12 String guitars

[nuclearfamily]

I want one!!!

Looking for an acoustic-electric one. Around 500-ish dollars. I heard Simon Patrick guitars are pretty good.

What are your thoughts on 12 strings? Acoustic, electric, whatever. Which ones are good? And more importantly which ones are shitty?

[Chankgeez]

I love 12 strings.

Unfortunately for you, all my experience with 12 strings are with long out of production models.

The only thing I don't like about 12 strings is tuning 'em up.

[Gone Fission]

S&P are a Godin company. Good stuff. I have an older Seagull (also Godin) 12 string acoustic that I don't play enough. Mine has kind of a wide and flat neck that makes fretting pretty easy but it's kind of a fatiguing shape for my left hand the way I'm used to playing.

I'd steer clear of phosphor bronze strings for a 12. The phosphors produce a lot of extra harmonic content that kind of gets mucky on a 12. Go with 80/20 bronze. (For electric, it's similarly helpful to go for flatwound on a 12, or at least a duller alloy of roundwound.)

[Chankgeez]

Yep, I like flats on electric twelves.

Tune 'em down at least a step too.

[McSpunckle]

I want one!!!

Looking for an acoustic-electric one. Around 500-ish dollars. I heard Simon Patrick guitars are pretty good.

What are your thoughts on 12 strings? Acoustic, electric, whatever. Which ones are good? And more importantly which ones are shitty?

Seagul, Simon Patrick, and Art and Lutherie are the same company, and they're likely all about the same (I know their entry level guitars are literally the same guitar with different headstocks and finish options), and they are really good. I love my Seagul. Sooo, check them out. It looks like they all make 12s, and A&L might be cheaper. And it gives you more eBay options. Electronics are an option on all of them, but it looks like it's easiest to find the all acoustic ones.

I recall playing an Epiphone 12 string that was pretty good and cheap... but I have no idea what the model was.

12 strings are neat! I've wanted to pick one up for a while.

[Mudfuzz]

I played a Hagstrom Vikiing 12 the other day, beautiful guitar, made all the Gibsons in the store look cheap and scuzzy! might be a bit more then 500 but they are nice!

[IEatCats]

I played a rogue 12 string for about two years. I loved the hell out of the tone until I got my nylon string (Rabbit).

For cheap guitars, the rogue 12s are pretty nice.

[cheesecats]

i would suggest going with a spruce top rather than cedar, especially with a 12-string. spruce generally gives a brighter tone, is stronger, and will continue to improve over time. it's a good idea to play before you buy so you can feel the neck shape and string spacing.

[Gone Fission]

i would suggest going with a spruce top rather than cedar, especially with a 12-string. spruce generally gives a brighter tone, is stronger, and will continue to improve over time. it's a good idea to play before you buy so you can feel the neck shape and string spacing.

It's a myth that cedar won't improve with time. I've experienced the proof of that myself on my six. Still, spruce is indeed probably better for 12's for most people.

[dubkitty]

the best affordable acoustic 12-strings out there are the Alvarez jumbos. my favorite electric 12 is the Danelectro DC-12.

[cheesecats]

It's a myth that cedar won't improve with time. I've experienced the proof of that myself on my six. Still, spruce is indeed probably better for 12's for most people.

it will, but my understanding is that it only goes so far and doesn't open up as much as spruce. i'm not dissing cedar--many high end luthiers use it--lowden and mcpherson come to mind. it all depends on tone preference. i have a mandolin with a oregon pine (douglas fir) top made from whiskey washback staves--it sounds awesome. but i was thinking for the 12-string, a brighter tone and stronger structure might be preferable.

[Chankgeez]

Seagul, Simon Patrick, and Art and Lutherie are the same company...

Yeah, Godin's got quite a stable. It's too bad they don't offer their Richmond models as 12 strings.

[Gone Fission]

Yeah, Godin's got quite a stable. It's too bad they don't offer their Richmond models as 12 strings.

Truth. Before they launched the Richmond brand I suggested that they do a 12 string version of the Godin Radiator. Bolt-on construction ought to make this easy. Especially since I think the neck for the A12 solid body acoustic-style is already a bolt-on neck.

[nuclearfamily]

Thanks for all the information everyone. I ordered a spruce Simon and Patrick acoustic-electric 12 string!

[Chankgeez]

You'll've to give us the full report when you get it, please.