tough choice had to be made

[Mikeoso]

and I was dithering. I've been buying and selling 12 strings for over 20 years, trying to decide which one is THE sound....loved the neck on the old Gibson B-45-12s, loved the sound of the old F212XLs, loved the warmth of the Martin J12-15s.

So this year, I decided to bite the bullet and order NEW a matched set of Martins, J15 and J12-15. loved them. Sold a 70's Gibson 6 string and a 70's Guild F212XL to pay for them. then buyer's remorse set in...wanted a Guild back. one night, scanning eBay, I spot a '78 F512 with a $1500 BIN, and hop on it.

it arrives, and the sound shocks me..so huge, and so different....bright, clear, chimey...absolutely unlike any other 12 string I've played. great sound, but is it THE sound? have I made a mistake? I can't keep it plus the J12-15...in fact, I'd have to sell both Martins to pay for it. (I get to keep my J40, my acoustic bass guitar, and my upright bass).

so you see the issue...do I keep the Guild 12 at the price of a Martin 6 and a Martin 12?

check my sig line for the answer.

 

[West R Lee]

If it's a choice Mike, then yes, keep the 512. To me it boils down to the old question...."if you could only keep just one?" Obviously the Martins don't quite do it for you, but the Guild definately does. I'd say, keep the 512, sell the Martins, and if you really want another 6, find a nice old Guild one of these days, and buy it. Just MHO.

Good luck with your decision.

West

 

[Mikeoso]

Good luck with your decision. West

oh, I already decided...that's why the two mahogany Martins are gone from my sig line....the buyer drove off with them a couple hours ago

 

[steverok]

I don't understand why you sold the F212XL to buy a matching set of guitars. For GASers like us, it seems contradictory to buy two of the same thing, albeit a 6-er and a 12-er, when there are so many other things we crave! I'd sell everything and try to buy your F212XL back. I owned one for three days, and loved it, but had to send it back because it was cracked, just like me.

 

[Mikeoso]

I'd sell everything and try to buy your F212XL back.

GASers like us never know what we want "till it's gone"...that's why (at least in my case) I keep buying and selling the same stuff. I've had 2 B-45-12s, 2 J12-15s, 2 F212XLs, 2 J15s, 2 Martin D-1s, plus all the stuff I've only owned one of.

 

[Metalman]

Wow; it takes two Martins to compete with one Guild . . .

Well, it really isn't fair; the Martin 15s were at the bottom of the solid wood food chain Martins, and the Guild F-512 at the very top.

Although I would have a hard time parting with the J12-15. Of the 15 series, the 00 and the jumbos are the best.

I really liked the J12-15, 'course I have not had the opportunity to hear a f-512 next to it to compare.

Good choice there!

 

[Scratch]

I'd sell everything and try to buy your F212XL back.

GASers like us never know what we want "till it's gone"...that's why (at least in my case) I keep buying and selling the same stuff. I've had 2 B-45-12s, 2 J12-15s, 2 F212XLs, 2 J15s, 2 Martin D-1s, plus all the stuff I've only owned one of.

+1 :?

 

[6L6]

It's a no brainer.

Keep the Guild.

6

 

[Metalman]

It's a no brainer.

Keep the Guild.

6

Quick and simple.

 

[count savage]

Well, you know what they say: The two best sounding guitars are the one you used to have and the one you're going to get. (A version of that for boat owners is: the two happiest days in a boat owner's life is the day he buys it and the day he sells it.) Anyway, for me the Guild 12-string, in my case the F 512, is the definitive sounding acoustic 12-string, period. I may get 12-strings made by other makers, but the Guild is the one I will keep, just as I've kept my '64 Gibson J-50 since buying it from the hippie girl in 1972 for $125. I was playing the Guild 12-string last night and the low notes actually make the guitar vibrate and you can feel it as you play. I concur with the others that good used six-strings can be had to fulfill the six-string need. But if there's one 12-string to have, Guild makes it.

 

[Mikeoso]

Quick and simple.

yup, that's me :lol:

But, be it noted that in getting to this F512, the top of the Guild line, I did pass through not only the low-end J12-15 (twice) but also the very top of the Gibson and Martin lines...2 very nice B-45-12s and an early D12-35, as well as the vintage F212XLs that some folks feel are the best sound Guild makes. Along the way I also took time to try but not buy Taylor, Larrivee, and Breedlove 12 strings.

We all have our own ideas of what we want out of a 12...and I admit that my ideas have changed over the years too. But at least as of now the F512 is where I end up. That's after decades of playing, often for money, most of the best 12 string models made in America in the last 40 years.

My point (assuming I even have one) is that ending up with this F512 has in reality been a long trip with a lot of serious attention paid to outcomes, as well as some pretty random zigs and zags. If that sounds like some sort of over-the-edge guitar-weenie gearhead navel-gazing....well, yeah.

BTW....the process in ending up with my permanent 6 string was just as long and full of wanderings....I went through too many Martins, Guilds, and Gibsons to even keep track of. The '86 J-40M is where I stopped on that trip.

Now, if one of you ABG players would care to lend me a nice B-50 to test drive against my Martin, I can start getting weird on that front (though I think I really want an Ernie Ball Earthwood)

 

[dreadnut]

You made the right choice

Didn't Guild make a rosewood acoustic bass, is that the B-50? I think I've only seen one of them on ebay.

 

[Tony Burns]

and I was dithering. I've been buying and selling 12 strings for over 20 years, trying to decide which one is THE sound....loved the neck on the old Gibson B-45-12s, loved the sound of the old F212XLs, loved the warmth of the Martin J12-15s.

So this year, I decided to bite the bullet and order NEW a matched set of Martins, J15 and J12-15. loved them. Sold a 70's Gibson 6 string and a 70's Guild F212XL to pay for them. then buyer's remorse set in...wanted a Guild back. one night, scanning eBay, I spot a '78 F512 with a $1500 BIN, and hop on it.

it arrives, and the sound shocks me..so huge, and so different....bright, clear, chimey...absolutely unlike any other 12 string I've played. great sound, but is it THE sound? have I made a mistake? I can't keep it plus the J12-15...in fact, I'd have to sell both Martins to pay for it. (I get to keep my J40, my acoustic bass guitar, and my upright bass).

so you see the issue...do I keep the Guild 12 at the price of a Martin 6 and a Martin 12?

check my sig line for the answer.

Im not really a fan of Martin 12 strings- so the Guild gets my vote -IMO Yamahas and Guilds have always been my favorite 12 stringers ! Thou I love my Martin OM28v ( but its not a twelve)

 

[chazmo]

Gotta' go with the one that calls to ya', Mike.

I laughed at the F512's gaudy looks when I first saw in in the store. Then I played it. It rocks my world. I love my other 12s, but the F512 is the king.

 

[Mikeoso]

Re: tough choice had to be made...I'm satisfied, tickled too.

OK, so....today, I decided to mess with the strings on this thing and see what I got. Put in a set of Martins in a size .012-.054, Marquis 80/20 bronze. changed out the octave G for a twinned .025 wound string. tuned it down a step and capoed it 2 frets with a Shubb Deluxe 12 string model, to get a little more width on the neck.

Holy Smack! this puppy became so huge, I don't know whether to play it or feed it canned elephant food! It still has that Guild ring, but the jangle is largely gone, replaced with a very spacious whooom. Sustain? I whomp an open E, put it down and go get some coffee...it was still playing that E when I got back. My wife comes in from the studio out back and orders me to turn the amp down...I don't own an amp.

So, I togged it out with a set of blue, gold, and scarlet parrot feathers hanging from the headstock, put on a tooled Levy's strap, and we're off to gig at tonight's Downtown Holiday Stroll.

 

[12 string]

There ya go!!

' Strang