Good Boutique 12-String?

Hi all,

I'm thinking of upgrading my 12-string acoustic from the Rogue I have now. Not a bad guitar for $100 but I'm getting serious enough about 12-string playing that I need a real guitar.

I really want to avoid the Martin D12-28. The other guitar I looked at briefly was the Takamine EF-381C, but I think it's laminate and I'm not sure that's going to cut it when the guitar is more than a grand. I'm not trying to start a fight over Martin or Takamine, but I am trying to avoid big brands in general these days as there are so many great small builders out there.

Does anyone know of any particularly good 12-string acoustic builders out there? I know of plenty 6-sting acoustic boutique companies, but this seems a bit more challenging and people on TDPRI have been so knowledgable when I've asked these types of questions in the past.

I don't want to put and dollar amount on this yet just because I really want to see what's out there that people would recommend. I would love to hear your opinions!

Simon

I tried quite a few and ended up with a Taylor. They have models in every price range, with or without cutaways or electronics. Played Martins, Gibsons, and anything else I could get my hands on. Ended up with a 856ce, but the ones below $2k sounded good also.

PS - I was given a Tonerite vibrator for Christmas and it really opened up a 714ce cedar top that I have, and made a noticeable difference on the 856ce also. Perhaps playing an hour or two a day would do the same thing.

Ditto on the Taylors, they're just nice guitars. Also take a look at Collings, they're beautiful and have a nice, rich tone.

Ditto on the Taylors, they're just nice guitars. Also take a look at Collings, they're beautiful and have a nice, rich tone.

I actually have a Collings OM2H-G coming in March. Can't wait to get my hands on it! But they don't seem to do many 12-strings. I've seen used ones here and there, but can you order them new?

I have tried out several Taylor 12-strings and while they play wonderfully...almost pulled the trigger on a beautiful maple one...if you play a Guild next to them you kinda go "Wha ?" No comparision sound-wise.

I have not tried a Guild GAD (Chinese-made) 12-string recently, although UK's Guitarist has deemed their new all mahogany offering a best buy.

A Martin D12-28 is a very nice guitar, although I personally run out of neck on a 12-fret.

If you look at their site, under "recent deliveries," Huss and Dalton shows a 12-string. Their six strings are the voice of heaven, so I would imagine this little shop could produce a killer 12-string (they make about 300-350 guitars a year).

Good luck, sounds like you have a fun time coming up!

The Huss and Dalton looks really nice, thanks for pointing them out Bill. That's a bit more than I'm willing to spend at this point though. With that Collings on order I'm already halfway to the poor house!

So it looks like Taylor is one option. Anybody else got any ideas? There must be some more boutique companies making them somewhere?

I have a 20-year-old Takamine F-389 laminate-top mahogany 12-string that an awesome guitar. I don't know a lot about the "boutique" builders. If I were shopping for a new 12-string today, I'd look hard at the Seagull (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/seagull-coastline-series-s12-dreadnought-12-string-acoustic-guitar/516926000010000).

At only $500, that leaves plenty for a hard shell case and good pickup system. I like the L.R. Baggs M1 (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/lr-baggs-m1-soundhole-pickup), but the Anthem system (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/lr-baggs-anthem-tru-mic-acoustic-microphone-piezo-pickup-system) looks great (but it's pretty spendy).

Good luck!

http://static.musiciansfriend.com/derivates/18/001/292/252/DV016_Jpg_Large_516926.010_natural_V.jpg

Guild is the gold standard in my book.

With all due respect to the brothers in New Hartford, this Asian one looks pretty good...

http://www.musicradar.com/gear/all/guitars/acoustic/12-string-acoustic/d-125-12-523444/review

That Seagull is proably a very good guitar also, I personally can't get past the "arrow" headstock...reminds me of The Rokes or something...

Definitely try some Guilds before you make a final decision. Even the Chinese made ones are excellent quallity, but used USA made ones can be found. Seagulls are good but I think their body shapes are a tad small for 12 strings. Alvarez has some excellent 12 string jumbos on a budget, and Ovations are also excellent and worth consideration. 12-strings need extra strong necks that are still playable, fairly large bodies for projecting sound while being braced strong enough to support the extra string tension, and must also intonate well enough not to play out of tune past the 7th fret. Not all guitars, even those from large name manufacturers, can always nail all 3 categories on a consistent basis.

it doesn't get any more boutique than this one....

A friend of mine builds acoustic guitars. He studied Bozo Poduvanac guitar construction and actually worked at Bozo's shop for a while.

I got to tap test and hand select each piece of wood and had a hand in the overall design. The inlay is my design and the burl walnut in the rosette is my idea.

So, here is my Chelsvig 12 string... My guitar link (http://guitarmusic.org/chelsvig/feature.html)