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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 1486
Location: Michigan | in the last 2 years i have been playing my 12 strings about 90 % of my time and then the other day i picked up my 6 stringer and started to try and play and whoooooh did i suck . i couldn't play anything without constanley making nothing but mistakes to the point of having to put it down and stop playing it.
i started wondering what the heck has happened to me and will i ever be able to get back into playing a 6er halfass and if i do will i lose it trying to go back to the 12 ? i can't believe how bad i have gotten on the 6 string.
has this ever happened to any of you? i don't even want to pick up a 6er right now.
do any of you play a 12 & a 6 stringer both at a good level or does one or the other overrule? GWB |
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Joined:
March 2008
Posts: 2683
Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | I never did take to a 12er, but I noticed when I play my Warlock for a few days I have a hard time going back to acoustic. (Well, except the LX which has lower action than most electrics.) What I have to do is play some on each every day to keep my fingers in shape.
Give yourself about three days on the 6er, and during that time don't touch the 12 string. Then once you feel like you've gotten it back, play one in the morning and the other in the evening, every day.
Then once you're back to being used to both guitars, it's time to pick up - a BANJO!! |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | I've never bonded with a 12 string either.
I do notice the difference in neck widths after not playing the UTE for a couple weeks. But after a couple songs the weirdness is over. |
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Joined:
December 2009
Posts: 143
Location: Ontario Canada | I play the 1615-4 with the bottom EADG strings as single courses and the top B's and E's as doubles.
Now that my fingers aren't like they were in the
50's and 60's I still try and make a joyful noise.
My voice has also taken the toll of time, but music is my passion so I still play away to the four walls. I am more comfortable with a six string whenevr I play my LaPatrie classical however.
Jim. |
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Joined:
September 2008
Posts: 1281
Location: Ohio | Had a Maxtix 12 for about 25 years and that was my only guitar. It imploded and now I have a Celeb Dlx 6 and it took a white to make the change to the 6. Just the neck width was an adjustment. I have long fingers and they just get in the way........... |
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Joined:
December 2009
Posts: 74
Location: Ireland | I have a 1615 (thank you Canterburystrings) and two 6 strings. Having not played a 12 string for some time, you do have to play it/approach it differently. When I first picked it up it sounded fantastic, but I didn't have 'control' over it as much as I do on a 6 string. My flat picking wasn't percise - regularly hitting the wrong strings and strumming was producing a 'mush' of a sound. After spending some time with it all that has changed and I LOVE it, absolutely LOVE it. Flat picking has come on so much that I put in many more bass runs between chords - the extra octave strings really ringing out. It is a different animal and needs to be approached that way. I play both the 12 and 6 in church as each gives something different to a song. Interchanging them hasn't been a hassle - but I think that is because I now play them together regularly. The old saying different horses for different courses. |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 1486
Location: Michigan | banjo now that's a thought , so are drums,bongo's,washboard's and the tambourine. GWB |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I find that I play them differently. I can get more sounds out of a 12, but don't have as much control over the strings and notes, so mostly its open chords. With a 6 string, my lead clarity improves dramatically and I have greater control over the entire fretboard. It always depends on the songs we're doing. Some just sound better on a 12 string, even though my personal technique is more limited. Then again, I'm a flatpicker, so my own personal observations and limitations may not be as applicable to fingerstyle playing. |
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Joined:
November 2008
Posts: 1119
Location: Michigan | Ummm you did not seem to struggle at Brads :) |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 5567
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | I started out on a 6 many years ago but soon switched to a 12 acoustic and kept a 6 electric...then when I bought a D-28 and started gigging, I soon bought a D-2812 to match and a couple of years later bought my first Ovation: a Pacemaker 12 and a cutaway Legend 6 which I gigged with exclusively for many years before moving to an Elite 12 and 6.
I continue to play both 12 and 6 nearly every day and still gig w/my Adamas 6 and 12 twins...
Both have their place: Prof. put it nicely that the 12 is easier to chord and is great for vocal accompaniment...the 6 is as well but it is also great for fingerstyle and lead lines and such...with the multitude of guitar processors out today, one can make a 6 string sound remarkably like a 12...
It all comes down to which tool fits what you are playing and getting plenty of playing time (practice) in on each instrument.
After 45 years, both 12 and 6 strings have become trusted familiar old friends.
Hang in there GWB... |
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Joined:
May 2009
Posts: 325
Location: Utica, NY | It's funny, I love my 12 and it's the only acoustic I own and the only one I have been settled enough with to actually keep for a while. It's jangly sound just makes me happy.
:D |
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Joined:
June 2006
Posts: 7307
Location: South of most, North of few | Since I've been playing the Hamer and UK, even a 6 acoustic feels stiff. I can't imagine what a 12 string would feel like now. |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 1486
Location: Michigan | t.j. how is the electric gas been lately ?
did it settle down ? GWB |
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Joined:
June 2006
Posts: 7307
Location: South of most, North of few | The bank account has a way of regulating it. Still got the wants, just aint got the gots. |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | Well they are different. Especially for me where my 6 is not as good a guitar as my 12. I love the 12 for big chord sounds, the 6 for melody and arpeggio picking. I try to play each regularly but don't have enough time to play either! |
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im turned turned around , the 12 took over the 6
