New Tacoma F512!

[Oubaas]

Well, I have had my brand new, Tacoma-built F512 since the first week in July, and I love it. The guitar itself is just flawless, with beauty and tone to spare, and the case is not bad - I like the brass "Made To Be Played" plate the best of any of the case features. But as I said, it's not bad. And the contents more than make up for any "Amish" characteristics of the case itself.

As for the guitar, this is definitely the easiest playing, best tone 12-string I have ever picked up. And I have picked up a few. But I will admit that as a new, first-time 12-string owner/player after forty years of playing guitar, it did surprise me. It works different than my 6-strings.

When I play my 6-strings, mostly what comes out is fingerstyle/fingerpicking, with stuff from Jim Croce, James Taylor, Harry Chapin, etcetera, with occasional outbursts of classic country.

I expected the same with the 12-string, but when I picked it up and played it, a lot of different stuff came out; stuff like Jelly Roll Morton, Blind Boy Fuller, Emmett Miller, George Little, Jimmy Rodgers, and even Irving Berlin! There seems to be a lot of old music in there and not much modern stuff for some reason!?!

It just goes to show you - ya never know what's in a particular guitar until you pick it up and play it!

Oubaas :wink:

 

[chazmo]

Congrats, man! Love to see some pictures and maybe compare notes, Oubaas. I had a thread around here on F512 specs from Tacoma, but I can't find it anymore. I'll let you know if I dig it up. I'm curious if they're building them the same now as they did in 2006.

 

[Nigel Wickwire]

Kudos on the new ride! Sounds like a keeper...............

~nw

 

[6L6]

Enjoy!

6

'06 F-412

 

[West R Lee]

I've found it difficult to play my 12, and have a deep respect for the guys here that play them. I've never been much on picks myself, and a 12 is just too hard for me to strike all of the strings on. I find it tough to try and get the sound I think I should attempting to play a 12 with bare fingers, but man they sure do open open to the guys who can pick though.

West

 

[Oubaas]

Thanks, guys! I was happy to add it to the collection. I actually think I might be done buying guitars now! I'll try to get some pictures posted if my daughter ever finds the card reader that goes with the camera, LOL!

As for the specs on this Tacoma build, they seem to be spot on what is listed on the Guild website. I know there have been some showing up with differences, but from my examination and looking at what their website lists, this appears to be spot on stock.

I have begun using picks quite a bit since the 12-string arrived, though I'm getting better and better at fingerpicking it. I find that I prefer a Dunlop JD 504 jazz pick that seems about a foot thick when I play the F512. It's like playing the guitar with a jelly bean. That's a strange choice for me, because when I use a pick on a 6-string, which is not often, I like traditional shape Clayton Golds or Dunlop Ultex at about 1.14mm. But the foot-thick jazz pick seems somehow right on the 12-string, and glides across the courses quite nicely.

At first I thought that fingerpicking it would be a pretty tall order, but as I progress I find that it can be done and after a couple of weeks, I'm actually getting pretty good at it. But I do find that some songs suit a 12-string very much, and others don't sound good on a 12-string at all. I'm now thinking about tuning it down a full step like the Mississippi Sheikhs, a tuning that I often use on 6-strings.

But the big thing is, I'm learning, even after forty years of playing guitar, and I'm having a lot of fun!

Oubaas :wink: