I had some GAS recently, and today the 12-string I ordered arrived. It was an ebay special (or not-so-special) - an almost new bottom-of-the-line budget model from a manufacturer I have never heard of (Conrad). Set me back all of £45.
Anyway this thing arrives and I can instantly see that I hate it - it's so laminated and shiny it looks like it's made of plastic, and it has one of those awful matt painted fingerboards that looks like a school blackboard. The name on the headstock is basically a sticker, and the bit of paper inside the sound hole looks like it was printed off someone's home computer. Anyway it's good as new, nothing wrong with it apart from the overall cheapness of build (the likes of which I have never seen before, and I have owned a number of "El Cheapo" acoustics). So I pick it up and start to play...
...and the sound is just YUCK!!! The thing is in tune, and there's nothing wrong with the way I'm playing it, but it just sounds horrible, and I'm guessing it has nothing to do with the quality of the guitar. You see, it sounds like my electric when I turn up the "chorus" effect on my amp to the maximum... or if I was playing through an octave pedal (which is kind of logical). Trouble is, I HATE both of those effects! The sound makes me cringe. Of course, never having played a 12-string before, I didn't know it would sound like this. I always saw 12-strings as the Holy Grail of my guitar-owning ambitions. How wrong I was.
So I'm guessing this guitar will be out of my house within 2 weeks (and I should be able to make a small profit on it too) - and has saved me a lot of grief in shopping for an upmarket 12-string. Meanwhile, does anyone know any songs that will really get the most out of this 12-string's awful sound?
PS: I guess this makes a change from all those threads where people brag about their lovely new gear and everyone congratulates them on their purchase!
i am sure david will never agree to it :wink:
12strings rule! its cause u bought the el cheapo. I tried out a jumbo taylor 12string at the LMS last weekend and i cried when i had to hang it up w/ its $1,200 price tag. Alot of Neil Young songs are great for 12 string, down by the river and heart of gold being 2 fav's. All of America's songs are good too, Horse w/ no name being the easiest, with sandman a close 2nd.... Watching Rust never sleeps, and im gonna sell my daily driver for that 12 string:)
Thinkin' bout the times we had
Some were good and some were bad
guitar fightin' the tv
i was thinkin bout you and me
Don't blame 12 strings, they are great in their realm. many fingerpicked songs are wonderful on a 12.
look into some Byrds, Leo Kottke and the like. i recently purchased a Tak eg523sc 12 and i'm very happy.
they take some getting used to and there are many ways to tune them.
my feelings are that what you bought sounds like a cheap guitar because that's what it is. i can't see getting anything that sounds good in a 12 string model for less than $300-$400.
#4491....
I understand your point of view, but I suggest you play with it a bit longer. A 12-string sounds like a 12-string. The higher chorus sound is what it's supposed to do. Your reaction is similar to someone buying a Telecaster and saying they hate the "twang". Don't hate them for what they are. They are different and take some time to get used to.
Try playing some songs that have a lot of strumming. Try changing your strum patterns to emphasize the higher or lower strings. Or try picking songs like "House of the Rising Sun" and listen to how the notes combine differently.
Then if you don't like it, post it in the Swap Meet.
-Laz
PS: It would be nice if you added you location to your profile. You have several neighbors in the UK.
A Twelve string to me is one of those guitars than can't be skimped on.
Get a good one. They play easier and sound better.
Until recently, when I got my Ric 360-12, my 68 Yamaha accustic was my "only" axe.
The greatest problem is the tuning. Once in full correct tune, the sound
of a 12 string is 2nd to none.
However, you can only tune a 12 to a certain point using a tuner,
the rest is strictly be ear, using harmonics.
IE - D string matching the D on the B string, etc.
Clear as mud?
..............................Dj
I happened to pick up a 12-string the other day at Sam Ash. An el-cheapo thing priced at something like $200. I played Tangerine on it and it sounded SO SWEET. I see one on the horizon. Actually considering an electric LP style knock off for $300. We'll see what axe-mas brings. :)
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
Hey, this an old thread that's changed its focus. I've split the last two posts and shipped them to:
http://forums.guitarnoise.com/viewtopic.php?t=28260
I'm going to lock this one since it seems to have hit its expiration date. If you want to continue this discussion, follow the link!
Thanks!
Well we all shine on--like the moon and the stars and the sun.
-- John Lennon
