Am I the only one that doesn't like them? So far I've played three, and I thought they were all junk. Yeah, the price is nice, but that's about it. I'd rather kick in another hundred or two and find a decent D25-12 or the like.
I quite like my F2512 and I've plenty of classic Guild 12-strings to compare it to. (Except for the F-612, I've owned just about every jumbo 12-string that ever came out of Westerly. I still have many of them; just got my F-312 back from having its neck reset in fact.)
I think the guitar sounds quite good, and I don't mean "quite good
for the price."
OK, its sound is not quite on par with the best of the Westerlys -- I don't want to stick my neck out too far! -- but I do think it sounds better than the dreadnaught Guild 12s I've had, including the one D25-12 I owned. (Actually I prefer the sound of my D15-12 to the D25-12 I sold.)
IMO the F2512 possesses qualities that compensate for whatever it may lack in sound, not that it lacks much. (The low end is nice and rich for instance.) The neck and fingerboard I find more comfortable and easier to navigate than on the classic models -- barre chords up and down the neck are easier to play -- and I find that the intonation is truer than on some of my Westerlys.
The one I have I bought for a song shortly after the model was first introduced. (No pickup, no cutaway.) The only change I made was to replace the original tuners with Grover 18:1s, otherwise it's exactly as I got it -- I didn't even have to adjust the saddle or truss rod, unususl for me since I tune so low.
I have no idea if the specs have changed since mine was made, or how well how it'll hold up over time. (It is very lightweight and has a satin or hand-rubbed finish, which may not protect it as well as a nitro finish would.)
But several years later it's still going strong and I really enjoy spending time with it. I can play it for an hour or two with no fatigue.
