J-30-12 Played as a Six-String

[Neal]

I was wondering...

What would a Guild jumbo 12-string sound like with only six strings? On a guitar constructed to withstand 250 pounds of string tension, could six strings get the top moving? What if I used super fat strings?

I recall Al doing that with an F-112.

So, when time came to change strings...

I bought a pack of D'Addario EJ-18's (14-59 gauge) and put them on.

Wow. Heavy strings make that big box push out a huge amount of sound. And the string spacing on the nut is really wide.

Soon, enough, the novelty wore off and I replaced the EJ-18's with an EJ-39 12-string set. Still, it was a cool experiment, and might be worth getting onto a recording at some point.

 

[walrus]

It was Joe (killdeer) who did it.

Here is a thread about the idea, and post #4 has the links to even more threads, including Joe's guitar.

https://letstalkguild.com/ltg/index...12-string-with-6-strings.209427/#post-1981636

walrus

 

[chazmo]

You can definitely do that, Neal. Give it a try with the JF-30-12 sometime! You could probably do it with some heavier strings, but the nut slots might be a bit of a problem... Next time you string the 12-er, pull off strings 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 and see what it sounds like!

 

[plaidseason]

You can definitely do that, Neal. Give it a try with the JF-30-12 sometime! You could probably do it with some heavier strings, but the nut slots might be a bit of a problem... Next time you string the 12-er, pull off strings 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 and see what it sounds like!

I was going to say similar. Try it out as a 8 or 9 sting.

 

[Neal]

That is precisely what I did, Chaz.

Works great. Nut slots were no issue at all. That 59 low E is quite a beast.

 

[chazmo]

Cool, Neal!!!!!!