12 String vs. 6 String Guitars


Once a guitar player has gained some experience with and knowledge about guitars, they will inevitably consider the possibilities afforded by a twelve string guitar. If something sounds good on six strings, then doubling the number of strings should certainly make it sound twice as good, right? While this is a good theory, it may not necessarily be the case in practice. Twelve string guitars and six string guitars have some obvious physical differences, and these play heavily into the relative difficulty or ease of playing each type.

The obvious difference between a six string and a twelve string guitar is the number of strings. On a twelve string guitar, there are six sets, or courses, of two strings each. The two highest sets of strings, E and B, are tuned as a pair to the same note. The remaining four sets of strings are tuned in pairs to the same note, but one of each of the pair of strings is tuned an octave higher than the other. The final major difference between a six string and a twelve string is that the neck of a twelve string guitar is often slightly wider than a standard six string neck, to accommodate the additional strings.

Most experienced guitar players will recommend that a new player begin playing on a six string guitar, and move up to a twelve string guitar only after they have mastered the basics of guitar playing. The wider neck of a twelve string guitar makes going in the opposite direction a little more difficult, because the neck on any other guitar will seem too narrow. It is not as much of a difficulty to switch to a wider neck, but switching to a more narrow neck can be more clumsy.

In addition to the difficulties inherent in a wider neck, twelve string guitars are also more difficult to play because of the increased precision necessary for the strumming or plucking hand. The paired strings are very near to one another, so without great precision, it is hard to strum or pluck only a single string. For this reason, twelve string guitars are much better suited to use as a rhythm guitar, as opposed to a lead guitar. In this role, focused more on the use of chords, twelve string guitars are able to live up to their fullest potential.

Tuning a twelve string guitar can also be harder than tuning a six string guitar, simply because you are tuning twice as many strings. Guitars rarely stay in tune after having been played for any length of time, nor after sitting unplayed for any length of time, so the process of tuning a twelve string guitar will be a frequent one. It is also crucial to get the tuning on a twelve string guitar absolutely precise, perhaps even more so than on a six string guitar, because of the harmonizing strings.

Another difficulty related to a twelve string guitar, although not directly related to playing the guitar, is that the additional strings add a large amount of tension to the guitar neck, making it much more likely to warp than that of a standard guitar. Some twelve string guitars are built with additional neck support, but this usually has a negative affect on both the appearance and tone of these guitars. It is also possible to tune a twelve string guitar lower, to reduce some of the tension caused by the additional strings, but this will similarly affect the tone.

Of course, if you are willing to deal with the difficulties of a twelve string guitar, the rewards are great for those concerned with the sound of their music. The extra strings of a twelve string make chords sound much richer and more melodic. For certain genres of music, this rich and melodic sound is just the thing for which you will be searching. If you are a fan of songs like "Hotel California" by The Eagles, a twelve string guitar may be precisely what you want.

It is possible to have a six string and twelve string guitar joined together on the same guitar. The most famous example of this is the guitar used by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, the Gibson EDS-1275. The left neck is a twelve string guitar, and the right neck is a standard six string guitar. A number of other musicians have used double necked guitars in the same configuration, which allows a guitar player to have the best of both worlds. They can play a portion of a song on each neck, allowing them to switch seamlessly between parts written for six string and twelve string guitars.

While a twelve string guitar is not for every guitar player, it does allow a musician to play beautiful chords. For those looking for such capabilities, the difficulties of learning to play a twelve string guitar may be worth it.