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duke
Lokahi
USA
163 Posts |
 Posted - 08/24/2005 : 08:30:27 AM
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I play a Taylor 12-string (355-CE) that I mostly keep in C-Wahine. I primarily use it when playing with the hula halau I'm in. I tried switching the strings around as Sarah mentioned and didn't care for that arrangement. Although, I'm intrigued by Fran's suggestion of just leaving the bass octaves off completely. I use Elixir's on this guitar and have had it as low as C-Maunaloa tuned down to Bb with no problem. For me, my 12-string seems at home in C-Wahine. All of this, of course, is to further emphasize -- experiment and find what suits you and your guitar.
Duke |
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
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duke
Lokahi
USA
163 Posts |
Posted - 08/25/2005 : 06:26:23 AM
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Aloha Fran
Heard about that Martin guitar. Next time I re-string, I'm thinking i'll try a nine-string configuration and see how that sounds. All is well here. Hope we see you again sometime soon in Waihe'e!
Duke |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 08/25/2005 : 08:18:23 AM
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I would humbly suggest, if you can't afford a top-of-the-line 12-string, to buy an old guitar, perhap 10-20 years old. They are notorious for neck bending, bridge lifting and top warping, so if you find an old guitar with good sound, a flat soundboard and great action, buy it, no matter what the headstock says. I paid $175 for a 15-year-old Fender (probably Korea or Japan) that sounds great and action is amazingly low. It's a joy to play.
Jesse Tinsley
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Fingerpickin
Lokahi
117 Posts |
Posted - 08/26/2005 : 12:42:44 PM
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I think you need to be really careful when purchasing a 12 string. While it sounds like hapakid got a real beauty, this is the exception and not the rule.
As a wise, old guitar player once told me, "12 -string guitars are slowly self-destructing from the time of their birth." This may be a slight exaggeration, but it is not far from truth.
The string tension on the neck of a 12 string guitar is enormous. This is why almost every 12 string is strung with "extra-light" strings (or at least, that is the recommendation!!) This string tension tends to pull the neck forward and raise the action over time. Eventually, truss rod corrections stop working and the neck needs to be reset.
This is why I'd be careful buying an older guitar. I'd prefer to buy, say, a new Martin; it comes with a lifetime warantee if you are the origional owner, and if the guitar ever needs a reset (and it will if you own it long enough) then Martin will do it for free.
I've been wanting a 12 string for a long time, but I'm waiting until I find the right one; if you live in hawaii you have to change strings often and thats even less fun with 12 to change!!
Hope that helps, and best of luck with your search.
-Lance |
"Hey Lance, try watch." -Ozzie |
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Mutantmoose
Aloha
USA
12 Posts |
Posted - 08/27/2005 : 04:51:53 AM
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I'd say that wise, old guitar player was about half right. Some 12 strings slowly self-destruct, if they are built to be like 6 strings, with a skinny neck and light bracing. But a properly built 12 string, with a larger neck and better reinforcement, will last as long as any other guitar.
The best (and scariest) example of this is Ledbelly's 12 string. It was strung with what we would consider extra heavy acoustic strings for it's entire life. (I believe they were 14s on the high e - gives me arthritis just to think about it.) But it was built for that, and it's still playable. (Yes, that's a relative term, I know that most of us would rather play accordion before playing strings that heavy.) If I was to put the same kind of strings on my Seagull 12 string, I'd get to watch the guitar gently fold in half.
So, a 12 string has to be well built, and well adjusted. Make sure that the action is carefully watched, make sure that the truss rod is kept in adjustment, and keep good strings on. Use a hard case and maintain it. In otherwords, all the things that should be done with any guitar that you want to last for roughly forever.
Mostly unrelated, I used to have a German made 12 string with a laminated neck, I can't remember the name of the company, a very nice, solid, neck, but the sound was garbage, kind of a plywood/masonite sound that went nowhere. It would never fall apart, though!! I guess that you have to be careful what you wish for...
Mark |
Mark
"In the business of enriching lives for 15 years." |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 08/27/2005 : 12:34:28 PM
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I've looked at dozens of old 12-strings and rarely have I found one that hasn't warped at least a little since it was new, including a few Martins. I have to stick to my origninal premise that older guitars with good action are a better bet than all but the most expensive (and with warranty) guitars out there. If a 12-string guitar hasn't warped the top, broken the bridge off or bent the neck in 10 years or more, then you can make certain assumptions about it, including, that the wood involved has reached its equilibrium in terms of the wood moisture and its tendency to move while it dries out. If that older guitar is then introduced to varying humidity levels and temperatures, that may change, but otherwise you're probably safe in assuming it will last for a long time without adjustment. My cheap 12-string is a laminated body, probably part of the reason why the top hasn't warped on it.
Jesse Tinsley |
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toesreef
Aloha
USA
8 Posts |
Posted - 08/30/2005 : 1:52:45 PM
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| Skip...12 string 355 ce taylor works well older the better tho...the wood needs to mature to get the tonations and sustaun...also anyone here can recommend slack key teachers |
Mike Niebuhr |
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