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Post by sigmadel on Nov 14, 2013 22:54:57 GMT
I was wondering today about the gorgeous handmade guitars on the forum . Dave's stuff , Tarans , Brook , Sobell , Kostal , etc... does anyone have a handmade 12er ? Its just looking around there doesn't seem to be many 12s knocking around made in this way . I know they're not as popular as the old 6 string but there are a few players on here , do we all play factory made or do any off you own a custom made hand built beaut hiding away .
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Nov 14, 2013 23:52:19 GMT
Far Eastern factory job - Vintage Paul Brett Signature 12. For me, a 12er is something I use a lot less than my other instruments and so haven't felt justified in looking at 12ers of the same quality as my 6ers. Never played any seriously good 12ers so can't make any comparisons, but the PB 12er sounds great to me, especially tuned down for that old-fashioned growly sound and plays easily strummed or fingerstyle - the latter being what attracted me to it. Excellent value for money.
Keith
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Post by K Tresp on Nov 15, 2013 0:32:13 GMT
Lowden make some pretty amazing 12 strings
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gwmpy
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My main instrument is: 12 string guitar, B bender tele's c'hammer banjo
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Post by gwmpy on Nov 15, 2013 8:28:17 GMT
I've had 3 Fylde 12 strings. A Prospero, Custom Falstaff and a Magician. I currently have 2 Taylor LKSM 12 strings, which IMHO, are the best 12 strings I have played, but that is subjective. The Custom Fylde Falstaff(1976) was one heck of a 12 string. If I can get over this banjo craze, I'll have to have a look at the PB 12 strings some day.
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Nov 15, 2013 9:11:55 GMT
Would love to hear more about those Fyldes sometime gwmpy - did you take any pics or record them when you had them? Keith
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Post by earwighoney on Nov 15, 2013 10:03:17 GMT
I've had 3 Fylde 12 strings. A Prospero, Custom Falstaff and a Magician. I currently have 2 Taylor LKSM 12 strings, which IMHO, are the best 12 strings I have played, but that is subjective. The Custom Fylde Falstaff(1976) was one heck of a 12 string. If I can get over this banjo craze, I'll have to have a look at the PB 12 strings some day. The general consensus is that the Kottke Signature Taylor 12's are some of the best 12's out there, but in the UK they are difficult to find. I myself have a Guild 12 string, which is awesome. I love it but don't play it that much as playing the 12 string is a difficult thing to do at the best of times! Then there's restringing it, which is a horrible, horrible thing to do. Del makes a good point about there being a lack of single luthier's making 12 strings; I think that's just down to there being a lack of players 12 strings as it is, there probably isn't a huge amount of demand for them. Personally, I believe the 12 string is something which a custom build would do a good job to sort out individual requirements; things like string spacing between the pairs, then off the pairs, height of the strings if you are a fingerpicker etc etc.
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gwmpy
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My main instrument is: 12 string guitar, B bender tele's c'hammer banjo
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Post by gwmpy on Nov 15, 2013 11:49:04 GMT
Hey earwighoney, IMHO, the Kottke 12 strings are the best I have played. That does not mean that the Lowdens or Guilds are not as good, just for what I wanted them for and how easy they are for me to play. One of my favourite 12 string players, Ralph Towner plays Guilds, so that in itself speak volumes. The LKSM 12 strings are a breeze to play due to their neck profiles. It took me a while to get use to their string spacing compared to the Fyldes which had a wider fingerboards. The wider fingerboards really suited me when I played with fingerpicks etc. Keith, The Fylde Falstaff(1976) was built to look like Leo Kottke's Martin conversion 12 string with a cutaway, it was one heck of a 12 string but with a neck to suit. Low C tuning never sounded so good. It ranked up there with the best I have played. The Prospero was built in 1975, and due to the 12 fret to the neck join, sounded really sweet. The Magician was the first 12 string built by Roger for that model, and it was massive. The biggest 12 string I have ever played. The Kottke 12 string, although a jumbo, just does not seem that big compared to the Magician.
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Post by earwighoney on Nov 15, 2013 12:40:00 GMT
Dweezil who used to post on the other incarnation of this forum sold his Lowden 12 for a Kottke Taylor 12.
I love the sound of Guild 12's, they seem to be a little beefier than their Taylor counterparts I've played, but if I was looking for another 12 (don't play mine enough to justify getting another one) I'd definitely go for a Taylor with the Kottke the preferred choice. Taylor 12's seem a little easier to play (not as much as Breedloves mind, which don't sound as great to my ears anyway). I saw a Kottke 12 for sale under a grand not too long, kind of regret not going for it but the 17 inch body would have been too much!
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Post by grayn on Nov 15, 2013 13:24:35 GMT
I had an Eastman 12er, which I really rated, as good as many, I'd played, that were 2 or 3 times the price.
As you can see, 12ers have their share of high end gear.
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Post by pnut on Nov 15, 2013 13:52:59 GMT
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Post by sigmadel on Nov 15, 2013 16:54:36 GMT
Its good to know that there are other high end makes out there . Taylors 12 have a great rep and I played one before I got mine but although at the time I could have bought it , it didn't seem to click or fit with me . Many say the Guilds from years ago are among the greatest ever But Ive never played one new or old . The Low den and Fylde sound interesting , I think Lowden are probably my favourite maker on the planet and I'd love a shot of one of there 12 s as would I be the same with the Fylde .
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Post by K Tresp on Nov 15, 2013 19:47:15 GMT
The lowden 12s are amazing. I have a cocobolo/redwood o35. On the subject of Taylors has anyone played the baritone 8 string - they are a really interesting instrument. The 2 extra strings at that extra bit of zing which baritones sometimes like.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2013 21:38:00 GMT
The lowden 12s are amazing. I have a cocobolo/redwood o35. On the subject of Taylors has anyone played the baritone 8 string - they are a really interesting instrument. The 2 extra strings at that extra bit of zing which baritones sometimes like. Yes, played an 8 string Taylor baritone a couple of times, unfortunately not long enough to form any real attachment to them. They are the sort of instrument I can see a real use for, but cannot possible justify their expense for what is an even more niche instrument than a baritone (or a 12 string come to that). I can imagine they would be a great instrument for those trying to emulate the wonderful Pat Metheny baritone sound. He uses a bari in nashville tuning, where the 3rd and 4th strings are an 8ve higher, which of course is exactly what the Taylor has. All I can remember is struggling slightly with its physical size, especially scale length. At the other extreme, one of my favourite 12 strings are the tiny Brook Little Silvers, which sound like little lap harpsichords. The aforementioned Dweezil used to have one and recorded some nice tunes on it which you can hear on his website (boiled sweets). Would love to see/ hear that Lowden 12 of yours Robbie
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Post by K Tresp on Nov 18, 2013 20:26:30 GMT
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Post by andy3sheds on Nov 20, 2013 1:08:20 GMT
I nearly bought a Lowden 12 once I really should have it was to replace a Seagull SM12 that I still have that's strung heavy but low I ended up with a Guild JF30-12 which won't take the heavy gauges like the Seagull despite being built like the proverbial brick outhouse. The Guild is seriously heavy won't fit a gig bag so doesn't get played out much as a result
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