Everything about 12-string Guitar totally explained
The
twelve string guitar is an
acoustic or
electric guitar with twelve
strings, which produces a richer, more ringing tone than a standard six string guitar. Essentially, it's a type of guitar with a natural
chorus effect due to the subtle differences in string timbre.
Design
The strings are placed in
courses of two strings each that are usually played together. The two strings in each
bass course are normally tuned an
octave apart, while each pair of strings in the
treble courses is tuned in
unison. The tuning of the second string in the third course (G) varies: some players use a unison string which is less prone to breakage, others prefer the distinctive high-pitched,
bell-like quality an octave string makes in this position.
Some players, either in search of distinctive tone or for ease of playing, will remove some of the doubled strings. For example, removing the higher octave from the three bass courses simplifies playing running bass lines, but keeps the extra treble strings for the full strums.
The
tension placed on the instrument by the strings is great, and because of this, 12 string guitars have a reputation for warping after a few years of use. Some twelve-string guitars have non-traditional structural supports to prevent or postpone such a fate, at the expense of appearance and tone. Until recently, twelve-string guitars were nearly universally tuned lower than the traditional EADGBE, to reduce the
stresses on the instrument.
Lead Belly famously used a low C-tuning, as did
Beau on his
Dandelion recordings.
Some performers prefer the richness of an open tuning due to its near-orchestral sound. For a very complex plucked-string sound, the 12-string can be set to standard tuning (or possibly an octave lower), then the top one and low two string pairs can be tuned to whole-tone intervals. The usual gamut of
guitar tunings are also available.
Many performers who play the twelve-string guitar use an ordinary six-string guitar as their primary instrument, switching to the twelve-string guitar for certain songs that seem to call for a brighter sound.
Because it's substantially more difficult to pluck individual strings on the twelve-string guitar, and almost impossible to bend notes tunefully, the instrument is rarely used for lead musical parts. An important exception is Georgian acoustic guitarist
Leo Kottke, who, ever since his first album (significantly called
12-String Blues), has customarily used it as a solo and very often unaccompanied instrument, and was instrumental in popularizing it in that role. 12-string guitar is however primarily suited to a rhythm or accompaniment role and is often used in
folk songs and some popular music. Some
hard rock and
progressive rock musicians use
double-necked guitars, which have both six-string and twelve-string components, allowing the guitarist easy transition between different sounds.
The greater number of strings complicates playing, particularly for the plucking (or picking) hand. The gap between the dual-string courses is usually narrower than that between the single-string courses of a conventional six-string guitar, so more precision is required with pick or fingertip when not simply strumming chords. The pairing of thin, easily broken octave strings with larger, stiffer bass strings presents difficulties to the player also, and only a very skilled player can reliably pluck single strings from within a course at any speed (notably the very high octave G string, which is the highest-pitched string on the instrument). Nevertheless, with practice, the twelve-string guitar isn't unduly difficult to play. It is, however, generally used in a fairly restricted role which emphasises its strengths: rich ringing, full-bodied chords, and fast, rippling single plucked notes on the twinned strings.
Twelve-string guitars are made in both acoustic and electric form. However, it's the acoustic type that's most common.
Usage
Use of twelve-string electric guitar almost appears to be cyclical: beginning with
Blind Willie McTell in the '20s and '30s, Lead Belly in the '40s, and continuing with Bob Gibson in the '50s and early '60s, performers and Gibson acolytes such as
Mike Pender of
The Searchers and
Roger McGuinn of
The Byrds, brought it to the fore for a decade, until it fell out of favor and was largely limited to niche use by
progressive rockers in the 1970s. The instrument was revived in the 1980s by
alternative rockers such as
Peter Buck of
R.E.M.,
Marty Willson-Piper of
The Church, and
Johnny Marr of
The Smiths. During the 1990s, its popularity waned again, although it plays a key part in the sound of
indie rock acts such as
Low and
The Decemberists. Recently its use has been growing once more, with the rise of
psych folk and
freak folk as current styles which make good use of the instrument's bright, drone-y qualities. The most popular electric twelve-string model since the 1960s has been the
Rickenbacker 360/12, first popularized by
George Harrison. Many
double-neck guitars have a twelve-string neck, in order for guitarists to switch between tones during live performances, for example, when playing
Stairway to Heaven,
Hotel California or
Xanadu.
Noted twelve-string performers
Acoustic
Electric
Rickenbacker
Juan I. Fernandez - (El Asunto Tornasol)
Wally Bryson (Raspberries)
Jeff Buckley
Peter Buck (R.E.M.)
Jonny Buckland (Coldplay)
Mike Campbell (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers)
Eric Clapton
The Edge (U2)
Les Fradkin
George Harrison (The Beatles)
Jimi Hendrix (He also played a twelve stringed acoustic guitar)
Wayne Hussey (The Mission)
Brian Jones
Daniel Johns (Silverchair)
Greg Lake
Geddy Lee (Rush) played a doubleneck 12-string/4-string bass on live versions of the songs "A Passage to Bangkok" and "Xanadu"
John Lennon (The Beatles)
Johnny Marr (The Smiths)
Jeff Martin
Jim/Roger McGuinn (The Byrds)
Anton Newcombe (The Brian Jonestown Massacre)
Mike Pender (The Searchers)
Tom Petty
Mike Rutherford played a custom made 12-string/4-string Bass double neck
Alan Sparhawk
Elliott Smith
Paul Weller
Carl Wilson
Marty Willson-Piper
Pete Townshend (The Who)
Fred "Sonic" Smith (MC5, Sonic's Rendezvous Band)
Tommy Shaw (Styx)
Steve Howe (Yes)
Gary Moore
Jeff Watson Night Ranger
Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)
Mike McCready (Pearl Jam)
Wayne Coyne (The Flaming Lips)
Don Felder (The Eagles)
Ace Frehley (Kiss)
James Hetfield (Metallica)
Gordie Johnson (Grady)
John5 (Marilyn Manson) (Rob Zombie)
Denny Laine (former Wings member)
Alex Lifeson (Rush)
Jeff Martin
John McLaughlin
Tom Morello (Audioslave and Rage Against the Machine)
Fritz Puppel
Matthias Röhr
Claudio Sanchez (Coheed and Cambria)
Slash (Guns N' Roses/Slash's Snakepit/Velvet Revolver)
Pat Smear (The Germs/Nirvana/Foo Fighters)
Johnny Winter
Mike Ward
Zakk Wylde
Other
Juan I. Fernandez uses a Rickenbacker 620/12 in "My Camel" from El Asunto Tornasol´s cd "Searching for Water" (99)
Joe Satriani uses a 12 string version of his acclaimed Ibanez JS series on tracks like "A Cool New Way" off Super Collossal.
Jon Hume of evermore
Miki Berenyi of Lush
Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth uses the PRS Custom 22/12 guitar for live performances including 'Closure'.
David Bowie has used the twelve-string guitar, most notably during his earlier years as seen in the "Five Years" and "Queen Bitch" segments on anthology DVD Best of Bowie. This guitar was well known, due to the lone single coil pickup that lay in the middle of the sound hole and had a clamp shaped headstock
Glen Campbell - Used Ovation twelve-strings.(External Link
)
Chris Cheney (The Living End) - Used a twelve string to record the solo for "End Of The World", as shown on the band's DVD 'The End'.
Near the end of his tenure with The Yardbirds, Eric Clapton was required to, in order to reproduce the harpsichord, use a 12-string guitar while performing "For Your Love" live.
Roy Clark sometimes uses an electric 12 string guitar, tuned higher than usual, and played like a mandolin.
Jimmy Page - Used a Fender Electric XII for studio use, and a Gibson EDS-1275 for live use, both cases for "Stairway to Heaven", and a Vox 12 string on "Thank You."
Rik Emmett used an Ibanez doubleneck(External Link) and a similar Yamaha model following his endorsement deal with the company.
Steve Howe (Yes) and Pete Townshend (The Who) - Have used both Rickenbackers and EDS-1275 guitars. Townshend has also used Fender 12-string electric guitars.
Brian May used a Burns Double Six 12-string electric guitar for the song "Long Away"
Nicholas McCarthy (Franz Ferdinand) - Uses an unidentified guitar in the video for "The Fallen".
John McLaughlin, Double Rainbow, custom made by Rex Bogue.
Michael Nesmith (The Monkees) - played a Gretsch twelve string
Rick Nielsen - Has a twelve-string neck on his five-necked Hamer guitar.
Krist Novoselic (Sweet 75 formerly Nirvana) - Used a Fender 12 string, old guitar, from the 1950s/1960s, not like the current strat 12 strings.
Ashmedi (Melechesh)- 12 string electric, looks like a Les Paul body - no brand.
Mike Pender of The Searchers has used the twelve-string guitar, most notably as seen in nearly all of his studio sessions and in the "Needles & Pins" and "Love Potion Number Nine" performances on the 60s oldies reunion DVD The British Invasion Returns.
steve vai - has 2 triple neck guitars, both with a 12 string and 2 6 string necks.
John Petrucci (Dream Theater) - Has a double-necked version of his signature Music Man guitar.
Mike Rutherford (Genesis) - Uses a Shergold doubleneck.
Nick Valensi (The Strokes) - Has a twelve-string Epiphone Riviera and uses it to perform the song "Electricityscape".
Matt Slocum (Sixpence None the Richer) - Uses a Fender Electric XII (as shown in the "Kiss Me" video)
Robin Guthrie - Used a Fender Electric XII for numerous Cocteau Twins songs.
Tom Petty - used a Vox Phantom 12-string in the music video for "Refugee". Used a Fender Electric XII on his 2006 North American tour.
Pete Townshend - Is seen using a Fender Electric XII in photographs of the Tommy sessions.
Paul Gilbert - Has used a twin neck Ibanez in some cases.
Carl Wilson - Also used 12-string Epiphone Riviera in addition to the Rickenbacker guitar.
Dave Mustaine of Megadeth - Uses a Jackson V twin neck on the song Trust, and in the past on In My Darkest Hour, producing a powerful octave main riff, as seen in the live DVD 'Rude Awakening'. He also plays a custom ESP double neck guitar, although he's switched to Dean Guitars due to a sponsorship deal.
Julian Cope formerly of The Teardrop Explodes plays a Fender XII on 'Planet Ride' and a Gibson 335-12 as a nine string with the lower pitched strings of the bottom three pairs removed.
Robert Smith and Porl Thompson of The Cure play both acoustic and electric guitars. Examples can be found on 'Just Like Heaven' and 'Inbetween Days'
John Butler
Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother uses a double neck twelve string guitar for the song "White Unicorn."
Leon Jones of Alfa9 uses a 12 string (Vox) on the song "For Your Bones"
Wally Bryson of Raspberries uses a Rickenbacher 12-string and a Gibson SG doublenck.
Morgan Henderson of The Blood Brothers
Win Butler of The Arcade Fire plays a Gibson ES 335 TD12 in the song "Wake Up"
The Rooftop Singers - 1963 chart-topping version of Walk Right In featured two twelve-string guitars.
Nels Cline of Wilco plays a 12-string Danelectro electric on the song "You are my face".
Die of Dir en grey plays a 12-string acoustic guitar on the song "Conceived Sorrow".
Unconfirmed
Dave Catching
Pat Martino
Arto Lindsay of DNA
Billy Strange
Barry Dean Blackman of The Black
Joel J.-Langlois
Further Information
Get more info on '12-string Guitar'.
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