck. I made a new six string nut and used the same bridge pins holes that you did, and the original saddle. The only difference is that I kept all twelve tuners in place, using the far ones. That way if a string broke at the tuner, I could re-use it on the shorter peg. It worked OK with that cedar top, but a few months later I put the twelve string nut back and returned it to the factory configuration. Your guitar might be a bit over-braced. I say "might" because the typical light gauge twelve string set (10-47) is about 250 pounds total tension. The typical medium gauge set (13-56) is 185 pounds, only 74% of the intended string tension. But if it sounds good to you, that is the "answer". If you went with heavy gauge EJ-18 (14-59) set that would give you 217 pounds of tension when tuned E-e, much closer to twelve string numbers. I sometimes use those strings tuned down to C# or even C as a pseudo-baritone on a regular guitar. |
#8
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1974 Martin D-28 (A gift for my 20th birthday from Mom and Dad) "Frankenstein" 1948 Gibson J-50 Body/1938 L-00 Neck 2008 Martin 000-18 Norman Blake 2006 Jubal Jumbo 2016 New Era Crooked Star Prairie State Jumbo 2016 New Era Crooked Star Senorita 2020 Iris Smeck 1972 Guild Killdeer F112-6 Part Deux |