Audio 12 String Guitars

Discussion in 'Production Studio' started by parabola, Apr 30, 2014.

  1. parabola Destiny Islands Resident

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    I was wondering if there are any 12 String players here. Is a 12-string a really essentially instrument to you? Do you wind up using it for interesting arrangements or to write your own songs, or is it just something fun to play around on? They seem neat and I'm considering getting one, I'm just unsure if I'll only wind up playing it for six months and then rarely use it for anything.

    (My current favorite song written on a 12-String):
     
  2. Arch Mana Knight

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    12 string guitars don't add much musically compared to that of a 6 string. They give a fuller sound for chords but that's really the full extent of their use. Also, how dare you bring up 12 string guitars without mentioning the most famous example of one being used!



    On a more serious note, extended range guitars are far more interesting imo. I play an 8 string guitar(low B and drop-tuned E) and there's just things you can do with it that just aren't possible on 6 strings.


    Anyways, I used to be in love with the thought of 12 strings...but they're more of a novelty than anything mostly because they don't actually extend your range.
     
  3. parabola Destiny Islands Resident

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    I said current favorite song on a 12-string! Haha. That's more or less what I thought, given how rarely I hear 12-strings. I guess if you really wanted to cover a lot of early Beatles songs a 12-string would be a necessity. I think I've always been wary of extended-range guitars (particularly 7-strings) due to their association with nu metal, which I realize is probably unfair. What genre do you use them for?
     
  4. Arch Mana Knight

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    I haven't found a current song better than Stairway to Heaven for 12 string. ...But I haven't tried looking very hard.

    I was inspired by progressive metal band Animals As Leaders to pick up an 8 string but I'm not really a prog metal player myself...and I'm not as good as their guitarists. I use mine for more..."post rock" style things. I just find that doing rhythm or bass notes if I play classical style are more meaningful than if I tried the same thing an octave up like on a 6 string. Of course, whenever I get the time to use my amp I spend some time chugging just because that drop-tuned E(standard tuning for an 8 string is actually F#, B, E, A, D, G, B, E) is so much more br00tal than a 6 string's low E.