12-String Guitar Soloing Techniques

[PHJim]

-Watch Pete Seeger play Living In The Country. (Finger style in drop D)

-Listen to Doc Watson play Beaumont Rag. (Flat picked on the Doc Watson & Son LP)

-Listen to David Ray on the Blues Rags & Hollers, Lots More B,R&H, and The Return Of Koerner, Glover & Ray.
Spider John Koerner plays on these as well. He plays a 7 string with on octave G added to the third string. It sounds a lot like a 12-string sometimes.

[mcduffnw]

Originally Posted by kinglerch

I play many types of songs on 12-string guitars. Someone wrote that a 6-string is to a piano like a 12-string is to a harpsichord, which sums it up for me. We play long sets and it gives a different feel to the songs to switch to the 12-string. It's not necessarily better or worse than a 6-string, just different.

However, the nature of the instrument makes certain soloing techniques just not work. Pulloffs, hammerons, legato, bending, sustain, etc are all difficult to impossible. In addition, certain "single" string solos (for example on the high E or B courses) sound wimpy, where the same solo on the same string on a 6-string sounds fine without the doubled string...or I maybe need to change the technique.

Other soloing techniques such as double stops, chicken pickin, pull-offs, slides, chords, "single" string solos on the A, D, or G courses, etc seem to work fine and in some ways sound better than on the 6-string.

What other techniques work well to solo on a 12-string? What do players typically do for a solo on a 12-string? Is there an example of a player who does this well, to use the 12-string to it's advantage while avoiding the things the 12-string does not do as well? Any other players out there using the 12-string like this, or is soloing typically avoided?

As one of the posters here mentioned...you certainly would have to consider the iconic work of Leo Kottke.

Perhaps particularly his early recordings of "The Last Steam Engine Train" where his amazing speed and staccato clarity are on their most powerful display.

But...my favorite song that he has done on the 12 string is his tune "Owls" off of the Greenhouse album. Just a gorgeous song that displays all of Kottke's abilities on the 12 string in one song...and a great song it is!!!

However...if you want to hear something really unusual and gorgeous...go to Youtube, and look up fingerstyle master Ed Gerhard, and look up two songs off of his "The Live Album" recordings...Malaika, and Isa Lei. Again, be sure they are "The Live Album" recordings.

On those two songs...which are done live...Ed tunes his 12 string...a Breedlove Classic XII in Sitka/Macassar Ebony...tuned down a bit...and he wrapped "low tack"...his words...masking tape, in and around and throughout the strings down at the saddle/bridge. It gives his guitar a hauntingly subdued...and to me...a very exotic south pacific island...kind of tone and dynamic response.

It can not be very easy to play the guitar that way, with the strings muffled in a rather random fashion, but he plays with such stellar and liquid finesse and touch that the songs just sound amazing. This version of Isa Lei is my favorite of the two, and one of my favorite all time instrumental acoustic songs.

Give them a listen.

duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher

Give them a listen.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks

To me the beauty of the 12 string is in the octave sound of the lower 4 courses. To play melody in the B and upper E courses does not sound much different than on a 6. So after a too-long period of trying to play up the neck and not being satisfied, I just stick to a lot of thumb work and stay lower and let it sound like a 12 string.

This ^^^ matches my experience, as well.

I have been playing a 12-string guitar for 52 years, since I got my first one at age 18. I think a 12-string really shines when using the 4 lower pairs of strings where you have octave strings to bring out the unique sound of a 12-string.

Also, a 12-string makes a great rhythm guitar. I have a fair number of 12-string songs on my YouTube channel that illustrate how I use a 12-string.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AmL...cGXUrZPOWZs1p0

- Glenn

[Pitar]

Originally Posted by kinglerch

I play many types of songs on 12-string guitars. Someone wrote that a 6-string is to a piano like a 12-string is to a harpsichord, which sums it up for me. We play long sets and it gives a different feel to the songs to switch to the 12-string. It's not necessarily better or worse than a 6-string, just different.

However, the nature of the instrument makes certain soloing techniques just not work. Pulloffs, hammerons, legato, bending, sustain, etc are all difficult to impossible. In addition, certain "single" string solos (for example on the high E or B courses) sound wimpy, where the same solo on the same string on a 6-string sounds fine without the doubled string...or I maybe need to change the technique.

Other soloing techniques such as double stops, chicken pickin, pull-offs, slides, chords, "single" string solos on the A, D, or G courses, etc seem to work fine and in some ways sound better than on the 6-string.

What other techniques work well to solo on a 12-string? What do players typically do for a solo on a 12-string? Is there an example of a player who does this well, to use the 12-string to it's advantage while avoiding the things the 12-string does not do as well? Any other players out there using the 12-string like this, or is soloing typically avoided?

The 12 string guitar is what I learned to finger pick on starting with a Yamaha FG230, moving through Guild F412, Martin D12-35, Norman B20-12 and others and never had a problem with any of the techniques or dynamics you mention. But, as a mechanic I had football-popping strength in my hands. Playing a 12 string guitar came easy for me. When I switched to 6 string it was about the time the internet guitar BBs launched and I didn't understand at that time the discussions about difficulties fretting barre chords, etc. It was all too easy for me on a 6 string so I extended that notion to all players. Then I realized I came up through guitar playing differently and it gave me a certain leg up relative to 6 string playing.

Hammers, pulls, slides, bends, etc, I did on 12 string guitars pretty easily, especially on the Guild F-412. On my 12 string guitars I swapped positions of the octaves on the D and G string courses because my fingers were plucking upward and in their standard positions they were did not ring out well, especially using the foregoing dynamics. When I started out playing I taught myself and just stayed that course. I never bought any guidance material and the internet was non-existent. I trained my ear and did everything I wanted to learn on the 12 string. I was playing Classical Gas on the Guild F-412, not thinking anything about it being particularly hard to do on that guitar, and it taught me to place fast and clean changes. Jose Feliciano's Malagueña was the mother of difficulty for me but I got it down just before I took a 30 year hiatus (life, etc).

Now, having returned to playing 6 string guitar I know I could not do what I once did with a 12 string guitar, nor do I have the desire or inclination to return to it. It was a cool sound that inspired me to play but the 6 string guitar's ease of playing keeps the hobby fun and interestingly progressive.

[frankmcr]

Fred Gerlach is a good source of ideas for 12-string soloing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sUFihFieT8

[The Growler]

Dan Crary has also done some amazing 12 strong work also.

[kinglerch]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I think the 12 string is capable of some amazing sounds, even during soloing. However in many cases it seems to require playing much slower than the same licks on a 6-string or electric, and requires some more finger strength.