12 strings

mo6020

I have a loose interest in a 12 string. Who’s making good ones now, and who made good ones back in the 60s/70s?

I guess Guild/Martin for vintage? Any opinions on the Gibsons of that era?

ICBM

mo6020 said:

I have a loose interest in a 12 string. Who’s making good ones now, and who made good ones back in the 60s/70s?

I guess Guild/Martin for vintage? Any opinions on the Gibsons of that era?

Guild or Martin for sure, for an old one. All the Gibson 12s I've seen have been underbraced and on the verge of falling apart - the Gibson headstock is even more fragile as a 12-string than a 6, too.

Taylor for a modern one, although I haven't played many others.

Don't discount the many Japanese-made ones from the later 70s and early-mid 80s though - while they have ply back and sides (and often tops) this matters less with a 12, and some of them are really quite decent sounding for a fraction of the price - also robust.

And there's always the old Eko Ranger - they're overbuilt, but usually sound nice, and have the great advantage of an adjustable bridge, bolt-on neck and zero fret, so they can almost always be made to play well.

mo6020

Cheers, I guess I need to get out and play a few…

mo6020

‘71 Martin in NoTom… Now I’m kinda glad I’m getting out of London for the Xmas period on Monday so I can’t go and try it lol

ICBM

mo6020 said:

‘71 Martin in NoTom… Now I’m kinda glad I’m getting out of London for the Xmas period on Monday so I can’t go and try it lol

Those are really nice. I have a '71 D12-35 - the more expensive rosewood version - which I've owned since 1989 and is the best-sounding 12-string I've played... *except* for the D12-20 a friend used to own. She sold it - I was extremely tempted to buy it, but I couldn't justify two, and I didn't even want to buy it and sell mine, since it's been on pretty much every serious recording project I've done in the last 30 years. But in all honesty the D12-20 did just sound better, even with a well-repaired headstock break.

Even given that, that one does seem a little on the pricy side. I'm not convinced the tuners have been replaced either, my friend's one had similar or identical black-plate ones (from what I can see in the pic, which maybe isn't enough).

mo6020

ICBM said:

mo6020 said:

‘71 Martin in NoTom… Now I’m kinda glad I’m getting out of London for the Xmas period on Monday so I can’t go and try it lol

Even given that, that one does seem a little on the pricy side. I'm not convinced the tuners have been replaced either, my friend's one had similar or identical black-plate ones (from what I can see in the pic, which maybe isn't enough).

It’s the Denmark Street tax, everything is expensive down there..

tomjax

Love the Guild 12 strings and some of them have the double truss rod arrangement which makes them super stable and stay in tune well.

Epsilon

I'm not usually binary with guitars, except for 12 strings. Go Guild. I wouldn't consider any of the others.

I think New Hartford is the best era, as this was a small custom shop in all but name. The ones coming out today and Westerly era are also really really good. I've not played enough Corona/Washington Guild to form an opinion, but they seem to be less popular with collectors.

I have a 70s F-412 which is great, but if I'm honest the new ones (post-2010) are better.

Buy this and you won't be sorry https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/pxp231130416089002-11775475--guild-f412-antique-burst-12-string-pre-owned-n01870

I've had to restrain myself so you'd be doing me a favour by removing the temptation.

boogieman

The Chinese built Guilds are really good bang for the buck if you’re going new. Yamaha make some good sounding dreads too, but the necks feel a bit narrow to me. If you’ve got the cash, I’d go for a Martin, they have that lovely piano like tone that marks out a really good 12 string. 

mo6020

Thanks guys - this has given me some things to think about..

Timcito

My choice would be the Godin Multiac-style A12, a chambered electro-acoustic mainly designed to be plugged in. If you've never played a 12-string for any length of time, you'll know that they can put vicious stress on the fretting hand, even with low action and very light strings. Each fretting finger is effectively working twice as hard as when playing a six-string. For this reason, the Godin seems the best bet, in my view. For playability, it seems as easy as a 12-string can possibly get. Plus, I do like Godins and the Multiac series!