i'll add my thoughts after having owned and currently still, some 12 fret instruments.
short history, i started with 14 fret guitars-knew nothing of the difference until about 6 months after starting some basic steel string classes and developed a hankering for the sound of nylon-Flamenco specifically.
i began-unknowingly to myself, a reduction of my 14 fret instruments about 2 years ago. I started working with a Weissenborn and just loved the simplicity of that fretboard-made a trade with a guy for his 12 fret Beneteau 000 and that was that. I was spoiled. The Beneteau had a cutaway-which i really like on a 12. A few factors weighed in over the following year and i ended up trading the Beneteau for a Goodall TR000(no cutaway). The Goodall had a 1 13/16" nut width and 2 1/4" saddle string spacing which is about perfect for me. Along this time i developed a desire for the Taylor 2010 12 fret 814 after a friend had purchased one and sung its praises(he never had been a taylor fan so i knew it had to be good)-i was lucky Jim at GR still had one left and i acquired it quickly.
The Goodall is simply a monster. Loud, easy to play, beautiful tone, perfect everything except no cutaway-i missed that. The 814 12f i really enjoyed but since both were sitka/EIR i sold the 814 to fund something(i think it was some home repair). A while back i picked up a very nice GC 12 fret in the sitka/EIR because i really missed that 814 12 and none were to be found. The GC was a fine instrument. I do prefer the GA size and lately just found out i really like the GS body size. So after some thought i traded the GC for a GT6 Baritone(which is best described as a shock to ones system
).
The things that really stood out for me with the Taylor 12's:
1)the tone-they brought me back, i had left taylor a few years back and went to Martins and some luthier built instruments because of the yearning for a different tone. . In my absence, taylor had made changes to braces, special routing, and other things.
2)the shortscale is very nice and easy to play-keep in mind the distance between the frets get a little tight as you go up the neck
3)the taylor neck and build quality-no use to expound on the superlative feel and nature of the taylor neck profile/design or build quality-its simply top shelf and stand above the water line with a few others IMO. typically excellent intonation and setup from the factory-all you do is spend an hour at most fine tuning to suit your style of play.
I need to add that the original reason i drifted towards 12 fret guitars in the first place was the fact of the whole neck being a little closer to ones body and you have less reach for the lower frets. i have a left thumb injury that is permanent. Most standard scale instruments cause discomfort within minutes and i found myself fighting the instrument. I started with standard scale 12 frets and over time migrated to shortscale. The Taylor 12 fret design felt easy to play with absolutely no discomfort and the tone was smoother/less jangly than how i perceived taylors of the past.
some of my hero's who play 12 frets-and do it quite well, are Peter Rowan and Martin Simpson. I play primarily fingerstyle with little strumming, no nails. I will emphasize the Goodall TR000 in sitka/EIR is a monster with a pick and strums fine. The 814 12 fret was a good strummer as well-i never tried the GC 12-just didn't think to do it.
in an odd turn of events i've recently found myself back into standard scale taylors-and with the Baritone a 27" scale. I find these ,so far, very easy to play with a nice low setup(and i'm liking medium gauge strings-always was light gauge in the past). And my left hand is not giving me the least issues. so what is written in stone today is gravel tomorrow :Pi suppose.
If i were to have another Taylor 12 fret, i would prefer the GA size(it played very easy for me sitting) and would LOVE if Taylor offered a 1 13/16" nut width or wider, and standard taylor scale length. And i think a GS 12 fret could be a stomper as well. The Goodall is a 25" scale and for me that is the perfect length between short and standard scale for my particular body size and playing style.
I've owned slotheads and paddleheads in all sorts of instruments-neither design comes into play for me when i am contemplating purchase-i've personally never paid attention to consider any tonal difference-string changes are no more difficult on slotheads than for paddlehead-just different. same for a cutaway, i've never paid attention and would prefer one versus not having one on a 12(it definitely makes playing up the neck more smooth and fun......and easy)
sorry for such a long post, but a nice 12 fret deserves it.
d
