Which 12-string electric guitar?

Hello there,

I want to have the Byrds/Beatles 12-string sound, but I cannot afford a Rickenbacker. Do you know any company that produces Rick-copies? I know Johnson did once, and probably Ibanez, but where to get those now? Or are there any other 12-string guitars I should consider?

Thanks,

Unfortunately Rickenbacker is VERY protective of their designs, and shuts down quickly any company that tries to make copies of their instruments.

Daisy Rock's got a really nice semi-hollow electric 12 out, sounds great and very inexpensive. And it's white and not at all girly-looking like some of their axes.

Fender makes a Strat XII - it's up there in price, but not as bad as a Rick. They also for a time made a 12-string version of their Squier Venus (the infamous Courtney Love model) that you might look for used.

Yamaha, IIRC, makes a Pacifica 12-string that's inexpensive.

Other used ones to look out for - Peavey's Milestone 12, and Danelectro's 12-string from a few years ago.

There's a guy on eBay who regularly sells a solidbody electric 12 called a Saratoga for around $259 US + shipping:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem& category=2384&item=73127... 8&rd=1

Other than that, you might want to consider building one from parts. Warmoth I know makes 12-string necks - get a body, electronics and other hardware and go to town.

Maybe you can find an Ovation Deacon-12. That's the only guitar I regret getting rid of, in 25 years.

The two I know about are Carvin and Dean.

Or I could build you one of these:
http://www.cyrguitars.com/12-String-001.jpg

But the price is about $1000 to $1200 US$, depending on options. Contact me at stephen.cyr<at>smctek<dot>com if you're interested.

Daniel Dreibelbis:

I feared it was that way...

Hmm, seems they don't build them anymore. At least their website doesn't list it and I couldn't find it anywhere.

Ah, seems worth a try. I've asked him whether he'd ship to Europe...

Besides eBay, does anybody know of a used-guitar website/forum/community/whatever, preferebly one that is centered in Europe (customs, shipping costs...)?

Wow, just checked their website. Seems like a cool thing to do, I may give it a try

Thanks,

For that sound on a budget, I very strongly suggest the discontinued Dearmond S73-12. It's a solid body SG style, decent fit and finish, made in Korea, and most importantly has a pair of Dearmond 2k single coil pickups. They really ring out the chimey sound you want. When fender discontinued the dearmond line thesewere sold off at about $260 and were worth it. Watch on ebay, etc., as they do pop up regularly. Action and sound are excellent. I didn't like the feel of the heavy poly finish on the neck, but lots of folks don't miind that and it's pretty much something you have to live with or fix on all cheap asian guitars. Weight balance is definitely head heavy, but that's true of most 12's unless they use cheap plastic tuners.

A tough very playable guitar with superb sound due to the pickups.

The danelectro mentioned below sounds nice, but the dano 12 I played a couple of years ago didn't have a truss rod, which concerns me

Dean makes a semi-hollow electric 12 in the $450 range called a 'Boca'. Look at musiciansfriend.com

The Danelectro 12's were easily the best bang for the buck a few years ago. But the prices on the used ones are rising.

I had a Gibson/Epiphone 6/12 doubleneck a few years ago that I used for recording electric 12 parts. It always sounded great. I sold it, and bought a Ric 330-12. The Ric sounds great (of course), but it's so much more tonally complex that it's a little harder to get the *right* sound out of it quickly.

So I've been passively looking for a solid electric 12 too.

The various Fender 12's are great. Very expensive though. I saw one of the Squier Venus XII's a few years ago for about $300. Stupid me. I shoulda bought it.

-dave

Years ago I had a Carvin 12 string electric. It was an absolutely beautiful guitar, it played great, sounded great, and looked great.

Unfortunately, I really had no use for it. The band I was in didn't do any songs that used a 12 string, and I was using it where it wasn't needed just to be using it. I realized that was dumb and traded it away. That Carvin was awesome, but in my case it went to waste.

~Rich See my gear at the link!

Geetar Dave:

I would get it at once, but they don't ship to Europe.

I do like my Danno 12, but the fingerboard is too flat, and unless I play it all the time, it takes me quite a long time to readjust to it after an absense. Plus, the neck had developed a bow - I'be been told there's a truss rod that's only accessible when you remove the neck, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. It sounds very good, though. I attribute that to the lipstick-tube pickups and hollow body.

there any other 12-string guitars I should consider?

Jensen Music in Santa Maria Ca, has a used Fender 12 String, that I think is listed for around $1,100.

See ya,