How much play time does your 12 string get?

[NorCal Strummer]

Ever since I bought my first Taylor 3 years ago, I have wanted to add a 12 string to the mix, but I always talk myself out of it because I am not sure how much I would play it. I really want a 656 or K66, so it won't be cheap. So I am curious how much play time your 12 string gets?

Thanks

[DennisG]

A lot of stores will rent them on a monthly basis, then apply the rental cost toward purchase. Seems like a good way to find out how much you'll play it.

[Jersey tuning]

Since getting my baritone, virtually none.  Used it a bunch from 2007-2012

[Earl]

Mine used to get a lot more play time.  Now it is about 15% of the time at most.  I'm having some left hand issues, and the extra effort of playing it is a bit discouraging.  (Ditto for my baritone 6 too).  I can even see parting with mine, rather than let it sit in the closet mostly ignored.  There is nothing else quite like the sound of it though, so I sure get the appeal.  I'm going to a jam later today and might even take it along as my only guitar.

Mine is a 354 LTD mid-priced instrument, and I bought it because it plays nearly as well as a six string.  I try not to go high-end on niche instruments, although they might be more enjoyable / prettier than plainer examples.  The new 150e is getting a lot of good reviews, and its price point really lowers the barrier to entry into the 12 string world.  Taylorgirl will likely have some comments too, having recently sold off her 150 after falling in love with a koa 12-er and upgrading.

[TaylorGirl]

With my previous 12 strings (2 non-Taylors and 1 jumbo Taylor), not a lot of my time, because I'm a finger style player and they were not comfortable to me for that kind of playing. Then, I got a 150e, which I found to be very comfortable and was really working well for me. So, my 12 string desire was reborn. Made a mistake in playing other 12 strings at my local guitar shop and found a cedar/mahogany GS that had everything for me.....the comfort and playability I needed and a little less brightness and more warmth with the 12 string chime. It's really hard to describe, but it just seems to be everything I desired. It's a beautiful sounding guitar for strumming too. Now, I'm playing 12 string quite a bit more than ever before.

[BobSol]

As a novice with just about as many chords in my repertoire as guitars I seem to have accumulated during the past two years I love the challenge of just that little more effort, just that more accuracy of finger placement to get it right. I've been hacking away at a couple of songs for a while now, "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" and "Wanted Dead Or Alive" both twelve string classics and they just don't sound right on a six string. I think you'd be surprised how much you'd enjoy it but try a 150E plugged in before getting in too deep on cost. I tried to "improve" my 456CE LTD with different strings and tunings looking for a warmer sound before realising that simply plugging it in and turning down the treble and turning up the bass got it perfect for me. Go try one.   

[timfitz63]

When I'm actually home in Texas, I play my 12-string guitars quite a bit; probably as much if not more than my 6-strings.  I've always liked the way a 12-string sounds, and many of the songs I enjoy playing were either originally done on a 12-string, or sound pretty good adapted to one.  And unlike Susie ("TaylorGirl"), I'm mainly a strummer.

Personally, I can't see myself being without a 12-string.

[ericjungemann]

100% of the time. K66CE

[M19]

So little that I sold my 655 to mgap. I do miss it, but not enough to take the plunge again. I have 3 guitars, and the McIlroy and the Taylor get 90% of the playing time, with he Martin on the outside looking in.

[NorCal Strummer]

Thanks for all of the replies. Sounds like it depends on personal preference.  I appreciate all of the input.

Timfitz, can you tell me the differences between the 656 and the K66 since you have both?  Interested in your perspective.

Thanks everyone. Still undecided.

[Stringband Eric]

Late to the party on this - in overall time, probably close to 50 percent for the 12 string.  But that is because it is my main guitar in the band.  At least right now.  After buying a 150e on a whim, took it over to one of the other players and we decided that night that a 12 string works for our sound. 

Having said that, we are playing a few gigs with an accordion player and I may have to go back to 6 string for that.  Still undecided, though.

[timfitz63]

... Timfitz, can you tell me the differences between the 656 and the K66 since you have both?  Interested in your perspective...

Glad to.  I will caveat my response by saying mine is obviously a 'legacy' 656.  If the re-voiced 656 follows the trend I've been hearing with the other guitars that I've sampled (614ce & 618e) in the new 600 Series, my observations will not really apply.

My 656 is pretty-much exactly what you would expect from Taylor's 'legacy' Maple guitar line:  very bright and focused.  The GS body still gives it satisfactory low-end 'rumble,' but largely the dominant characteristic (certainly by comparison to other Taylor 12-strings) is brightness; some might refer to it as 'jangly.'  Personally, I like that characteristic in a 12-string, but others do not.

The K66 is noticeably more mellow-sounding than the 656; perhaps it's safe to say that it's a better-balanced 12-string than the 656.  Koa still provides more brightness than most of the other tonewoods used by Taylor, but I think it's more centered on the midrange (as opposed to Maple's tendency toward the treble side); plus Koa naturally provides a bit more bass response than Maple, which gives it more 'warmth.'  So I think the K66 will generally come across as a fuller-sounding 12-string.

Now, speculation time:  if the re-voiced 656 is anything like the new 614 and 618, I think it will more closely compare with the K66 than the 'legacy' 656 does.  Taylor seems to have re-worked the 600 Series to effectively shift the tonal response of Maple toward the lower frequencies.  Personally, I'm not a fan; while the bass response has been nicely enhanced and retains the clarity of Maple, the trebles sound 'clipped' to me.  But again, others like it, so it's largely going to be a personal preference thing.

Good luck with your search!  Let us know which 12-string you choose!  Frankly, I don't think you can go too far wrong with either a 656 or a K66!

[Earl]

Tim's comment prompted me to add this, which should have in my original post:

I had a cedar topped 12 string Seagull S6 for quite a few years, and really liked it.  The cedar top warmed up and controlled the bright "jangly" character of the 12 string a bit, while the dreadnought body size also gave it some low end too.  I only sold off that guitar because I stumbled across my highly playable 354LTD, and could not resist buying it.  I also could not justify having two 12 string guitars.

I am a fingerpicker mostly, but primarily use the 12 for strumming (about 85%).  For fingerpicking purposes, I always switch the third course G strings, putting the wound one on the bottom closer to the floor and the octave on top.  Otherwise my finger upstroke hits only the octave string in normal configuration, missing the wound one completely -- and its lower tone.  Fingerpicking tone is definitely missing something when that happens.

[BigSkyTaylorPlayer]

I have a K66, I decided on that after A-B'ing with a 656.  I agree with what timfitz63 said about the jangly part.  The Koa is definitely more warm sounding.

That said I go thru bouts of playing it.  I discovered the mandolin last year and it's pretty much all I play.  I've thought about selling the 12-string but when I put the mandolin down and play my guitars and ukulele everytime I get the K66 out I kick myself for not playing it more.

It is a lot of money to let sit in the closet but I think I'll keep it, I do enjoy playing it and I'm not sorry I got it.  BTW, I played the new 150 at Wintergrass last week and it was sweet!!!  If I didn't have the K66 already I would have bought it right then and there, great festival price as well.

[songman]

Hello all, new user here.

I just got me a 12 string 856ce (new series) and at the moment playing time is 100% 😊. My other guitars are a Larrivee D10, and Ovation Custom Elite CE778 and a Taylor GSmini-e-Rosewood. I just love the sound (quite full and warm and yet with those sparkly highs) and playability of the 856ce and I am sure I will use it quite regularly in future too.

Cheers, Bob.