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The best 12-string guitars 2021: our pick of 12-string acoustic and electric guitars

by admin
January 13, 2021
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What Really Makes an Instrument a Best Friend?

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The very best 12-string guitars are arguably unbeatable in relation to including an additional dimension to your enjoying. Sure they’re area of interest devices, however whether or not you favor acoustic guitars or electric guitars, a 12-string guitar’s doubling high quality lends your chords a choral sound that you just simply can’t fairly replicate with pedals or overdubs. 

With the underside 4 strings doubled an octave increased, and the highest two doubled, the 12-string guitar has a wider frequency vary, including textures and overtones and a top-end that glistens in a mixture. It could actually additionally add an ethereal high quality to your solo efficiency.

Relying on the chord development and the fingering, the most effective 12-string guitars can sound medieval or pure folks jangle. Their rise to prominence in a pop-cultural sense arrived throughout the Nineteen Sixties, simply as The Beatles’ affect was shaping the Laurel Canyon scene. In fact, that affect then boomeranged again to Merseyside after the discharge of The Seaside Boys’ timeless Pet Sounds.

It was within the psychedelic fevers and massive concepts of the Nineteen Sixties that the 12-string guitar discovered a way of objective in in style music, or fairly a way of power, so it’s no shock that a few of the fashions in our information to the most effective 12-string guitars have designs conceived in that very period.

Hypothetically, you would see the brand new wave of technically adventurous acoustic gamers taking 12-string guitar additional, or perhaps, a brand new frontier in rock could be opened up by a participant with an ear for the electrical 12-string’s potential when performed by way of a fuzz pedal or the transformative atmosphere of a multi-‘verb unit. Solely time will inform. Earlier than we unveil our full checklist of the most effective 12-string guitars, let’s take a look at a few our favorites… 

The very best 12-string guitars: Guitar World’s alternative

The Takamine P3DC is a glowing jewel within the model’s Professional Collection, and is a recent dreadnought cutaway that has luxurious playability. This beautiful 12-string guitar is designed for the stage and the studio, with a low finish authority providing a neat counterpoint within the EQ for that high finish chime. It’s a good value for an exceptionally constructed instrument, which is why it graces our greatest 12-string guitars information.

One other high decide of ours is the Rickenbacker 360/12. That is the George Harrison 12-string guitar that impressed The Byrds, The Seaside Boys, and all these prodigiously proficient West Coast musicians who bloomed totally within the mid-60s. Its mono/stereo outputs and blend management ought to set your creativeness alight! This Rickenbacker is uncommon for a 12-string guitar in that it’s strung with the low strings first, then its octave-up double. 

Selecting the most effective 12-string guitar for you

Earlier than even contemplating any of the devices featured in our greatest 12-string guitars information, in case you’re out there for certainly one of these guitars you must get your self among the finest guitar tuners. Intonation is at all times the difficulty with guitars. With 12-string guitars, our intonation considerations are doubled with a cherry on high. However there’s nothing like good design to bypass these niggles, and right here we’re seeing a whole lot of intelligent revisions to the 12-string guitar format that decrease, if not outright remove, such points.

Oftentimes, it comes all the way down to element. Is the spacing between the string pairings constant on the nut and the bridge? That’s vital, and positively one thing to look out for when auditioning devices. 

Playability can be a troublesome one with 12-string guitars. That’s since you are fretting two strings directly, and want to use extra strain to worry the notes. Right here a decrease motion could be immeasurably useful. Even these of us preferring a bit battle in our guitars are received over with low motion on a 12-string guitar.

The very best 12-string guitars to purchase now

Best 12-string guitars: Takamine P3DC 12-string

(Picture credit score: Takamine)

1. Takamine P3DC 12-string acoustic-electric guitar

The very best 12-string guitar for dreadnought followers

Worth: $1,599 / £1,039 | Kind: Dreadnought cutaway | Prime: Stable cedar | Again & sides: Stable sapele | Neck: Mahogany | Scale: 25.3” | Fingerboard: Rosewood | Frets: 21 | Electronics/Pickups: CT4B II Preamp System with 3-band EQ, quantity and tuner | Tuners: Gold with amber buttons | Left-handed: No | End: Pure, Satin

Sometimes faultless Japanese construct

Excellent playability

High quality electronics 

None!

The Takamine Professional Collection is typified by immaculate builds, stage-ready electronics and delicate moments of aesthetic aptitude which can be all of the extra impactful than the abalone armageddon all of us too typically see on different premium builds. Little understated prospers such because the amber buttons on the tuners, the ivory binding with darkish wood-trim purfling end the guitar properly.

A stable cedar high, buttressed by scalloped X-pattern bracing, is complemented by stable sapele on the again and sides, and it makes a refreshing different to spruce/mahogany. The P3DC’s dreadnought dimensions confer a considerable quantity of depth and quantity, however this tonewood cocktail will preserve you on an excellent keel EQ-wise.

The split-saddle, string-through bridge design is an actual boon for intonation. As you’d anticipate at this value, tuning and intonation usually are not a problem. Neither is the amplified tone, with the 3-band EQ on-hand to fine-tune your tone.

Best 12-string guitars: Rickenbacker 360/12

(Picture credit score: Rickenbacker)

2. Rickenbacker 360/12

The very best 12-string guitar for nailing that 60s Laurel Canyon sound

Worth: $3,333 / £2,969 | Kind: Semi-acoustic double cutaway electrical | Prime: Maple | Again & sides: Maple | Neck: Maple | Scale: 24.75” | Fingerboard: Rosewood | Frets: 24 | Electronics/Pickups: 2x high-gain single-coil pickups with combine management, 2x quantity, 2x tone controls, stereo/mono outputs | Tuners: Schaller | Left-handed: Sure | End: Mapleglo, Fireglo, Jetglo

Superior tones with ace switching choices

Mono/stereo outputs

Basic Rickenbacker trapeze tailpiece 

Typically exhausting to seek out 

That is essentially the most iconic 12-string you will get your palms on. It’s the semi-acoustic that George Harrison performed on the Fab 4’s debut US tour – a 1963 360/12, gifted to him by Rickenbacker’s Francis C. Corridor. It’s the sound of The Byrds, The Seaside Boys, and its jingle-jangle brightness modified music historical past for retains.

It’s not low-cost however it’s unbeatable, and really sensible for a 12-string. These Schaller tuners are organized alternately so you possibly can see which string you might be tuning, a function that Harrison favored instantly. 

One of many coolest options on the 360/12 is the Rick-O-Sound parallel-mono outputs, which means you could break up your sign and ship one pickup to at least one amplifier and the opposite to a different, including extra depth and unfold to the sound. 

Simply step on an previous analog phaser or a flanger and watch folks soften into their environment. Pure psychedelic nirvana comes as normal, however in fact you possibly can play it clear for pop-folk jangle, that resonant semi-hollow maple physique positive lets it sing.

Best 12-string guitar: Taylor 652ce Builder's Edition

(Picture credit score: Taylor)

3. Taylor 652ce Builder’s Version 12-String Guitar

A very unforgettable and high-end electro-acoustic 12-string

Worth: $4,199 / £3,599 | Kind: 12-fret grand live performance cutaway 12-string | Prime: Torrefied Sitka spruce | Again & sides: Figured Huge Leaf maple | Neck: Maple | Scale: 24.87” | Fingerboard: West African ebony | Frets: 18 | Electronics/Pickups: Expression System 2 | Tuners: Gotoh | Left-handed: No | End: Wild Honey Burst [Silent Satin]

Excellent playability

The end and setup are excellent

ES2 electronics are constantly sensible 

Very costly 

The 652ce is likely one of the greatest 12-string guitars cash should purchase. In a world the place the 12-string has a fame for wonky intonation, the Taylor 652ce Builder’s Version finds the candy spot between engineering and craft to construct an instrument that’s nigh-on excellent. 

Simply check out the {hardware}, for instance. We’ve received a Curve Wing Micarta/Tusq-saddled design with double-mounted string anchoring so there are simply six bridge pins as an alternative of the 12, and a bit extra room for a trio of piezo transducers that assist make Taylor’s Expression System 2 ship such undiluted amped tones. The Gotoh tuners are distinctive.

This being a Builder’s Version collection instrument, Andy Powers’ V-Class bracing is beneath the hood, guaranteeing maintain and quantity. How does it really feel? Nicely, easy to play, with a beveled armrest and subtly rolled physique edges to make it comfy for lengthy classes. That’s good, since you received’t wish to put this 12-string down.

Best 12-string guitars: Martin DX2E 12-String

(Picture credit score: Martin)

4. Martin D-X2E 12-String Guitar

The very best 12-string guitar in order for you a big-voiced dread for a small value

Worth: $799 / £659 | Kind: 14-fret Dreadnought | Prime: Stable Sitka Spruce | Again & sides: Excessive-Strain Laminate | Neck: Choose hardwood | Scale: 25.4” | Fingerboard: Choose hardwood | Frets: 20 | Electronics/Pickups: Fishman MX | Tuners: Chrome closed-gear | Left-handed: Sure | End: Pure, Hand-rubbed high

Huge, open tones

Very playable neck

Manufacturing facility setup is spectacular 

Design is a bit austere 

The Martin D-X2E 12-String Guitar is all about growth, chime and affordability. To get that identify on the squared-off headstock, and that quantity of change from a thousand bucks is just not unhealthy in any respect, and the end high quality on Martin’s Mexican-built X-Collection acoustics is unerring.

The Low Profile neck profile is a really comfy palm-filler, approachable with out ever being overly skinny. The neck on the Martin D-X2E is billed as ‘choose hardwood’ and this may change relying on inventory – however it’s mostly Spanish cedar, sapele, sometimes mahogany. 

On the fingerboard it’s the identical, however right here we’d anticipate katalox or Mexican ebony. Both means, finger pickers ought to discover the nut width beneficiant sufficient to accommodate them, whereas not so huge as to alienate the strummers.

The sound is massive and open with choral shimmer excessive. Don’t let the indiscriminate naming of supplies put you off with the X-Collection, the high-pressure laminate again and sides ably helps that spruce on high, making the Martin D-X2E a really enticing 12-string guitar that does the identify on the label proud. 

Best 12-string guitars: Fender Villager 12-String V3

(Picture credit score: Fender)

5. Fender Villager 12-String V3

The old-school folky 12-string guitar with the hockey stick headstock

Worth: $529 / £369 | Kind: 14-fret Dreadnought Cutaway | Prime: Stable Sitka spruce | Again & sides: Laminated ovangkol | Neck: Mahogany | Scale: 24.75” | Fingerboard: Walnut | Frets: 20 | Electronics/Pickups: Fishman Presys Preamp | Tuners: Sealed nickel | Left-handed: No | End: Jetty Black

Slim neck

Onboard tuner and 3-band EQ

Comes with a gigbag 

Restricted end choices 

The Fender Villager 12-String V3 has been kicking round since 1965 and it wears the period’s model properly. Simply take a look at that hockey stick headstock. That’s one thing, proper? The Newporter physique form is a Fender design however it positions itself as a cutaway neo-dread’, with all quantity and presence that means.

At this value, it’s good to see some stable Sitka on high of the Fender Villager 12-String V3 – even when we don’t see it beneath the Jetty Black end, it helps add element and trebly refrain to the Villager’s voice.

The Fishman electronics usually are not unhealthy both, with a three-band EQ that can assist you discover your house within the combine, and an onboard tuner as a result of this can be a 12-string guitar and a dependable tuner is necessary. That stated, the slim C profile neck could be very welcoming, and the Viking walnut bridge a pleasant staging publish from which to strum these massive open chords.

Best 12-string guitars: Taylor 254ce 12-string

(Picture credit score: Taylor)

6. Taylor 254ce 12-String Guitar

The very best 12-string guitar in order for you a workhorse with ace electronics

Worth: $999 / £929 | Kind: 12-fret grand auditorium | Prime: Stable Sitka spruce | Again & sides: Laminated Indian rosewood | Neck: Tropical Mahogany | Scale: 25.5” | Fingerboard: 25.5” | Frets: 20 | Electronics/Pickups: Expression System 2 | Tuners: Closed-gear with chrome buttons | Left-handed: Sure | End: Pure, Satin

Nice construct high quality

Nicely-balanced tone

Nut width is accommodating to fingerstyle 

End is just too austere for some 

If the 652ce is the Taylor at its most bling, the 254ce sees the US acoustic large strip issues again to the necessities, leaving you with a 12-string guitar that’s made for the stage and a really useful instrument for the studio, too.

The Taylor 254ce’s construct is austere however flawless. A stunning piece of stable Sitka spruce enhances laminated Indian rosewood on the again and sides, and it makes for a well-balanced voice with loads of heft within the low finish.

The Expression System 2 pickup and preamp is deployed right here – therefore being excellent for the stage – whereas the Grand Auditorium physique dimension is a pleasant compromise between the large growth of a dread and smaller-bodied acoustics that don’t fairly have the center down low. And with these 12-strings, that steadiness reveals itself in a candy, huge chime that’s exhausting to give up.

Best 12-string guitars: Gretsch G5422G-12 Electromatic 12-string

(Picture credit score: Gretsch)

7. Gretsch G5422G-12 Electromatic Hollowbody 12-String Guitar

There’s some Filter’Tron magic happening with this retro tone machine

Worth: $999 / £829 | Kind: Hollowbody electrical | Prime: Laminated maple | Again & sides: 5-ply maple | Neck: Maple, set | Scale: 25.5” | Fingerboard: Rosewood | Frets: 21 | Electronics/Pickups: 2x Black Prime Filter’Tron humbuckers | Tuners: Die-cast, gold | Left-handed: No | End: Walnut Stain, Black

Dreamy tones

Nice aesthetic

Very playable neck 

Restricted end choices 

Gretsch’s classic rock ’n’ roll mojo interprets completely into the 12-string format. The eye to element on the present Electromatic collection is unimaginable, the finishes excellent. From the sure f-holes to the G-Cutout tailpiece, the smaller late-50s spec headstock, to the multi-ply binding, the Gretsch G5422G-12 Electromatic Hollowbody is likely one of the most interesting trying devices in our round-up of the most effective 12-string guitars.

The skinny U profile neck is slim sufficient for some fast jazz comping and swap rock double-stops however simply as you plug in and dial within the slapback echo the 12-string width and chime hits you proper within the face. It is a Gretsch for positive, the Black Prime Filter’Tron pickups providing a bit snarl earlier than the 12-strings rounds out the assault. 

The Gretsch G5422G-12 Electromatic Hollowbody is a bit more rock, a bit hotter than the opposite electrics on the checklist, and whereas this could occupy classic psych if required, attempt enjoying it by way of some fuzz and enjoying with reverbs, as a result of it appears like a terrific guitar to broaden your horizons on.

Best 12-string guitars: Guild F2512E

(Picture credit score: Guild)

8. Guild F-2512E Archback 12-String Guitar

The very best jumbo 12-string guitar for classic Americana

Worth: $499 / £436 | Kind: Jumbo | Prime: Stable Sitka Spruce | Again & sides: Laminated maple | Neck: Mahogany | Scale: 25.5” | Fingerboard: Pau ferro | Frets: 20 | Electronics/Pickups: Guild AP-1 | Tuners: Sealed, chrome | Left-handed: No | End: Pure

Candy, candy tones

Nice form and construct 

No onboard tuner

Primary electronics 

Guild has been making 12-string guitars because the Nineteen Sixties, when the corporate escaped New York and decamped to its Hoboken, NJ, facility, the place it grew beneath Bob Bromberg’s supervision and Carlo Greco’s design experience. And but the Guild F-2512E Archback appears and appears like a holdover from its 50s manufacturing, its arched again a legacy of the jazz containers Guild used to construct, solely this time matched with a flat maple high.

All that maple makes its presence felt within the F-2512E’s presence. This greatest 12-string guitar contender has phenomenal detailing, a star-dust tone profile when enjoying chords, and a harpsichord-esque vibe when enjoying single notes. 

The pearl rosette and tortoiseshell ’guard full the retro really feel. However there are some concessions to modernity right here, with the Guild AP-1 Archback pickup providing the choice of going by way of an amplifier, and pau ferro in situ as a legacy of the CITES restrictions on rosewood.

Best 12-string guitars: D'Angelico Premier Fulton 12-string

(Picture credit score: D’Angelico)

9. D’Angelico Premier Fulton Grand Auditorium

The very best 12-string guitar in order for you a grand auditorium for means much less

Worth: $499 / £225 | Kind: 14-fret grand auditorium | Prime: Stable Sitka spruce | Again & sides: Laminated mahogany | Neck: Mahogany | Scale: 25” | Fingerboard: Ovangkol | Frets: 20 | Electronics/Pickups: D’Angelico pickup/preamp w/tone, quantity and tuner | Tuners: Vintage Bronze D’Angelico mini-tuners | Left-handed: No | End: Classic Pure, Iced Tea Burst, Black Cherry Burst

Stable construct and really playable

Nicely-balanced tones

It appears high greenback 

Electronics are rudimentary 

D’Angelico at all times has such an air of refinement about them. One imagines their house owners don smoking jackets of a night and drive classic European sports activities vehicles. It’s the headstock design, or perhaps, as with the case of the D’Angelico Premier Fulton Grand Auditorium, the pearloid block inlay and the five-ply binding. It’s received a Gatsby look to it.

This impression is torpedoed by a price ticket that’s inside attain of us common of us. The D’Angelico Premier Fulton Grand Auditorium makes use of a well-traveled tonewood combo on mid-priced electro-acoustics, with a stable Sitka spruce high – superbly completed in Classic Pure lacquer – including the tinsel to a laminated mahogany again and sides.

The beneficiant Venetian cutaway and slim, satin-smooth neck (20mm on the first fret) makes this an possibility for showboating, ought to the event come up, and the nut width ought to agree with the fingerstyle and hybrid-pickers on the market.

Best 12-string guitars: Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII

(Picture credit score: Fender)

10. Fender Alternate Actuality Electrical XII 12-String Guitar

Placing the Huge F into psychedelic

Worth: $999 / £859 | Kind: Offset stable physique electrical | Physique: Alder | Neck: Maple, bolt-on | Scale: 25.5” | Fingerboard: Pau ferro | Frets: 22 | Electronics/Pickups: 2x break up single-coils | Tuners: Sealed | Left-handed: No | End: Olympic White, Lake Placid Blue, 3-Shade Sunburst

Nice tones

Straightforward electrical playability

Redesigned bridge makes setting intonation simpler 

Be fast earlier than its discontinued 

The hockey stick headstock is again, of us, however perhaps it appears extra at house right here, what with the offset physique and break up single-coils – the retro tortoiseshell and pearloid pickguards solely add to the phantasm that we’ve fallen by way of the wormhole to emerge in LBJ’s America. 

Sure, one other 1965 mannequin, which actually was floor zero for the 12-string’s pop-rock recognition after The Beatles got here, noticed and conquered the States in 1964. The Fender Alternate Actuality Electrical XII 12-String Guitar would make a wonderful funds different to the Rickenbacker featured additional up on this checklist. 

It’s fairly completely different, positive. The Ricky has a set neck, whereas the Fender has a bolt-on; there’s no mistaking the Fender scale and really feel. However each will get you an angle on the jangle and assist soundtrack one thing loopy. 

Simply suppose what this could do now within the age of multi-reverbs which can be simply designed for atmosphere. You get the sensation the Electrical XII’s time is coming once more. This, once more, was a favourite of the Byrds, and Jimmy Web page used it within the studio for Stairway’s 12-string elements. The current mannequin makes use of a extra standard 3-way pickup selector versus the rotary dial on the Nineteen Sixties model, and has a brand new and improved bridge.

As we speak’s greatest 12-string guitar offers

Martin D-X2E 12-String Sitka…

Guild F-2512E Maple 12-String…



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