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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → 12-string or not
Well Kenny, you have to admit, she must have done something to deserve being driven up the wall sometime or other. :-)
Edit to add: Welcome to Chordie.
After your first post I was going to recommend the Yamaha, but now see you already got it.
I think you'll love it.
I bought an Alvarez-Yairi DY-76 12 string in 1976 and still have it. My 26 yr old son, an accomplished musician, tells me it has the best action of any acoustic he's ever played on.
The fact is, in the 1970's, the Japanese had all the best wood available for making quality guitars, so any one from that period is gonna be a keeper.
However, never use anything heavier than light gauge strings. Even medium gauge can overstress the bridge and cause it to crack.
CONGRATS on your new old guitar.
ROCK ON!
I just met a friend for a lunch/jamming session. More of a learning session for me. he more I play the Yamaha (12 string) the more I like it. Currently I may even prefer it to my 6s.
BTW, I use light strings.
In my minimal experience I haven't met an Alvarez yet that wasn't a joy to play. I've got my eye on an AJ418SC for my next acquistion. It's a AJ60 with fancy - they call it "spalted" - maple.
i also own most everything with strings my twelve is a 70 gininni when i get her out at jams everybody has to try her plays good up and down the neck couldn't be happier if you buy don't get rid of it unless you upgrade you will always be sorry i would kill to get my first back (old craftsman archtop)but an ex ended up with it
I'm living in Europe for about six weeks. I new I couldn't go that long without a guitar so I bought a hard case for the trip. Then I fretted (no pun intended) over which guitar to take on the trip: my nice 6-string, my nice (old) 12-string, or my inexpensive 6-string. I decided on the latter because I was afraid whatever I took across the ocean would get crushed or something.
Well no damage to my inexpensive musical traveling companion but BOY do I miss the 12-string. Maybe next time?
I learned on a 12 string and it is great to have for cirtan songs that sound better with it like Hotel California.
Gave in and bought a Walden 12 string a couple of years ago (Sheryl Crowe made me do it). I use it a lot when jamming. Its one of my guarded things next to my banjo. Don't put off buying an instrument like a 12 string, you don't know what you're missing.
I took the plunge. I now own a Yamaha FG-260 slot-head twelve. Built in 1973, solid top, back, and sides. I'm cleaning it up and preparing to restring it.
Thanks for encouragement Zurf, as if I ever really needed it.
I'm glad you decided to buy a 12-string! I'm sure you're going to love it.
I learned the basics on a classical, but I really hated that guitar ...LOL ...so I invested in a new 12-string Cortez back in the early 1970s. It was an inexpensive model, but had a great feel and sound quality. I still have that guitar, but I haven't played it in ages. I guess I got hooked on my 6-strings Ovation Elite L718 acoustic/electric. However, I still love the sound of the 12-string for certain songs.
I bought my first 12 string from a catalog in 1970. Didn't even know how to tune it. A certain Warrant Officer came by one day and was amused with my tunes. He sat down with me and taught me how to tune it. Boy, there was a big difference. Anyway, I played that old cheap guitar for about 8 years until the neck pulled out of it. Tried to trade it in and the dealer just laughed at me. I purchased a new Epiphone 12 string, after a few months the bridge pulled out. Got a refund and just retired for about 6 years. Went out and bought an Ovation Custom Balladeer 6 string. What an amazing guitar. Easy to finger and the sound was great. But, I still missed the 12 string. Gave the Ovation to my son to learn on. Bought an Alvarezz 12 string, and still haven't been able to remove the smile from my face. By all means, try the 12 string, even if you have to go to the local dealer and just sit down and give one a try. They do take a little getting used to, and some of them take a while for new strings to settle in, but to me they are worth the trouble.
Funny how this thread resurfaced ...
For the last month or so , I've been working on a lot more stuff by America for my band to do , and they used a twelve on everything that I have seen so far ... Now , I've had two twelve stringers in the past and did'nt play them enough so ended up selling them both ... This time , I thought maybe I could find one to borrow for a week or so , ( trying to get a fuller sound ) , and then decide if I wanted to buy another one ... Well , nobody I know has one so I started looking at cheap new ones ... Found an Epiphone DR-212 at the Friend priced at 169.00 and ordered it thinking that if it's a total piece of crap , I can always return it , ( love that 45 day no questions return policy on anything under 2000 .00 ) ... Well , it showed up today and I can't believe the quality of this guitar ... Sounds pretty good right out of the box and after it opens up a little , I'll put good strings on it and I think it will do just fine ...
Jerry
I think I will always have one 12 string. Too much fun not to and it provides a nice change from the six and actually seems to give my fingers a break. My Yamaha FG-260 is still a work in progress. The sound is good but still not quite right. I can't quite identify what I'm looking for BUT yesterday I picked up a new Martin D12X1 or something like that. It was magical! This is the second great experience with the same exact guitar. So easy to play and so smooth. I'm not a Martin fan and own no Martins but this might be the first.
Meanwhile I played several other 6 string Martins and Taylors the same day ranging from $500 to over $2,000. My conclusions: Taylors are LOUD. Considering only sound I liked the $549 Taylor 100 series best. None of the Martins interested me except the aforementioned 12 string and it was only $599. Go figure.
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → 12-string or not
