12 string guitars

curtiswyant · Post by **curtiswyant** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 10:07 am

I'm looking to expand my arsenal \m/

\m/
Does anyone have any experience with "cheap" 12 string electrics and acoustics? I can't afford a nice Guild 12 or a Rickenbacker quite yet...

inverseroom · Post by **inverseroom** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 11:11 am

Yamaki Folk. Mine's from 1973 and it is AMAZING. I got it for like 200 bucks.

There is also a Takamine copy of the Martin D-17...I have the 6-string version, but there's a 12 too and it usually sells cheap. Here's the Harmony-Central page for it...

http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/D ... 389-1.html

GLEA · Post by **GLEA** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 11:13 am

I know Pete Buck and Scott McCaughey swear by those Dano 12 strings they were selling a few years ago. They said REM bought a load of them. I have an originla Bellzuki which is pretty nice. My '65 Fender XII is pretty nice, but they price of those has gone way up recently.

Try Subway Guitars in Berkeley. they made me a fad solid body 12 made from NOS Dano parts. They always are comeing up with some design, and they are probably still not too expensive.

inverseroom · Post by **inverseroom** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 11:18 am

Hodad, that's the one. I've played one of the 12's in a store, it was nice!

Wonderland · Post by **Wonderland** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 1:34 pm

I've got one of the aforementioned Danelectros.
I can certainly testify to it's Goodness & easy playability.
Mine sounds really good & I like it alot.

It was perfectly set-up when I got it, too, no intonation troubles or anything.
I don't know whether the quality varies from guitar to guitar, tho.

If you wanted to use it live...
I'd recommend replacing the strap buttons, as they're pretty flimsy.

Other than that, it's a Cool 12.
Especially considering it wasn't very expensive...like, $249 @ GC.

The Baritones that Danelectro was making @ that time were pretty damn Cool, too.
I've regretted not picking one up...more than a few times since then.
Those were only $199...feck.

Stephen Horsley · Post by **Stephen Horsley** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 2:28 pm

Another vote for the Dane 12 string. we have one, sounds great, but it never stays in tune. Have been thinking about replacing the aluminum nut with a plastic or bone one, but not sure if thats the problem.

Wonderland · Post by **Wonderland** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 2:54 pm

Mine stays in tune.
Maybe I just got Lucky.

thereminman · Post by **thereminman** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 3:08 pm

another vote for the Danolectro---
--and mine's shiny purple
like a shiny stingray bicycle!

Wonderland · Post by **Wonderland** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 3:47 pm

Purple?!?!?

Damn...
I guess I wasn't that Lucky.

Mine's Blue.
Which is fine.

But, shit, man...Purple.
That's where it's at.

jx · Post by jx » Wed Nov 09, 2005 4:05 pm

gibson celebrity 12. early 70s. small bodied acoustic dreadnought style (not LGO). cheap as chips on ebay.

biasvoltage · Post by **biasvoltage** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 8:25 pm

Yamaha makes really nice acoustic 12 strings. You can get one with a solid top for about $200 bucks. Also, for acoustic, look into the Madera line, imported by Guild in the 80s. Pretty solid. As far as electrics go, I think I saw that fender was putting the Strat XII back on the market, those were nice and around $600 a few years back. Trawl through the pawnshops, sometimes you can find goofy 60s Japanese 12 strings that someone has converted to six strings (through the clever modification of only putting 6 stirngs on), for cheap.

somniferum · Post by **somniferum** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 9:40 pm

As far as acoustic 12 strings go, I'm partial to the older 70s/early 80s MIJ ALVAREZ guitars. I have a 5054 that looks and sounds great. I think I paid $230 for it.

superapple · Post by **superapple** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 2:23 am

you spend 90% of your time tuning them..........

and 10% playing out of tune!!

covert · Post by **covert** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 6:18 am

Fender reissues the Stra Xii, every so often. They have been relatively cheap, at times, not so at other times. Great instrument, 12 saddle bridge, so you can get it to intonate properly. I like mine better than my ric.

Kyle Motor · Post by **Kyle Motor** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 6:51 am

Yet another Dano 12 user here. I got mine dirt cheap while they were still being made ($125, some guy bought it, used it for a week and took it back to the store). Worked ok for awhile. Then the action and intonation started to go bad, then it wouldn't stay in tune. Finally I sat down with it one day and went over everything; truss rod adjustment, bridge adjustment, tightened the tuners up, new strings, etc. Now the intonation is better than ever, it plays great and even stays in tune. So I think they're good, a lot of times they just need some work. It was surprisingly salvageable, as I thought the neck was too far gone.

Oh yeah, they sound really neat too. The lipstick pickups really put a lot of zing into the classic electric 12-string jangle sound.

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