Post by grayn on Mar 23, 2015 21:21:04 GMT
Blimey, I'm knackered. Been out all day, with the Mrs. Fortunately I've got a few days off work. Drove over to Preston and after a little, conventional mooching, I gave the Mrs, the slip. Headed for the nearest music shop, HW Audio. I'd been toying with the idea of getting back into a bit of 12-string playing. But the shop only had one twelver in. A Fender Tim Armstrong Hellcat. I wasn't going to bother, as initially it looks a bit cheap and has
quite a thin body depth. But the shop guy put it in my hands and actually, acoustically, it sounded bloody good. Twice, in the past, I've owned 2 twelvers, together. A Landola jumbo with a Yamaha APX12 and an Eastman jumbo with a Fender Villager. In both cases, the jumbos were the far better guitars, with really full tones but in some ways, I thought the cheaper models were kind of, more useful. It's my opinion that twelvers with large bodies and huge tones can just be a bit too much. Especially when playing with others.
The Hellcat had a very attractive sound. Nice and bright, reasonably full and being all mahogany, woody and warm. It had a nice, low action but in standard pitch/tuning, it felt a little stiff. Amped up, it sounded pretty good but not as good as it did acoustically. It was definitely in the running and at a very low price.
Next I went to Music Cellar but none of their twelvers appealed to me. So we drove on to Cleveleys and Frets Guitar Centre. Here I tried a higher end, Japanese, Takamine P3DC-12. This is a cutaway dread, with a cedar/sapele wood combo. A very good guitar but it didn't appeal somehow. Also had a go on a Fender CJ290 SCE 12. A big jumbo, with a spruce/maple wood combo. This was a lot classier than the Hellcat but I didn't like it half as much, though.
So, after a trip to the sea front and some nosh, we headed home. I asked the ever patient Mrs, if we could stop off in Blackburn. It was agreed and I parked up and headed for Reidys. They had quite a few twelvers in, including the Gordon Giltrap model. But it looked a bit tired and I find it's looks a bit depressing, somehow. There was only one twelver that really got my attention, a Yamaha CPX700II-12. I've been a bit of a Yamaha fan, for some years. I still remember with great fondness, a Yammy LS500, I'd owned. The CPX, like the APX Yamahas, are built as electros. But unlike the boxy APX models, the CPX's have a nice acoustic tone. A tone very much to my taste, for a twelver. Not too full and overwhelming but still with plenty of body and sparkle. It projects well, with good definition and quite a ringing tone. Low action, like the Hellcat but not so stiff feeling. The shop guy reckoned he could get the action down further but it was low enough for me, already. Plugged into an Acus combo, it sounded fantastic. Very natural. This Yammy uses tranducers, attached under the soundboard, just above the bridge. Very impressive.
Overall then, this is a quality guitar, very well designed and put together. It plays and sounds great. OK it's not going to win any beauty prizes. The only part that stands out to me visually, is the headstock. It is very cool,
being bound and sporting a lovely Compass logo. The 700II-12 is part of Yamaha's compass series. It's now home with me and getting plenty of attention.
General specifications
Top: Solid Spruce
Back & Sides: Nato
Neck: Nato
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Bridge: Rosewood
Body Depth: 95-115mm (3 3/4" - 4 1/4")
Nut Width: 46mm (1.8")
String Length: 634mm (25")
Preamp: System 64 1-way A.R.T.
quite a thin body depth. But the shop guy put it in my hands and actually, acoustically, it sounded bloody good. Twice, in the past, I've owned 2 twelvers, together. A Landola jumbo with a Yamaha APX12 and an Eastman jumbo with a Fender Villager. In both cases, the jumbos were the far better guitars, with really full tones but in some ways, I thought the cheaper models were kind of, more useful. It's my opinion that twelvers with large bodies and huge tones can just be a bit too much. Especially when playing with others.
The Hellcat had a very attractive sound. Nice and bright, reasonably full and being all mahogany, woody and warm. It had a nice, low action but in standard pitch/tuning, it felt a little stiff. Amped up, it sounded pretty good but not as good as it did acoustically. It was definitely in the running and at a very low price.
Next I went to Music Cellar but none of their twelvers appealed to me. So we drove on to Cleveleys and Frets Guitar Centre. Here I tried a higher end, Japanese, Takamine P3DC-12. This is a cutaway dread, with a cedar/sapele wood combo. A very good guitar but it didn't appeal somehow. Also had a go on a Fender CJ290 SCE 12. A big jumbo, with a spruce/maple wood combo. This was a lot classier than the Hellcat but I didn't like it half as much, though.
So, after a trip to the sea front and some nosh, we headed home. I asked the ever patient Mrs, if we could stop off in Blackburn. It was agreed and I parked up and headed for Reidys. They had quite a few twelvers in, including the Gordon Giltrap model. But it looked a bit tired and I find it's looks a bit depressing, somehow. There was only one twelver that really got my attention, a Yamaha CPX700II-12. I've been a bit of a Yamaha fan, for some years. I still remember with great fondness, a Yammy LS500, I'd owned. The CPX, like the APX Yamahas, are built as electros. But unlike the boxy APX models, the CPX's have a nice acoustic tone. A tone very much to my taste, for a twelver. Not too full and overwhelming but still with plenty of body and sparkle. It projects well, with good definition and quite a ringing tone. Low action, like the Hellcat but not so stiff feeling. The shop guy reckoned he could get the action down further but it was low enough for me, already. Plugged into an Acus combo, it sounded fantastic. Very natural. This Yammy uses tranducers, attached under the soundboard, just above the bridge. Very impressive.
Overall then, this is a quality guitar, very well designed and put together. It plays and sounds great. OK it's not going to win any beauty prizes. The only part that stands out to me visually, is the headstock. It is very cool,
being bound and sporting a lovely Compass logo. The 700II-12 is part of Yamaha's compass series. It's now home with me and getting plenty of attention.
General specifications
Top: Solid Spruce
Back & Sides: Nato
Neck: Nato
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Bridge: Rosewood
Body Depth: 95-115mm (3 3/4" - 4 1/4")
Nut Width: 46mm (1.8")
String Length: 634mm (25")
Preamp: System 64 1-way A.R.T.