12 string love

Cougar

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Man, my 12-string story covers about 50 years.
<To be continued>

Well, to make a long story short....

My brother brought back a 70s Epiphone 12-string from Hong Kong. Gave it to my dad who never played it, so I absconded with it after a while, but I never really played it much either. It's in mint shape, but not worth much. Which is a shame because it plays and sounds pretty darn good! My travel 12-string.

str167.jpg


Then I got the 12-string bug and bought a Takamine jumbo burst with abalone rosette. Pretty! Played and sounded OK. But by playing it, I was motivated to get a really good 12-string. Which meant Guild. So I joined LTG, got tipped to my JF30-12 that was down at Dana Point near Corona, CA. Made the trip (well, I was going to be traveling nearby anyway), picked it up. A total keeper holy grail 12er!

gfj350.jpg


Later got the "little" Martin GPC12PA4 just for fun. Turned out to be a pretty cool little guitar.

Then, again TX tipped about a New Hartford F-212XLCE at a pretty stupid-low price. Hard to pass up that deal, which I didn't. It was essentially mint - my preferred condition :tiger: - but its mahogany was decidedly second fiddle to the JF30-12's maple, and I reluctantly packed her up and shipped her off in order to help fund the Gibson rosewood Songwriter 12, which is ALSO second fiddle to the JF30-12. :stupid:
 

Rayk

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Well, to make a long story short....

My brother brought back a 70s Epiphone 12-string from Hong Kong. Gave it to my dad who never played it, so I absconded with it after a while, but I never really played it much either. It's in mint shape, but not worth much. Which is a shame because it plays and sounds pretty darn good! My travel 12-string.

str167.jpg


Then I got the 12-string bug and bought a Takamine jumbo burst with abalone rosette. Pretty! Played and sounded OK. But by playing it, I was motivated to get a really good 12-string. Which meant Guild. So I joined LTG, got tipped to my JF30-12 that was down at Dana Point near Corona, CA. Made the trip (well, I was going to be traveling nearby anyway), picked it up. A total keeper holy grail 12er!

gfj350.jpg


Later got the "little" Martin GPC12PA4 just for fun. Turned out to be a pretty cool little guitar.

Then, again TX tipped about a New Hartford F-212XLCE at a pretty stupid-low price. Hard to pass up that deal, which I didn't. It was essentially mint - my preferred condition :tiger: - but its mahogany was decidedly second fiddle to the JF30-12's maple, and I reluctantly packed her up and shipped her off in order to help fund the Gibson rosewood Songwriter 12, which is ALSO second fiddle to the JF30-12. :stupid:

Cool was hoping you'd pop up and I'm sorry I missed your first post .

To bad the 212 didn't work out I can't enough about mine but each ear to his own . Lol

I do really want the 512 and like most of us I get dizzy trying to pick which one will be the next guitar .

I have 3 at the moment that at the top of the list . 2 guilds F30r and the F512 and a custom SJ for my bud in Malaysia . It's the that pinky out thing I mentioned in another post lol

Oh just to say been to long since I've heard a new tune . TTM has this months challenge is out , light and dark lol git to love popsG haha . Give it a thought and if I can give shameful plug www.twotrackmusic.com
Since there is no active writing and recording threads here I hope you don't mind me sharing . Also anyone interested regardless of skill level getting involved your always welcome . We have the best virtual bar around always well stocked lol
 
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Cougar

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Oh just to say been to long since I've heard a new tune . TTM has this months challenge is out , light and dark lol git to love popsG haha . Give it a thought and if I can give shameful plug www.twotrackmusic.com

Man, you know it. The bottleneck is, I like to have a rhythm track in the mix, and I'm having a hard time finding the right one off the multitude of them in the Motif. I actually recorded something into the DR05 yesterday. The tempo was too slow, and it was the wrong guitar for the piece. But I recorded something!

Yeah TTM is a cool place and idea for a place. I ought to participate there more....
 

Rayk

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Man, you know it. The bottleneck is, I like to have a rhythm track in the mix, and I'm having a hard time finding the right one off the multitude of them in the Motif. I actually recorded something into the DR05 yesterday. The tempo was too slow, and it was the wrong guitar for the piece. But I recorded something!

Yeah TTM is a cool place and idea for a place. I ought to participate there more....

Yeah I get it for me drums are my worst enemy . I can bang out great rhythms on objects but finding a track or loop to fit my style is rough very rough lol programming them has not worked II hear rthythms thing is as far as Newage and or World music goes I'm finding tracks that fit or work is next to impossible though I do feel you have a better chance then me lol

An idea like my echoes of the mind in which I found found stuff around the house to make sounds . 😊

I also need to get back on keys still waiting for me to finish my studio desk ,more to it but I'll save that for another thread or PM .

Forgive the O.C.D were back in track now nothing to see here , please move along lol
.
 

Grassdog

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Wow Cougar that JF-30 of yours is a thing to behold. If it sounds only half as good as it looks . . .

I meant JF-30-12 of course
 

Cougar

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Yeah I get it for me drums are my worst enemy . I can bang out great rhythms on objects but finding a track or loop to fit my style is rough very rough lol programming them has not worked II hear rthythms thing is as far as Newage and or World music goes I'm finding tracks that fit or work is next to impossible though I do feel you have a better chance then me lol

Yeah, you're very ambient, so a steady rockin', bumpin', movin', rhythm section would not typically go well. :tiger: I love that ambient.... when I'm feelin' ambient. But for me, I want to try for upbeat! Man, it's a tough gig these days, but somebody's got to do it! :tiger:

I also need to get back on keys still waiting for me to finish my studio desk ,more to it but I'll save that for another thread or PM .

What??? I've never heard this side of you, Ray. :acne: Man, I've banged on keys for.... lessee... about 67 years. Since I was 4. Ain't no Oscar Robinson, but I can rip a riff once in a while....
 

Rayk

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Yeah, you're very ambient, so a steady rockin', bumpin', movin', rhythm section would not typically go well. :tiger: I love that ambient.... when I'm feelin' ambient. But for me, I want to try for upbeat! Man, it's a tough gig these days, but somebody's got to do it! :tiger:



What??? I've never heard this side of you, Ray. :acne: Man, I've banged on keys for.... lessee... about 67 years. Since I was 4. Ain't no Oscar Robinson, but I can rip a riff once in a while....

I'm not die hard on keys I use them like my Native flute, if I need a part I pick them up and start banging stuff out . I don't practice them or play them until I actually need the instrument lol .

Anyway you had to hear them on my ambient songs , smooth storm , mission Mars and that ocean one with the whales lol oh and my holloween tune .

Ok need to stop here to much derailing going on .
 

portsider

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Wow! Threads like this are why I love LTG.
I lost my guitar to a car wreck in 1970. My friend had an F312 that got stolen and he replaced it with an F212. I’d admired his guilds for a long time and knew that was what I wanted.
So in early 1971 I walked into this new store on Van Ness Ave. called “Guitar Center”. Hanging on the wall was a used F412 that had been modded with a pickup (removed and the holes filled) a vol and tone knob Adan output jack all drilled into the body. I took my friend in with me and he checked it out and agreed it was worth the $400 they wanted. Since I uncarictaristically had the money I grabbed it.
I’d recently met Je’ Titus who was Robbie Basho’s luthier. I got him to remove the knobs and fill the holes on the top. He removed the jack from the side but he thought it was best not to fill the hole.
So there I was with I’m guessing a Hoboken F412. I didn’t know to check the location then. It was the best guitar I have ever owned. It sounded gloriously resonant.
Fast forward to 1984 I was in a rock band and needed a decent amp and sold the Guild to buy one. That was the worst gear move I have ever made.
After four years of working more than playing, I got the 12 string itch and picked up a used Takamine at Zavarella’s music in Roslyn Va. Very nice but it wasn’t a Guild. I found an F212 an Washington Music Center it cost me $200 and the Tak.
I had that for years, got better tuners put on it and enjoyed it greatly, but I still missed the F412. I also found a Vox 12 string dread with a pickup from the ‘60’s. Basically an EKO Renger with a Vox logo. It was nice too but I let it go... hey, I had a Guild.
I found a badly beat up 412 on eBay. It needed a neck reset and had a number of other issues, but I got it with case for around $700. No way I was going to pay for one in good shape so I got it. It was as bad as advertised so I took it to Charlie in Safety Harbor and he fixed it up for around $300. The guitar turned out really nice, maybe 90% of what my original F412 was but I was happy. I had to sell the 212 to cover the cost of this baby, but who needs more than 1 12, right?
After that I decided I needed an electric 12. I’d gone through a couple of Danos and they were cool but not focused enough for the band. I’d been playing Reverend guitars for years and decided to make my own. I took a Warmoth 12 string neck and a Reverend body and put together a 12 string. It was cool but my skills were not up to the job and it wasn’t quite functional. So I parted it out and sadly went on without an electric 12.
A couple of years later I happened upon another Reverend body and an incredible Warmoth 12 string neck. So I shipped them off to Joe’s Music in Michigan and had them do the job properly. It came out a real keeper.
A year passesand I came to regret selling my 212 so I went on a long search dor an affordable Guild 12 and found an F212XL for $400 on eBay. It needed $150 worth of work and now I have two Guild 12s.
Long post, not too disjointed I hope.
 

Mark WW

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zCool story...but the answer regarding only needing (1) 12 string is NO. Two is a minimum and 3 is better with satisfaction increasing as units acquired.
 

Rayk

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Wow! Threads like this are why I love LTG.
I lost my guitar to a car wreck in 1970. My friend had an F312 that got stolen and he replaced it with an F212. I’d admired his guilds for a long time and knew that was what I wanted.
So in early 1971 I walked into this new store on Van Ness Ave. called “Guitar Center”. Hanging on the wall was a used F412 that had been modded with a pickup (removed and the holes filled) a vol and tone knob Adan output jack all drilled into the body. I took my friend in with me and he checked it out and agreed it was worth the $400 they wanted. Since I uncarictaristically had the money I grabbed it.
I’d recently met Je’ Titus who was Robbie Basho’s luthier. I got him to remove the knobs and fill the holes on the top. He removed the jack from the side but he thought it was best not to fill the hole.
So there I was with I’m guessing a Hoboken F412. I didn’t know to check the location then. It was the best guitar I have ever owned. It sounded gloriously resonant.
Fast forward to 1984 I was in a rock band and needed a decent amp and sold the Guild to buy one. That was the worst gear move I have ever made.
After four years of working more than playing, I got the 12 string itch and picked up a used Takamine at Zavarella’s music in Roslyn Va. Very nice but it wasn’t a Guild. I found an F212 an Washington Music Center it cost me $200 and the Tak.
I had that for years, got better tuners put on it and enjoyed it greatly, but I still missed the F412. I also found a Vox 12 string dread with a pickup from the ‘60’s. Basically an EKO Renger with a Vox logo. It was nice too but I let it go... hey, I had a Guild.
I found a badly beat up 412 on eBay. It needed a neck reset and had a number of other issues, but I got it with case for around $700. No way I was going to pay for one in good shape so I got it. It was as bad as advertised so I took it to Charlie in Safety Harbor and he fixed it up for around $300. The guitar turned out really nice, maybe 90% of what my original F412 was but I was happy. I had to sell the 212 to cover the cost of this baby, but who needs more than 1 12, right?
After that I decided I needed an electric 12. I’d gone through a couple of Danos and they were cool but not focused enough for the band. I’d been playing Reverend guitars for years and decided to make my own. I took a Warmoth 12 string neck and a Reverend body and put together a 12 string. It was cool but my skills were not up to the job and it wasn’t quite functional. So I parted it out and sadly went on without an electric 12.
A couple of years later I happened upon another Reverend body and an incredible Warmoth 12 string neck. So I shipped them off to Joe’s Music in Michigan and had them do the job properly. It came out a real keeper.
A year passesand I came to regret selling my 212 so I went on a long search dor an affordable Guild 12 and found an F212XL for $400 on eBay. It needed $150 worth of work and now I have two Guild 12s.
Long post, not too disjointed I hope.

Great story and a 400 buck F212XL is great to ! 😁
 

Grassdog

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Nice story. It's funny how we remember details like this about our guitars, especially the one that got away, but for me anyway I can't remember names of people I used to work with not that long ago.
 

JohnW63

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I don't have such a long 12 string story. I just really remember some John Denver songs that sounded "different" and figured out they were played with a 12 string. Then like many, I'l bet, SuperTramp in the 70s got me thinking about 12 strings. I never got one, for a long time. I would always try one, when I saw one, hanging on the hook at any music store. Most were out of tune. I finally got one. An Ovation 1758 Elite. I think it was $500 at GC. That was only a few years ago. Stays in tune really well and does not sound like your typical jangly 12 string, which is good. I go through stages where I play it a good amount and times where I don't. Since the tunes I'm learning are in the Jazz type and I'm working on solo stuff, it hasn't been played in quite a while. Threads like this ALWAYS make me want to take it out !

It looks like this:
p3esmjg9mmzwlktzopiz.jpg


I don't have much issues with lap sliding Ovations.
 

Rayk

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I don't have such a long 12 string story. I just really remember some John Denver songs that sounded "different" and figured out they were played with a 12 string. Then like many, I'l bet, SuperTramp in the 70s got me thinking about 12 strings. I never got one, for a long time. I would always try one, when I saw one, hanging on the hook at any music store. Most were out of tune. I finally got one. An Ovation 1758 Elite. I think it was $500 at GC. That was only a few years ago. Stays in tune really well and does not sound like your typical jangly 12 string, which is good. I go through stages where I play it a good amount and times where I don't. Since the tunes I'm learning are in the Jazz type and I'm working on solo stuff, it hasn't been played in quite a while. Threads like this ALWAYS make me want to take it out !

It looks like this:
p3esmjg9mmzwlktzopiz.jpg


I don't have much issues with lap sliding Ovations.

Sweet my sliding issue mist likely is the because the way I held it ? I almost always play with the lower bout on top of my leg but geez that was 30yrs ago ... Man where does the time go ? Lol
 

adorshki

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Then like many, I'l bet, SuperTramp in the 70s got me thinking about 12 strings. I never got one, for a long time..
Does anybody really have to guess what brand of 12-er Roger Hodgson played?
fdd73f084a1fe44e5f8b337a53f5b6cca19a0675

Steve Miller too:
R-2121989-1491158993-4653.jpeg.jpg
 
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JohnW63

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Sweet my sliding issue mist likely is the because the way I held it ?

Back then, did you wear polyester ? Darn slippery slacks back then. Did you by any chance a..." convex " torso that might have kept the guitar at a greater distance ?

Worst case, use a strap. Best case, but a bit of rubbery shelf liner on your leg for the guitar to grip on. Of course they now have the "contour back" shaped bowls that might help.
 

adorshki

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Back then, did you wear polyester ? Darn slippery slacks back then. Did you by any chance a..." convex " torso that might have kept the guitar at a greater distance ?
I didn't have any of those issues at the tender Levi-wearing age of 15 and they still slipped off my lap quicker'n my girlfriend whenever her sister'd come into the room.
Never could figure out how folks could put up with that, (the guitar, that is) and it was a sticking point for me ever since.
So you're saying the fix is to wear sticky pants?
 

12 string

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My 12 string love started at a Pete Seeger concert in the early '60s. I just HAD to have one but not many were being made. Anywhere. I found a Framus from Germany which wasn't too bad. I remember it had a sunburst finish, slotted headstock, 12 fret neck, short scale, and a classical style bridge. The strings were threaded through the holes in the back of the bridge. No bridge pins. I'd only had it a few months when I traded it in for another Framus with a 14 fret neck and a trapeze tail piece. It had screw mechanisms to allow adjustment of saddle action, similar to tailpiece Gibson 12s. Speaking of which, I sold that Framus after a few months to help finance my Gibson B-45 12N, which I still have. Long story short, my first of many Guilds was a 1970 F-112. After that I went a little overboard.
 
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