So here’s my report after playing my F512 for the first time:
Full disclosure: Owning a 12 string has been a secret fantasy of mine since I was a young boy, growing up in the 70’s listening to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and the likes. Although I’ve had a few guitars over the years, the 12 string has always eluded me or seemed frivolous as my “next guitar”.
And to be honest, when I set my sights on the iconic F512, I wasn’t really expecting to find one. I voluntarily set the bar high so that it would be hard to find… Searching for a perfect, pre-owned, 10/10, fairly priced, New Hartord F512 which has been out of production for almost 4 years and virtually nonexistent on the used market seemed like a safe place to harbor my GAS, at least for a while… that is until TX sent a link my way. And there it was.
So I had a decision to make, would I pass up the opportunity and brush it off as just a frivolous endeavor or would I listen to the young boy who dreamed of playing like Jimmy Page? I guess we now know the answer to that .
So this morning after making myself a good cup of coffee, I went down to the basement to find my new beauty:
I inspected her from top to bottom and I have to say that this guitar is NOT in MINT condition. It’s better than that, it’s basically a 4 year old NEW guitar. It could have shipped directly from the GUILD shop and you wouldn’t know the difference. There aren’t even any marks on the pickguard when you hold it up to the light.
But how does it sound? That is the question.
Taking the F512 out of its case to play it for the first time is kind of like unleashing a caged beast. At first it growls at you, makes all these scary sounds and you wonder, what have I done? After getting over the initial intimidation, I settled down and got to know her a bit better. Tuning it was quite the task, but once I hit the sweet spot… Oh my god… the wall of sound hit me! And that was that…
Obviously, the kid in me needed to play “Wish you were here”, “Over the Hills and Far Away”, “Stairway”… and get that out of my system. I can tell you, I ain’t no Jimmy Page or Leo Kottle, but man what a trip!
Stepping down from my cloud for a few moments, if I try to be a bit more critical, I would say the guitar would probably benefit from a good setup. Obviously, the player needs to up his game, and I will work on that in the coming months.
The action seems a bit high for my taste at 0.09” at the 12th fret for low E. As a comparison, my D55 is an incredible 0.06” and I can play it hard with no buzzing.
So I’d like to get it down to 0.07” if I can. There is plenty of height on the saddle and room for a truss rod adjustment, so it should be relatively easy to lower the action.
Regarding the string spacing at the nut: It feels as though the space within each pair (between the string and its octave) is a bit wide for my taste.
I will play the guitar for a while before deciding on anything, but cutting a new nut might be something I would consider down the road. But this is just personal taste.
So all in all, this guitar is beyond what I was hoping for. It sounds incredible and looks amazing. It is also btw my first jumbo, and I must say it feels great in my lap. Big guitars seem to suit me and my playing style. It weighs 5.8 lbs, just about 1 lb more the D55, but it somehow feels light and very balanced in my lap. The neck is also relatively comfortable although my barre chords were not 100% clean when playing up the neck. Lowering the action, and maybe tuning down a half step or full step + practice will probably take car if that.
Brothers in arms
So this closes my F512 adventure, or rather, this it where it begins. Can't wait learn some new stuff, playing techniques, try different tunings, strings and experiment.
This is going to be a blast!:biggrin-new:
![IMG_3087.jpg"](https://preview.ibb.co/jvoOR6/IMG_3087.jpg")
