Talk:Twelve-string guitar
I don't mean to sound snide, but one can tell that you don't play the 12-string. It doesn't sound, feel or handle anything like a banjo. I have played it for 25 years, and thanks to Leo Kottke more often than my 6-string guitars, and the problem with it is indeed what Kat calls cacophony, not the fact that strings are hard to fret. There are so many strings that ring that it's very easy to destroy a tune and just spound loud. This is why often a 6-string is preferable. Its sound is so brilliant and rich to be hard to handle. But it surely doesn't sound like a banjo. Frank, May 1, 2005
Hmm, plucking individual strings. When picking a 12 string, one plucks the strings in pairs (courses) much as one would a lute. It can be done. The problems with plucking pale by comparison to the gymnastics of the left hand, particularly where bar cords are involved. You know you might have been practicing the 12 string if you can pull off a full bar cord and have all 12 notes sound true with no buzzing. Gordon Bok does this effectively on his album, A Rogue's Gallery of Songs for the 12 String. He's an obscure artist, so I wasn't sure that he is worthy of mention here, but then again he's the only one I can think of who has recorded a whole album of solo 12 string.
Last sentence. I really thought cacophony was the operative word. I didn't want to put this in the article, but the real benefit to me of a 12 string is that it allows one person to sound like a whole rhythm section. Almost, anyway; the impression one makes when playing a 12 string well is that of more than one instrument being played. To be sure, there is some greater brightness what with the doubling of the bass, but that doesn't quite capture the essence of the effect.
Tensions and gauges. They aren't standardized entirely, in that there are somewhat softer and harder stringings available in the standard packs. Some guitarists make up their own stringings, picking out one string at a time. I can look up the gauges if you really think it would help. Not sure how to come up with the tensions, as I don't have a handy reference for that.
Kat 03:13, 12 Aug 2003 (UTC)
- Feel free to rephrase :-) I haven't really played 12-string at all, so some of that was guesswork. I'm sure it's possible to play lead parts with 12-strings, and I'm sure many have done it; I was looking for a good explanation why it's not usually the case. As for pulling a bar chord; doesn't that have a lot to do with the string gauges and tension? Thicker gauges on any other guitar are harder to pull than thinner ones (due in part to the extra string tension); I would presume there are thin gauges for 12-string that make barring more feasible. But again, I lack experience here.
- Cacophony seems like a poor word, unless you want to imply that 12-strings sound more jarring and dissonant than 6-strings. Perhaps rich, lush, elaborate, etc. might be better. Of course, talented guitarists can make even a 6-string (or 4-string bass, for that matter) sound like more than one instrument is being played. -- Wapcaplet 03:53, 12 Aug 2003 (UTC)
- I'll have to do some checking on the wiki-thesaurus ;-) to see if that perfect turn of phrase can't be found.
Should there be a mention of Nashville Tuning? If I'm not mistaken, isn't that basically a twelve string guitar with only the second set of strings? Adam Bishop 03:38, 12 Aug 2003 (UTC)
- I've never heard of this. Kat
- Hmm...well, basically the B and high E strings are the same but the other strings are an octave higher. I just assumed someone once had a 12-string guitar and decided to use only the second set of strings. Some Pink Floyd songs use that tuning, and presumably some country songs (hence Nashville, I guess :)) Adam Bishop 17:15, 12 Aug 2003 (UTC)
It's not difficult to play bar chords on a twelve-string. It is difficult to pluck out individual strings, and rather less difficult to pick a single course (the gap between courses is less than it is on an equivalent 6-string, and plucking the twin notes cleanly requires a nice soft right hand). In summary, the problems presented by the 12-string to the left hand are small and easily overcome, the problems presented to the right hand are significant. (And yes, I have owned three or four 12-string guitars and played them for over 20 years. Six strings also, and bass, but I was always very fond of my 12-strings.) Tannin
- I suppose it depends on the person. When I was playing a lot, I could play bar chords. I've never heard of trying to play a single string except when tuning up. I never found the right hand especially difficult, though I would burn up fingernails pretty quickly if I didn't use those metal finger picks. Kat