12 String Acoustic Guitars have been recognized over the years for their mixing and spicing up the fabulous tunes. Like many well-known guitar types, 12 strings acoustic guitars can be put in a good for which you can listen to David Bowie.
We all know using 6 string acoustic guitars can be pretty easy for most of the players, but what if we told you have only scratched the surface? Cumulatively, the similarities between 6 string and 12 string acoustic guitar can be easily identified, but for the greater and deeper experience, most guitarists are going for 12 string ones.
Let us show you what you may look upon before buying the best 12 string acoustic guitar. Our list also contains 7 best 12 string acoustic guitars that you may find lucrative for your purposes.
OUR TOP-LISTED 7 BESTSELLING 12-STRING ACOUSTIC GUITARS
Top 7 Best 12 String Acoustic Guitars
Epiphone DR-212 Dreadnought 12-String Guitar
You may find the same quality product when you buy any guitar from the Epiphone, the DR-212 like other brand maintain its standard. The detailed and solid construction of DR-212 to support the enhanced tension of 12 strings, although the dreadnought guitar comes with 6 strings.
There is a visible balance to the user’s eye, the cuttings and the shape of the guitar give you the same type of tones you expect from the 12 string. Epiphone DR-212 has select spruce that lets the guitar breath while it plays.
What’s more anticipating about this acoustic guitar it gets better with age, the reason is the mahogany made body which has enough room to support the tension of 12 string while maintaining the guitar’s tone. DR-212 is superbly ideal for playing folk, rock, blues and country music.
The concern of many players grows when they are buying 12 string guitar, the extra force or tension exerted on the guitar makes it go out of tune. This happens when the pressure is applied between nut, bridge, and rosewood. Well, the DR-212 has no concerns like from the users as it never goes out of the tune.
Takamine EF381SC
For the guitarist who is always with their guitars, Takamine is a reliable brand which they can trust. Takamine’s reputation has grown in the business after some of their best guitar collections. The EF381SC brings something new to the 12 string acoustic guitar realm and that’s just extraordinary.
There are those traits in Takamine EF381SC that a 12 string acoustic guitar from a reputable brand is currently providing. Where Takamine went rogue is in choosing the solid spruce top with maple back and sides. This makes the guitar produce some melodious and deeper tones, the fun gets double when you find out EF381SC comes with a whole set of CT4B electronics.
This electronic set is able to capture the natural sound of the guitar; this is why pro players are all after EF381SC for it has no barrier while you play.
Yamaha FG820 12-String Acoustic Guitar
The legacy of Yamaha FG guitars was established in 1966 when they launched their first FG series. Their FG-180 proved that a great guitar doesn’t need to be expensive, and the 180 was known for excellent musical tones and enhanced well-built quality. Millions of guitarist chose the guitar because, after all these years, it sounds greater than ever.
Yamaha introduced the scalloped bracing design in the guitar that ensures each sound coming out is well balanced and echoing. Body-wise, it has mahogany back and sides that support warm tunes.
Yamaha FG820 is best for the beginner guitarists since you can easily fingerpick it and isolate the notes quite easily. The company bets on the quality and claims no user will get it wrong with Yamaha since the company is known for the best craftsmanship reputation in the music industry.
Martin D12X1AE 12-String Acoustic Guitar
Martin guitars are known for having the best quality in the music industry, the secret about Martin for over years has been the natural resources utilized to make their guitars. This material mostly came from the endangered and rare wood types which are to become extinct in upcoming years.
Recently, Martin made great alternatives to those materials so they won’t have to sacrifice the build and sound quality. This means you can get these guitars at many affordable prices.
Construction-wise, the Martin D12X1AE has back and sides made with patented mahogany-grained high-pressure laminate. The neck is made of rust birch laminate and the fingerboard material that has been used is Richlite, these both are eco-friendly materials according to Martin.
The powerful and rich tones come into play for the HPL (High-Pressure Laminate) and are paired with a solid Sitka spruce top. You will feel vintage warmness in this 12 string guitar like many other players.
In addition, Martin D12X1AE has a nut of the 1.8-inch size which is used to provide room for the extra strings. The size is wider than 6 string guitar which is not so much drastic to create handling problems.
This guitar is also equipped with Fishman Sonitone Electronics to get the real job done!
Taylor 150e 12 String Acoustic Guitar
Taylor 150e is the brand new 12 string acoustic guitar, which has built-in electronics, this can be used to amplify the sound whenever you need it. Apparently, Taylor 150e displays a fully classic dreadnought body that provides a strong low-end response to provide balance. The shimmering and bright strings make it even more charming.
Taylor 150e has a solid Sitka spruce top with Sapele neck, the spruce top is covered with Walnut back and sides. 150e has a magnificent sound in addition to midrange presence and high-end sparkle which pleases the ears of the audience.
Taylor 150e also added the ebony fingerboard which delivers the crispy treble sound with robust, high mid-range vibes in a perfect manner. The professional guitar players, flat pickers and strummers can enjoy the broad dynamic range by Taylor 150e that has been submerged with the crystal clear articulated sound.
You will also find 1.875-inch nut with a Tusq nut and Micarta saddle. Taylor 150e also features die-cast chrome mini tuner, back binding, three-ring rosette and the Taylor Expression System 2 pickups for easy plug and play experience.
Gretsch Rancher Falcon G5022CWFE-12
Rancher Falcon G5022CWFE-12 by Gretsch is living proof of a better crafted retro guitar with features like bling clothing. This is a mid-range priced 12-string guitar model which is packed with some demonstrative features, by the looks you will see the elegant white and shiny gold color scheme, and of course the most appealing falcon headstock.
Under the paint, Rancher Falcon G5022CWFE-12 has a solid spruce top and laminated maple body. This is not a jumbo-sized guitar with similar projections in terms of sound, but for mediocre performers, the Fishman electronics come in this brand is enough to provide versatility, sustainability and the production of warm natural tones.
Seagull Coastline S12 QI
For the Canadian guitar brand lovers who look the guitar craftsmanship, well the North America region had some best luthier in the world that sculpted this guitar by hands about a decagon ago. The best thing about these guitars they are eye-catching as well as affordable in the same manner.
Seagull S12 QI is one of those guitars, with the 12 string model and solid tonewood body with the little but a great preamp system. The build quality of Seagull is of high quality while the resulting sound is another reason for buying this such a low price. For someone who is looking for attainable value for the money choice, this is the best 12 string acoustic guitar to go with.
Best 12-String Acoustic Guitars Buyer’s Guide
What is a 12-String Guitar?
12 String guitar is like the normal acoustic guitars with 12 string as compared to the 6 string ones. By experience, the strumming in 12 string acoustic guitar is highly enhanced and satisfying. This also gives the users robust and echoing sound which you cannot get usually with the 6 string acoustic guitar.
The fretboard width of 12 string acoustic guitar is not much enhanced regardless of having 6 extra strings. There is a pair of 2 strings if you can which are divided into 6 parts on the fretboard, this suffix the enriched tone with higher octave feels. The string pairs (esp the lower 4 ones) are tuned in such a way that 1 string in the pair provides the octave while the other does the sound. The upper two pairs are tuned in unison.
The string pairs are played together, which is why most players say “If you can play the standard 6-string guitar, then you can play a 12-string guitar”.
The first time players of 12-string guitars noticed the extra richness of the tones as well as they are more lenient on the finger gestures. You will not about to make the little mistakes about as they will be quickly ignored and a result of overtone and clattering.
What Are the Benefits of 12-String Guitar?
You may already know what it feels like to play the 6 string guitar, so what’s all the hugger-mugger about the 12 strings guitar?
According to the guitar community, the benefit of using 12 string guitar over 6 strings is like choosing a grand piano over the small model. In short, they are the tools to enhance and echo the sentiments of a normal sound.
Also, the 12 string guitar has more filling tones and there are a plethora of overtones coming out from the soundbox. This will give you more with less and the reason they are competing during the solo performances to provide the audience with the richest and expressive tunes.
The practice lessons you get with these guitars can be easily transferred to the regular six-string playing. For a guitar player, it is easy to play with the single string, but comparing the power of two strings by pressing perfectly in unison, you can know a whole lot about the chorus play like that in electric guitar. Mastering the techniques of 12 string guitar makes you efficient in playing every standard acoustic guitar.
The last benefit of 12 string acoustic guitar is the experimentation you can have with tones and playing styles. Guitar players should never feel their skills are stuck in one place and for that, they need to challenge themselves, this is where 12 string can reignite the fire of passion for guitar and let you get the creative ideas.
What to Look For Before Buying 12 String Acoustic Guitar?
Always look for the headstock which holds 120tunng machines instead of six, this is the trait of 12 string guitar which demands to change the strings. Since the strings used in 12 string acoustic guitar are different than your normal acoustic guitars, in this way they are more expensive than the regular ones.
Users shall also look for the neck strength; the number of strings is going to be double which is not good for the standard scale neck. You are going to put a high level of tension on these necks for which you need to get the heavier, thicker and adjustable necks that might not be comfortable at first. The double truss rods running through the neck must also be noted, their adjustment can be pretty hard though.
The aforementioned points are not to make you feel repelled by the 12 string guitars, but instead, you can take them as learning lessons that are introducing you to some different style of music. The initial learning process with 12 string acoustic guitar counts most as it is the hardest part. The rest of the journey will be smoothening for you!
Final Words
Best 12 strings guitars are getting in notice ever since users have acknowledged the fact of adding 6 extra strings to the standard acoustic guitars. The market for 12 string acoustic guitar is growing faster than ever and has got some serious collection which may cost you thousands of dollars.
The models we highlighted comes in the right budget of the users and are ideal for their skill level. For every guitar player who is into some creative works that have been done never before, spending time with the 12 strings acoustics could be the best decision of your life and to your career.
AMAZON’S TOP 5 BESTSELLING 12-STRING ACOUSTIC GUITARS
Last update on 2023-04-02 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
