Question about 12 strings.......

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Can they be played as 6 strings? I'm curious about this.

Also whether the neck is slightly wider and if tension adjustments are necessary.

[djetz]

Yes, I've seen both electrics and accoustic 12s set up as 6 stringers.

Johnny Winters used to use a Fender XII as a six string.

As to whether there's a difference between the feel - depends on the guitar, some are, some not.

[Mighty Tom]

There were a couple of guitars in the '60s that incorporated a lever that was meant to instantly convert a 12 string into a 6 string and back again. From what I hear, they didn't work very good.

[djetz]

There were a couple of guitars in the '60s that incorporated a lever that was meant to instantly convert a 12 string into a 6 string and back again. From what I hear, they didn't work very good.

Rickenbacker Convertible. A terrible idea that worked really really badly, from what I hear.

http://www.rickbeat.com/modelslibrary/36612/36612.htm

[chrisjedijane]

Yep, it was a terrible idea. I played one once, and the "convertible" feature was a nightmare to work.

[cestlamort]

urgh.  that's a terrible idea.  12 to 6 strings?  Maybe some wire cutters.

Feel fine playing a 12 as a 6 string (I had a 9 string thrift store vox acoustic for a while).  Strangely, some of the best playing guitars I've seen are 60s 12-strings.  (I just picked up an eko and it's great to play). 

[noirengineer]

yes.. i used to play a 12 string acoustic, but with 6 strings
it was gorgeous sounding (removed extraneous tuning pegs too)
it also had a wide fingerboard.  helped my fingerpicking and added
a bigger sound.

[soundhack]

my rick 360 is a 12 string, but i only have 6 on it. i bought a 6 string bridge and took off the 6 extra tuners so i don't have things rattling around. it didn't require any truss rod adjustment (though i can imagine that's not always the case).

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Cool. My only other remaining dilemma is purely aesthetic. When I remove 6 of the 12 strings do I leave....

a) 6 in a line along the top?
b) 6 in a line along the bottom?
c) 3 either side next to the nut?
d) 3 either side at the far end?

I guess the first choice makes more sense.

Agreed on the removal of excess tuners too.


Oh. One more question. What kind of guage strings are best? I'd imagine fairly light ones but I've been wrong before. 

[noirengineer]

it's not really a choice.. not for me at least
my guitar was set up with every 2nd tuner
designated to the regular gauge, it's the thin
gauged strings before the regular 6 you'd need
to remove.. at least i think that makes sesnse?

[mezcalhead]

Yeah, just use the tuners that the standard strings would've been in .. otherwise you might find they don't fit right in the nut (not purely aesthetic in other words).

So it'll probably be every other tuner depending on the guitar; for a Rick you'll keep the bottom string of each pair.

I'm sure I mentioned this before but I used to have 9 strings on my Rick 12: heavy singles on the bottom three courses and light doubled strings on the top three, the same note not octaves. It didn't sound like a 12-string without the characteristic high octave G but it did sound nice and thick.

[VintagePete]

Hi ! I did it for a short while with my 66 Electric XII and i realized i'm no Johnny Winter.
Usually the neck is larger and you need an adjustment+heavier strings to compensate the 6 strings tension vs 12.
Have a great Easter !!!
VintagePete

[DB]

Yeah, just use the tuners that the standard strings would've been in .. otherwise you might find they don't fit right in the nut (not purely aesthetic in other words).

So it'll probably be every other tuner depending on the guitar; for a Rick you'll keep the bottom string of each pair.

I'm sure I mentioned this before but I used to have 9 strings on my Rick 12: heavy singles on the bottom three courses and light doubled strings on the top three, the same note not octaves. It didn't sound like a 12-string without the characteristic high octave G but it did sound nice and thick.

+1.  You need to see how the strings line up with the nut.  If they are too far right or left, you'll have tuning issues with the strings binding in the nut.

DB