I mess around on them sometimes, but normally I play my 6-string acoustic but I do use different tunings from standard if that's what your after.
I dont have the cash to throw down for a 12 string, but i think they sound really nice. My friend has one i play sometimes.
I used to have one. I bought it for $700.00, and then sold it because I used it less frequently than I'd imagined I would. If I need the jangling sound, I just use my Line 6 Pod through my computer port, hooked up to my Yamaha DC-2001 Electric/Acoustic 6 string. I hardly ever use or need that feature, though. A 12-string is really more beneficial to a singer/songwriter or a folk musician than it is to a progressive/classic rock, classical and fusion player. It doesn't serve as large a purpose in my world as it would for a folk musician and songwriter.
I haven't had a 12 string in around 30 or so years,but I plan on getting one soon.I recently played my bro's sigma,and once again I was hooked on the sound.I have been looking at a carvin 12.I've played various carvins over the years and they are top quality for the money.Good amps too.When plugged in,I use my carvin vintage 212 half stack.Does a decent job on electric accoustic too.
I used to have a 1995 Carvin Legacy half-stack. It was great. Steve Vai used to use one in his older days. His tone was much better back then. I borrowed my friend's Carvin DC-400 and played it through my Legacy and they were made for each other.
In truth,I'm surprised that I don't see more carvin guitars and amps around.I have a friend of mine that has had his carvin electric over 40 years and it plays great!If I had the money,I'd fill a room with just carvin guitars.IMHO,the best bang for the buck out there.Peace
I find most people go for carvin cobalt acoustics. They're a good bang for the buck in tone and value. I really don't like foreign made products made in factories where more than one brand of guitar is made. There was a big issue about it in Harmony Central where someone noticed a laminated back was put on a supposedly solid backed carvin cobalt. I really don't go for them myself... I tend to be more of a Guild and Martin person. Not only is it the jangley tone, but I just love the feeling of a twelve string... but I find that it's just mostly me. I've been planning on buying a Taylor 12 for about six months now, so I'm currently looking at a 355ce or a 755... possibly the Leo Kottke Signature Model (LKSM) as well... I know a guy who has a 755 for $750... used at the guitar shop in town... not a bad deal, but I like the feeling of the LKSM or the 355ce. The only problem is that Taylor fired a luthier for his non-conservative views... and there was a big issue on that. I love Taylor's sound though... I may just have to suck up political views on this one... I've also been looking at a Guild JF-30 and an F-212 as well as a Martin D-12-28 or a D-1-12... D-1-12 isn't a bad deal... runs anywhere from $500-$800...Guild F-212 is about $700... I can get the Taylor for $1300ish or maybe less since I know the owner of the shop really well and I've bought three or four in the past and he's knocked it down and even got a friend in Gibson to speed one of my orders up. I love dealing with Mom and Pop type of shops versus Guitar Hell (Guitar Center ).
I have a Concorde acoustic 12-string. Don't ask me about the name, I don't have a clue who made it either. The guy I bought it off said it was about 21 years old...that was in 1999...so I guess it must be 26 now It was £70, if I remember correctly. The action is a bit fiddly, but the intonation is fine and it sounds good
I was in acrap job for a while, and they offered a bonus to people who stayed until the end of the contract. I happened to be one of those people, so I spent £400 on a 12-string guitar once I got my bonus. It's a tanglewood TW55 12NS and it rocks. I searched a few guitar shops, mainly playing six strings, until I tried out a guitar shop that was close to home, and tried out their 12 strings. They had three of them: the tanglewood, which I bought, a yamaha and an ovation doubleneck. I went for the tanglewood in the end. I use it quite a bit. I find it's a good guitar to play, because i don't play in a band or anything, and the depth that a 12 string has can give the illusion of more than one guitar. I'm the only guy I know wit ha 12 string, and many guitarists i've met who've played my 12 string comment that it's like one guitar which sounds like two. I love the fatter neck on it. it's a bit cumbersome, but when you get used to it, it has some kind of charm to it that makes it cool to play. I keep my 12 string tuned in E flat, a semitone lower than usual, mainly because I switch between E and E flat tuning a lot, and I find it easier to keep it a semitone lower, and use a capo to step it up to E. Traditionally, 12 strings are tuned lower than 6-strings (In the past, construction wasn't the best, and 12 strings were tuned lower to compensate for extra tension.) and it's kinda nice to keep the tradition going. I find that 12 strings lend themselves well to a lowered tuning. The jangly sound goes well when a song is played a semitone lower. But I keep it lower as a matter of convenience. My main complaint about 12 strings is that they're a bastard to tune, and an even bigger bastard to restring. I restrung my 12 string for the first time a couple of months ago (It's due for another re-string soon) and it was a nightmare. I broke a couple of bridge pins in the process. I hate restringing guitars, and a 12 string is twice the hassle, but when you got a guitar which sounds so cool, it is worth it. Tanglewood is a brand i'd recommend to a lot of guitarists. I've played some of their 6 strings, and you get your bang for your buck. I paid £400 for my 12 string, and many people who play it say it sound slike it cost twice that. When i was last out guitar shopping, I tried out some tanglewoods, and was very impressed. They competed with many more expensive guitars, and the prices were £200-400. quite good for a guitarist on a budget, who wants a fairly decent instrument. they sound like they cost more than they do.
lol, yeah, that's kind of the point of a 12 string guitar - to sound like 2. That's why there's large 6 strings, and a thinner 6 strings. I like a 12 string, but it's like an alternate tuning - it gets pretty lame if you over use it, which is why I generally stuck with my 6 strings in my music anyway.
Most of us that have been playing for awhile have alot more then one guitar.It takes different sounds/textures for different genres.Guitars and guitar stands,its a beautiful thing.
Thanks... . I need to work at it a bit. Jumbos with huge necks.... once I get used to it, it will make my Martin dreads seem puny and thin when I switch back and forth.
