X30-12 sample recording

[Aspiring]

I took a flyer on the stock sale and picked up an x30-12. At the time I could find very few sound samples of x20 and x30 12 strings. I thought I would post one up here of a quick recording I did over the holidays.

This is my first 12 string. I struggled a fair bit initially playing it at all cleanly. It comes stock with a 12-54 12 string daddario set. I have switched out to Curt Mangans 11s and then in this recording I have detuned a half step as well as changed some of the setup to improve the string spacing on the bass courses.

The result is I am now starting to be able to play cleanly and really enjoying the tone and tuning stability.

Listen to Silent-12.mp3 by Ron Radko on #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.com/ron-radko/sil...social_sharing

[David Eastwood]

That sounds lovely, Ron - very nicely done.

[Aspiring]

Originally Posted by David Eastwood

That sounds lovely, Ron - very nicely done.

Thanks David. I am really enjoying how the 12 can fill in and add a lot to a solo finger style piece and I think this song is a good example of that.

[Captain Jim]

Sounds great! Thanks for sharing that with us!

[RP]

I've got an X20-12 and would love to hear how the X30-12 compares in a side-by-side...

[DCCougar]

Originally Posted by Aspiring

I took a flyer on the stock sale and picked up an x30-12. At the time I could find very few sound samples of x20 and x30 12 strings. I thought I would post one up here of a quick recording I did over the holidays.

I noticed a thread about a 12-string, but didn't notice this was in the carbon fiber forum. Your playing sounded fine, of course, but... I don't know, the tone sounded a little trebly. (?) I was compelled to compare it to the sound of a wood 12-string to see if I could pinpoint the difference. Though I've got some very nice US-built jumbo Guild 12ers, I had this short demo of my Chinese-built all-solid-mahogany dread D125-12 (that I think sounds a LOT better than its ridiculous $400 price I paid for it used).

Maybe it's not a fair comparison -- flatpicking vs. fingerpicking, but still.... Isn't there some "richness" in the wood 12er that's not coming through with the CF? (Actually, your recording sounds quite good and crisp. I'm just using a Tascam DR-05 recorder with no post-processing.)

[mountainmaster]

Actually the Emerald X30 is a bass heavy monster. And yes, it does have a fair amount of treble as well which serves to balance out all that bass.

I think the bass strings are touched quite lightly in Aspiring's sample piece. This is a common issue with finger picking, and the main reason why many finger pickers are using a thumb pick.

[Aspiring]

A couple of good points here.

First, yes my teacher and others have mentioned that I am soft in the bass side from technique and it is something I have been working on. Although I don't actually hear it myself which I suppose is part of the problem.

From my ears I feel like the balance of the x30-12 is similar to the x20-6 that I have and I don't pick up the boominess others have described with the x30-6

I also have high pass and low pass in my chain to help deal with my room noise (although didn't try to eq beyond that)

Lastly I monitor when I record with headphones and have in the past adjusted my technique as I often feel like I hear too much boominess in the bass.

All of this to say it might be better for getting a sample online here to change how and what I'm recording.

Perhaps flat strums with a pick on some basic chords or similar?

[DCCougar]

Originally Posted by mountainmaster

Actually the Emerald X30 is a bass heavy monster. And yes, it does have a fair amount of treble as well which serves to balance out all that bass.

I think the bass strings are touched quite lightly in Aspiring's sample piece. This is a common issue with finger picking, and the main reason why many finger pickers are using a thumb pick.

Originally Posted by Aspiring

A couple of good points here.

First, yes my teacher and others have mentioned that I am soft in the bass side from technique and it is something I have been working on. Although I don't actually hear it myself which I suppose is part of the problem.

From my ears I feel like the balance of the x30-12 is similar to the x20-6 that I have and I don't pick up the boominess others have described with the x30-6

I also have high pass and low pass in my chain to help deal with my room noise (although didn't try to eq beyond that)

Lastly I monitor when I record with headphones and have in the past adjusted my technique as I often feel like I hear too much boominess in the bass.

All of this to say it might be better for getting a sample online here to change how and what I'm recording.

Perhaps flat strums with a pick on some basic chords or similar?

Well, OK, guys. Thanks for that!

[KevinH]

Nice playing Ron. Thanks for posting. I thought you did a great job of taming the bass, which the X30 has in spades.

[Aspiring]

@DCCougar I am curious to compare to a wood back to back in person as well. Nice playing on your clip ..

@KevinH thanks! I am not sure that the x30-12 is as bass heavy as the x30-6. At least from my playing.

[mountainmaster]

Originally Posted by Aspiring

I am not sure that the x30-12 is as bass heavy as the x30-6. At least from my playing.

I think this may be true for 12 string guitars in general. With 3 octave strings in the mix there should be less bass percentage wise.

IMO tuning an X30 down to D really makes those deep bass frequencies come to life.