how to tune a 12 string corectly

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pinkerchook

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I found out when I bought my 12 string that to tune properly, you have to tune the heavy strings to standard pitch. Then fret the lower heavy E string at the 12th fret. Tune first thinest E heavy string on guitar to 12 freted heavy E string. Follow this step with all other strings as if you were tuneing a 6 string up to the last two strings. Tune the last 4 thinest strings the same in two pairs till they are in unison. This works great and makes the guitar sound like it has a chorus effect.
 
Also..keep in mind that most acoustic 12's are tuned down to "d" instead of "e" because of the extra string pull on the neck. It's a good practice -especially with less expensive models that don't have really good bracing.
It'll help keep the neck from bowing and makes it a little more comfortable to play too. Maybe check with the place you bought it to see what they think.
 
goldtopchas said:
Also..keep in mind that most acoustic 12's are tuned down to "d" instead of "e" because of the extra string pull on the neck. It's a good practice -especially with less expensive models that don't have really good bracing.
It'll help keep the neck from bowing and makes it a little more comfortable to play too. Maybe check with the place you bought it to see what they think.
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definitely true. For taylors, it supposedly voids the warranty to tune to E. Hope they threw in a capo when you bought it!
 
stonepiano said:
definitely true. For taylors, it supposedly voids the warranty to tune to E. Hope they threw in a capo when you bought it!
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Not true - you must be thinking of the LKSM (Leo Kottke SIgnature Model) 12-string which uses heavy strings and is usually tuned 3 to 3.5 steps low. All other 12s come with Elixir light strings and can be tuned to concert pitch.
Art
 
Ovation and Guild also advertise that their 12-string models are designed to be tuned to concert pitch--probably because their tops are more heavily braced and the necks are designed to accept the extra tension--Ovation accomplishes this by placing the truss rod within an aluminum channel and Guild accomplishes it by using two truss rods in the neck.
 
Twelve strings can be tuned to standard pitch, for the most part, provided you use light gauge strings (which with a twelve string set means it starts with a couple of .010s). If you want to use .012s, you really should tune down to D. It can damage the guitar, and I would certainly tell Taylor that any customer who had used .012s - tuned to concert pitch - had abused their guitar, which translates to mean that I would be recommending they NOT cover any related damage under warranty. (Not that Taylor listens when I tell them not to cover things. They are REALLY generous about warranty stuff. They always listen when I tell them they should cover something, though!)


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
asulger said:
Not true - you must be thinking of the LKSM (Leo Kottke SIgnature Model) 12-string which uses heavy strings and is usually tuned 3 to 3.5 steps low. All other 12s come with Elixir light strings and can be tuned to concert pitch.
Art
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I am indeed. thanks for the clarification!
 
I know McGuinn tunes his 12s to E flat (perhaps a compromise eh?). And as YeshuasFan said, a tuner makes it a lot faster.

In my experience, it works better for me to tune from the top down pitchwise. I get better results in the guitar being in tune reliably without having to go back and doing touch ups. If your intonation is spot on the 12th fret approach would work, but action and less than perfect intonation works against you to some extent using the approach you mentioned imho.
 
I've heard that the root strings are tuned standard E to E, while the octave strings are tuned one note down. But, as everybody else has pointed out, it really depends on what type of strings are used.

Matt
 
Unsprung said:
I've heard that the root strings are tuned standard E to E, while the octave strings are tuned one note down. But, as everybody else has pointed out, it really depends on what type of strings are used.

Matt
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LOL !!!

any samples you care to post?
 
Unsprung said:
I've heard that the root strings are tuned standard E to E, while the octave strings are tuned one note down. But, as everybody else has pointed out, it really depends on what type of strings are used.

Matt
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You'd have to be pretty fast to make that sound good.......
 
I tune my Fender 12 string in unison to standard 440hz. Every now and then I drop her down a semi-tone.
 
I've been playing 12 strings for thirty plus years. I've always used light strings and tuned to standard pitch. For the most part I have not had any problems that were the result of added string tension.

I've owned most of the good quality brands out there over the years and most are fine. A notable exception is Martin. Their 12s sound great, but if I had one I would tune it down a whole step. This is especially true of the D-12-20s. I still think they're great guitars.
 
Unsprung said:
I've heard that the root strings are tuned standard E to E, while the octave strings are tuned one note down. But, as everybody else has pointed out, it really depends on what type of strings are used.

Matt
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:eek::eek:

I wouldn't want to be in that band.:eek::eek:
 
I've picked up a couple 12 strings a yamaha fg720 great guitar for the price and also Guild G212 an even better guitar at a great price.
Any way to get back to the subject I like the e flat compromise. D is a little slopply "loose strings" on most stuff. E is a little hard on the fingers.
I played an assortment of 12's breedloves,low martin,tak's, no names and really preferred the sound of these two best.
I've been using the factory light gauge strings for now but I'm tempted to going to something a little heavier and dropping down to D because my wife play soprano sax on a lot of my tunes and it would eliminate transposing.
 
Going to heavier strings and dropping to a D will work fine and really results in about the same string tension. Doing this gives you a very different sound. I'd try it on one of the guitars and see what you think. The guitar will lose some of it's sparkle. That's not necessarily a bad thing. They have sparkle to spare. The chunkier sound you get is fun to play with. For me it just doesn't suit the way I play a 12 string.

I'm a real Guild fan for 12 strings. I like them alot better than Taylors myself. The yammies have always been outstanding in their price range. Congratulations on a brace of tasty guitars.
 
I only posted what I'd heard. Never did bother to find out if it was true, or not, as I didn't have a 12-string at the time. From what I've read in other posts, however, I may need to restring my Epiphone PR350-12E with light gauge strings, to see if that solves the "need slip-joint pliers to fret it with" problem that it's had since I bought it. I'll double check the action, and neck bow while I'm at it, but I'll guess new strings are in order. I'll standard tune all 12 strings.

Matt
 
Matt, in case you didn't get the point from the somewhat sarcastic remarks, if you tune your 12 with the octave strings "one note down" then you have the strings paired as follows: E/D, A/G, D/C and G/F. I think you can figure out why that just wouldn't sound very good.

There's an approach to 12 string tuning called "California" tuning. As I understand it you restring your 12 using octave strings in place of the fundamental strings on the lower end of the guitar - the octave lower E would be in place of the fundamental E and a 10/E would be your new octave string and so on up to a least the D or G. You leave the top as is.

Another approach tunes the octave strings up a fifth instead of a whole octave. Makes for some unusual tonality obviously. A band out of New York put out an album where the guitarist used this kind of tuning. They were called Space Opera and Collector's Choice Music has the album on CD. Here's the link http://www.ccmusic.com/item.cfm?itemid=CCM04332
 
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