12 String Acoustic

pete582

Hi all l  started to learn the guitar ( six string)  a couple of years ago and now 70 I have got a12 string Tanglewood. And wondered  if any of you had got any useful tips concerning technique  and issues etc.

drofluf

Tune it down a step or two; the reduced tension will make fretting easier. Plus will reduce strain on the instrument which may or may not be an issue for the Tanglewood. 

drofluf

And get a decent setup; I found even more than with 6 strings it helps with playability. 

Tannin

In my book, 12-strings sound far better with a pick. (Not everyone agrees.)

Upstrokes and downstrokes sound quite different to each other (far, far more than with a 6-string). Only by using a pick can you take full advantage of that  You have to be more precise picking out single-course notes as the gap between the courses is much smaller than it is on 6-string guitars, but there is no harm in that, it's just a matter of practice. After a while you'll find that you are able to pick out a single string on either upstroke or downstroke (typically the high G or a low E or A, but any string). This increased picking accuracy will stand you in good stead going back to 6-string too. 

12s are wonderful instruments. I played mostly 12-string, and quite often exclusively 12-string, for the best part of 40 years. Sadly, I no longer own one. After I switched to fingerpicking five years or so back, my old Yamaha 12-string no longer sounded any good. I bought a beautiful new  Cole Clark 12-string in Bunya and Blackwood but after 18 months or so admitted that it was never going to work for me and sold it. All my guitars are 6-strings now. 

@drofluf's advice is good. Most 12-string owners tune to D. That's usually about right. Get your setup checked by someone competent. But before you do that, work out what strings are going to suit you. (String choice alters the setup, so if you can settle on the strings first. If the setup is a long way out, do that first and accept that you might need to get some fine adjustment work done later on.)

Best not to go too light: with such small gaps between the strings, light strings are prone to hitting each other unless you play very, very gently. But not too heavy either! Heavy strings on a 12 make it really awful to play. Rule-of-thumb, go one gauge lighter than you would normally use on a 6-string. 

Silk and steel works brilliantly on a 12, the softness of tone helping to tame the sometimes over-brash trebles. But there is a lot to be said for ordinary phosphor bronze. Try both!

pete582

Thanks for your comments its been set-up by Zebra Music (Ilkeston) who supplied the guitar and am using Newtone Master class strings