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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → transition to 12 string
Hi everyone sorry haven`t posted on the forum for ages never seem to get time to get onto my computer ! I have been playing around for a couple of years on my acoustic can manage to knock out a few tunes , I have just acquired a 12 string was wondering if there was a way to adapt to a 12 string or is it the same old story of plenty of practice .
thanks
Hello onenumber, I'd have to say it's the same old story of practice, practice and more practice. I think you will find it easier as time goes by, I mostly play my 6 string but it's always a bit of a treat to let those 12 strings ring out now and again. There are those who say tune the 12er down a step or two but I like to keep both guitars in standard tuning.
Same old story.
If the 12er is set up correctly I find no difficulty in changing from one to the other. When I am back in the UK it is the 12er I have there that is always in my car. 
Roger
90% of the time I'm playing 6 strings. It takes me a few songs to get adjust to the wider neck on the 12. I find myself missing the strings when reaching for those fill-in notes between chords. But after a few songs it comes around.
Same as UJB. I miss a few strings due to the wider neck. Also it can be difficult to barre the thinner strings in between the bass strings. I tend to use the capo and open chords.
But I do like the sound when you let the 12er ring out.
^^^^^^^ What keepitreal said^^^^^^^
Sorry to say I haven't played any of my guitars in a long while, so now I have to get callouses again.
Speaking of which, I was told if you soak your fingers in an alum/water mixture it will toughen the ends. My British friends may want to consult your....... I believe you call them "Chemists" over there, right?
Bill
thanks guys yep got a bit more practice over the last couple of days and getting a bit more used to it , am loving the sound of it , just finding some easy songs that suit the 12 string now.
Pro tip: If you drink scotch whilst playing your 6er, your vision may double. This will give you the feeling of playing a 12 stringer, including the enormous headache when you try to tune the sucker.
I'm fortunate that my 6-string (Cordoba) has about the same width at the nut (1.8") as my 12-string (Takamine) does (1.85"). Makes transitioning easy.
You know, the comment "It's the same old story," with reference to any musical instrument isn't really the same old story. I visited my brother a couple weekends ago. He also plays music, but as a hobby (and he's pretty darned good!). Anyway, he and his wife have a pull behinds camper that makes our house look like an oversized closet. He said that they camped at a campground near Offutt AFB one year for a couple days. He said that he met a fellow who also was camping in a trailer. This man played trumpet in the U.S.Air Force Orchestra, and was quite an accomplished musician. My brother said that every morning very soon after sunup this guy would go outside his camper and start playing arpeggios for three hours. This is every day! It would wake everyone up, but no one complained because of the caliber of music that this fellow was displaying, and entertaining at the same time. My brother said it was the first time he really came to understand that the level at which you want to play DOES require practice. And if you're an entertainer at any level, the ears will tell the tale!
Pro tip: If you drink scotch whilst playing your 6er, your vision may double. This will give you the feeling of playing a 12 stringer, including the enormous headache when you try to tune the sucker.
Baldguitardude this is the best tip I have heard for years the scotch also seems to improve the singing and hearing !
I have a 25.5" scale jumbo 12 string. I tune it BEADF#Bwith mediun gauge strings. barr chords are a snap with the softer tension...much easier to fret cleanly. In a jam, if the song is in G...you are playing C chords...song in D, you are playing G chords, song in A, you are playing D chords etc...
the added benefit is that the guitar's tone really growls. The downside is, in a group...transposing on the fly. The capo(always an issue with a 12 string)is not such a problem.
Not for everyone but, it is a lot of fun.
My 2 cents, ,, Ill echo what Roger has said, get it set up real nice, biggest enhancement you can do for enjoyment. And yes you have to get used to the neck, but seeing as how I have a SG (with wider necks that they have) It hasn't effected me to much, my 12 is an Ovation so its actually a little less wide I think. Any way they are addictive, and remember when playing with others, ITS LOUDER. so watch your strumming lol Gordon Lightfoot is great for 12 string songs, and a great one to play that's easy is Copperhead Road (for when you wanna get rowdy) By Steve Eral. The song has a mandolin, but if you play the 12, it covers and sounds almost the same, and you can get down on it! LOL Of course Mother and Comfortably Numb from Pink Floyd are great ones as well as Blaze of glory by Bonjovi. One other trick btw, Tune 1/2 step down, and Capo the first fret. OR you can tune a whole step down and Capo the second fret (Yea I think thats right, someone correct me if im wrong) OH an look for a 12 string Capo. like this http://www.musiciansfriend.com/capos/sh … ductDetail
The group America used 12 strings on all there songs,they are a good choice too find great songs.
Along with the scotch, buy one of these.
https://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Tuner-Chr … er+clip+on
12 strings are like mandolins in a way. You're going to spend half your time tuning, and the other half of your time playing out of tune.
Other than that, its a guitar. You know where the notes are.
12 strings are like mandolins in a way. You're going to spend half your time tuning, and the other half of your time playing out of tune.
I must be lucky with my old Alvarez 12er. The only problem I have is the high G. The rest stay in tune quite well.
I got rid of my two long ago way too much time spent on tuning them.
I"ve had my Martin 12 string for about a year and a half now. It's one of their lower end guitars where almost everything but the top is an engineered material. I thought that would be useful for keeping it in tune. The dynabond (or whatever the heck it's called) neck in particular is stiff and resists pressure well. It stays in tune very well.
As for playing, I kind of like the sound when you can pick notes out, but I do very little soloing that way. The kind of thing where I use the cowboy chords and kind-of, sort-of pick out the melody on the treble strings works very nicely on the 12-er.
With all this discussion about the "tedium of tuning" (potential song title?) I'm grateful to have one with a built in tuner as part of the pickup system. Tuning is a real breeze with this handy little feature. Even one of those little $10 clip-on headstock tuners works well, and saves a lot of time.
Note to the tuning: I have a Seagull 12 and discovered when jumping from the 12 to my 6 mid-song that the built in tuner on my 12 actually reads a half step below the 6 reads (both have built in tuners!). So the 12 HAS to be capoed up a half step to begin with to play the same intonation as the six - at least on my Seagull. I don't know if other 12s with built in tuners are the same, but it's become a memory tool for me. As far as Seagull goes, I think it was a wise decision on their part, having reduced the stress on the stings. But it does REQUIRE the usage of a capo when playing with other musicians if reading music and tuning the instruments become an issue. Seagull neglected to mention the fact in their documentation and it was, luckily a home-practice discovery that I made that kept me from realizing that element at a possibly lesser opportune time.
My 2 cents, ,, Ill echo what Roger has said, get it set up real nice, biggest enhancement you can do for enjoyment. And yes you have to get used to the neck, but seeing as how I have a SG (with wider necks that they have) It hasn't effected me to much, my 12 is an Ovation so its actually a little less wide I think. Any way they are addictive, and remember when playing with others, ITS LOUDER. so watch your strumming lol
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → transition to 12 string
