Who all also plays a 12 string?

Daryl Jones

non-practicing pacifist
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Nov 15, 2021
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Alberta Canada
Seems to me nobody (or seldom anyway) talks about 12 string guitars. And I get it since PRS doesn't do acoustic 12 strings (that I know of anyway) and the double necks I've seen are always private stock/custom builds.
Obviously I don't have a PRS PS 12 string or double neck so I play a Seagull S12 Concert. Just wonder who might also play (or like me play poorly haha) a 12 string guitar.
What I have found is while I truly enjoy the unique sound and tones of the 12 string, to play them well there are limited songs that I find really suit these incredible machines. And the ones that were written for or with them (we all know the most popular/famous ones) are no brainers. Just every once in a while I find a song that I think would be great on my 12, turns out to sound like crap on it. I get that the octave pairings won't work for absolutely everything, it's the nature of the beast. I just get a tad frustrated when the song turns out that way.
Now I'm no consummately professional player by any means, but I really want to increase my repertoire of songs that are suitable for public (if small) performances with my 12 string. Especially for times when it's just myself playing a small solo gig. I use backing tracks but I try and keep it as simple as I can so that I can make them as pleasing and full as possible. And the recorded versions that are done in a slightly different pitch drive me nuts trying to tune to them to learn the damn song!
I know that playing a simpler song exceptionally well certainly outdoes doing one that's really intricate half a$$ed. Not that I'm above taking one on the chin up there, I'll never be past the occasional "oh s**t!" moment. I've seen far better players than I'll ever be eat it on stage. 😉
 
I've owned a Breedlove 12-string (and it's matching 6-string brother) for a long time. It sounds so good through a nice PA! I agree it doesn't need to be on every song, but it fills a need on some that just work.

I got a Reverend Air Wave a while back that I really dig as well. We don't do many songs in my band that it would really be needed for, but it's here if I need it.
 
I had the itch for an electric 12 string a couple of years ago. I never found one that I liked at a price I liked or I would probably have one here.
 
I had the itch for an electric 12 string a couple of years ago. I never found one that I liked at a price I liked or I would probably have one here.
A friend of mine got a Rickenbacker 12 about a year ago. At first he really liked it, but I spoke with him on Monday and he's kind of cooled on it lately. My main issue with those is the funky (IMO) tuners they have.
 
A friend of mine got a Rickenbacker 12 about a year ago. At first he really liked it, but I spoke with him on Monday and he's kind of cooled on it lately. My main issue with those is the funky (IMO) tuners they have.
One I came close to buying was the Fender. It is a Strat body. Not a real fan of the headstock but I could get past it.
 
I've owned a Breedlove 12-string (and it's matching 6-string brother) for a long time. It sounds so good through a nice PA! I agree it doesn't need to be on every song, but it fills a need on some that just work.

I got a Reverend Air Wave a while back that I really dig as well. We don't do many songs in my band that it would really be needed for, but it's here if I need it.
Breedlove guitars are awesome! Tad out of my pay grade though.
I get that the 12 strings are a "niche" thing. I find I sort of binge on mine. Won't pick it up for a couple weeks and then can't put the thing down. Not that I don't do that with my other guitars...
 
I've had a few over the years: Martin, Breedlove, and currently an Ibanez.

The Martin sounded great, but was difficult to play for my hands given its neck shape. My left hand would cramp so bad I returned it within the 30 day return window.

The Breedlove was awesome when I bought it, but it came with free string changes for 12 months. So I brought it to the store about 3 or 4 months in and rather than just doing a simple string change, the store tech decided he'd do a full set up. He destroyed the nut and over filed the first 3 frets when it started buzzing from the too-shallow nut slots! I took it to a luthier I knew and he replaced the 3 frets and made a bone nut (claiming he'd never cut a 12 string bone nut again). That returned the guitar to playable, but was never really the same. I think the bone nut changed the overall tone too much from stock and I just couldn't adjust. I sold that surprisingly for a small profit, even factoring the repair cost. The purchaser thought the bone nut made it sound incredible. [shrug]

When my son started lessons at the local GC, I would sit and play various 12 strings in the acoustic room. After playing Breedlove, Guild, Ovation, and another brand I didn't recognize, all $500-$1200 in price. I kept picking the $320 Ibanez as the easiest to play and best sounding. So that's what I finally bought after about 6 months of comparing.

I play it occasionally when I want to record something completely acoustic. I like the blending of a 6 string with standard chord forms and the 12 with alternate forms with capo or sometimes the reverse with 12 string standard and the 6 capo'd.
 
Hans to the White Courtesy Phone...

I have one of the old CU-22/12s that PRS did a while back. Great guitar!

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I bought a 12 string specifically for Christmas music. I don’t play it the rest of the year and my aging fingers have a harder time adapting every December. Specifically, bar chords are out. For me, it works best with simpler chord form.

I did get a 9 string, which is much easier to play. D, G, and B are doubled.
 
I like the idea of a 12 string better than the actual guitar. I've had 2 acoustics and got rid of both of them. I've been looking at 12 string electrics lately because Warren Haynes make his 12 string Les Paul do amazing things. But then reality sets in and I'm like I probably wouldn't play one that much. By the way if anyone hasn't heard it check out Gov't Mule Railroad Boy. Warren uses his 12 string Les Paul tuned to Drop D and capoed at the 7th fret and it's amazing.
 
12-strings have their place and nothing else can truly substitute for one. It is hard to imagine the Byrds, Tom Petty, "Wanted Die or Alive" by Bon Jovi or "Give A Little Bit" by Supertramp without a 12-string. I think many want to have a few different 6-strings before adding a 12-string to the collection unless they are specifically needing one for a particular style or sound

I have a Taylor 352ce. I previously had a 355 but the Jumbo body was a little too big and uncomfortable and it would sound a touch boomy at times. I also managed to snag a PRS Custom 22/12 which are not a common sight. I find the PRS 12-string neck much more comfortable and easier to play than a Rickenbacker 12-string.

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I have had for over 30 years, my Martin D12-20, but have not played it in about 4 years because the neck needs to be reset. Considering that in those 30+ years I played it maybe 500 hours, I am not too concerned about getting it done. When I do play it (before neck separated), it was the most beautiful sounding acoustic guitar I had ever played (which does not say all that much because I have played very few pricey acoustics) ;~)) Point is, it sounds glorious to me, I could play an open E chord (and that is about all I can play on it) all day long and be happy with the ring of that guitar!!!

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I've picked up a Taylor 856ce back in 08 when the econmony tanked , they did a one time dealer cost offer , so I ordered it .
When it came in the shop owner up in Dahlonega asked if he could see it , "we never get the high end stuff , folks up here don't have that kind of $ . I of course let him play it first , he runs the weekly jams in the town Circle in the warm weather.

I always found it a bit hard on my hands, but I just chalked it up to the extra string tension ...until one of my local artist / luthier friends Ron Hipp took it home for a setup ,( he was working on my PS Angelus chasing a rattle which he fixed.) Now it plays like butter , no strain .. amazing...

by the way ... He loves the Cocobolo Angelus ( plays custom Gallagher and Martins) I told him it's my most "Ron guitar" he laughed
 
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I have a beat up Taylor 555 that sounds pretty good. I can’t play it for very long because my hands are not as strong as they used to be. I hardly play anymore, so even six string acoustic is something that challenges me. In the mid ‘90s, I found an old Epiphone acoustic 12 string that was caving in under the string tension. It had a bolt-on neck that I used to make an electric. It is surprisingly good. I might pull it out once or twice a year.
 
I've had a few over the years: Martin, Breedlove, and currently an Ibanez.

The Martin sounded great, but was difficult to play for my hands given its neck shape. My left hand would cramp so bad I returned it within the 30 day return window.

The Breedlove was awesome when I bought it, but it came with free string changes for 12 months. So I brought it to the store about 3 or 4 months in and rather than just doing a simple string change, the store tech decided he'd do a full set up. He destroyed the nut and over filed the first 3 frets when it started buzzing from the too-shallow nut slots! I took it to a luthier I knew and he replaced the 3 frets and made a bone nut (claiming he'd never cut a 12 string bone nut again). That returned the guitar to playable, but was never really the same. I think the bone nut changed the overall tone too much from stock and I just couldn't adjust. I sold that surprisingly for a small profit, even factoring the repair cost. The purchaser thought the bone nut made it sound incredible. [shrug]

When my son started lessons at the local GC, I would sit and play various 12 strings in the acoustic room. After playing Breedlove, Guild, Ovation, and another brand I didn't recognize, all $500-$1200 in price. I kept picking the $320 Ibanez as the easiest to play and best sounding. So that's what I finally bought after about 6 months of comparing.

I play it occasionally when I want to record something completely acoustic. I like the blending of a 6 string with standard chord forms and the 12 with alternate forms with capo or sometimes the reverse with 12 string standard and the 6 capo'd.
I can't speak to the Breedlove, they are so exceptionally rare around here. When I got my Seagull (the store actually had to order it in for me on a trial basis) so I figured if I had to take my hundred bucks deposit and lay it down on another guitar that could work in my favor. It does help to be a repeat customer and stick with the same sales rep. I played a couple others (a Martin and a Gibson) but I really forget what models, they were the only two others on the rack. I had high hopes for the Gibson, it looked to be the same that I've seen Lightfoot play hundreds of times; if it worked for him right? But it was also a dreadnought which I didn't really want. So I kept going back to the Seagull. It fit me better, the neck was easier on my grip, and it was more compact. The Gibson sounded great, exceptional really, but it just felt wrong. The Martin was actually the worst of the three to me and it was a full body dreadnought, but it was actually less money than the Seagull. More resonant in a way, but the lack of the cutaway turned me off. Then I looked at the tag on the Gibson...Ouch! I wasn't laying down $4k for a fiddle I wasn't really in stitches over. I had hoped to see a Yamaha or even a Taylor but there were none. So I walked out with the Seagull. And I'm very happy with it.
There isn't much point in me looking around for that rare Custom 22 electric, I'd likely never find one anywhere close and I'd crap razor blades buying something like that unseen privately or even from a place like Dave's, and then shipped to me.
I reckon I'll keep doing what I'm doing with whatever songs I can muster. That off pitch tuning is more common than I ever imagined though. I get some guys preferring a certain tuning (Open G, Drop D etc) but when Page (and others) uses a half stepdown but not quite a half step...argh...I don't have a tuner that works in small increments to deal with it, so I have to do it by ear and that is painfully tedious/slow on a 12 string. At least for me.
 
I bought a 12 string specifically for Christmas music. I don’t play it the rest of the year and my aging fingers have a harder time adapting every December. Specifically, bar chords are out. For me, it works best with simpler chord form.

I did get a 9 string, which is much easier to play. D, G, and B are doubled.
That's one of the reasons I keep playing mine as often as I do. It actually helps my finger strength (and the tips of my fingers) as long as I take a day or two rest in between. Only thing is if I delay my cortisone shots for my carpal tunnel like I did this year. But once this one wears off I'm getting in the que for surgery. I figure about end of September next. I'll be almost 68 then and I want to get it done. Head back in in a couple weeks to get that cyst taken care of.
 
12-strings have their place and nothing else can truly substitute for one. It is hard to imagine the Byrds, Tom Petty, "Wanted Die or Alive" by Bon Jovi or "Give A Little Bit" by Supertramp without a 12-string.

Certain famous Tom Petty '12-string' songs were actually done with two 6-string guitars mixed together, one in Standard tuning, the second one in Nashville tuning an octave up.

I've had a couple of 12-string Rickenbackers that were a lot of fun to play. The best was a Tom Petty signature 660-12 with a wider neck than Rick used to put on most 12s. I sold it to a buddy who wanted it; they're now going for quite a bit of dough (I, of course, sold it before the value went through the roof!).

Here's my thinking about 12-string guitars:

If you limit yourself to covering the usual gamut of 12-string hits, you run out of songs pretty quickly.

With electric 12s, The Byrds, early Beatle George Harrison songs like "Day Tripper," or Zep's "Stairway to Heaven" will only take you so far in a set list, and then you're seemingly done.

But you don't have to be.

To get the best use out of a 12-string electric, try it on songs that didn't originally have 12 strings on them, or write your own parts/material to take advantage of it. Contrary to popular belief, they can do a nice job with a bit of gain. I used to use one in performance and not take it off for an entire set. Blended nicely with the material that band was performing.

Clapton had a 12-string acoustic made for his 2022 album "Lady in the Balcony," Leo Kottke did a tremendous amount of work on an acoustic 12, and I am vaguely aware of Coryell and McLaughlin using them in performance, but there have been lots of others.

Listening to their techniques can teach a lot about ways to get creative with a 12 string and will enlarge your repertoire, particularly Kottke, who did many recordings with them to great advantage. And of course, you can learn a lot of their material and enlarge your own repertoire.

One other thought is to try doubling a six string part with a 12 string, and play with the levels in a mix. It can add a wonderful texture and shimmer.

They have a beautiful sound when used well, but you have to open your head up to different possibilities.
 
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