A twelve-string guitar is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings arranged in six pairs, called courses. It creates a fuller, more ringing sound compared to a standard six-string guitar. Usually, the lower four pairs of strings are tuned an octave apart, while the top two pairs are tuned to the same note. The strings in each pair are close together and are pressed down and plucked as one unit. The neck is wider to hold all the strings, similar to the neck of a classical guitar. Acoustic twelve-string guitars produce a richer, more layered sound than six-string guitars. Players can use the same notes, chords, and techniques as on a six-string guitar, but some advanced methods are harder because two strings must be plucked at the same time.
Structurally, twelve-string guitars, especially those made before 1970, differ from six-string guitars in these ways:
Twelve-string guitars are available in both acoustic and electric versions. Acoustic versions are more common.
"Chorus" effect
The 12-string guitar has two sets of strings that create a shimmering sound. Even when strings are tuned to the same pitch, they do not vibrate perfectly at the same time—they vibrate slightly out of sync. This causes the sound to seem like it is shimmering, similar to how some people describe slightly out-of-tune strings. The way the vibrations interact creates a pattern called a beat, which makes the sound’s loudness rise and fall in a regular way. This effect is often enjoyed by listeners. Musician Pete Seeger compared the unique sound of the 12-string guitar to "the clanging of bells."
Origin and history
The origin of the modern 12-string guitar is not clear, but it appeared in the late 1800s. However, the earliest example is the Baroque guitar with six double strings (late 1700s), which evolved from the Baroque guitar with five double strings by adding a sixth double string tuned to E. This guitar was tuned in the order EE-BB-GG-DD-AA-EE, with the last three double strings (DD-AA-EE) playing notes an octave higher. It appeared before other stringed instruments with double strings, such as the bandolón, guitarra séptima, guitarra quinta huapanguera, bajo sexto (Mexico), and 12-string folk guitars from Huánuco and Puno, the 14-string guitar from Cusco, and the 12-string requinto from Arequipa (Peru). Six-string guitars with double strings were still used in Spain during the 1800s, but they followed the classical or romantic guitar model, which became the direct ancestor of the modern 12-string guitar. A picture from 1901 shows a 12-string chordophone in a Mexican Typical Orchestra at the Pan-American Exposition.
In the 1800s and early 1900s, 12-string guitars were considered novelty instruments. They became important in blues and folk music in the 1920s and 1930s because their rich, full sound was ideal for vocalists. Musicians like Lead Belly and Blind Willie McTell used them. The 12-string guitar has since been used in folk, rock, jazz, and popular music. In the 1930s, Mexican-American musician Lydia Mendoza helped make the instrument popular. In the 1950s, Fred Gerlach, a student of Lead Belly, introduced it to American folk music. At first, it was mainly used for accompaniment because it was harder to play techniques like string bends on its double strings. In the 1960s, Delta Blues guitarist Robert Lockwood Jr. received a handmade acoustic 12-string guitar from a Japanese luthier and used it afterward. Later in the 20th century, many musicians performed solo pieces on the 12-string guitar, including Roger Hodgson, Leo Kottke, Peter Lang, John McLaughlin, Larry Coryell, Ralph Towner, Robbie Basho, Roger Whittaker, Jack Rose, and James Blackshaw.
Electric 12-strings became common in pop and rock music in the 1960s. Early use was led by session guitarists in the Wrecking Crew. In 1963, Carol Kaye used a modified Guild six-string on the Crystals’ song “Then He Kissed Me” and on Jackie DeShannon’s “When You Walk in the Room.” Glen Campbell played a famous guitar part from DeShannon’s song on an electric 12-string.
One of the first mass-produced electric 12-strings was the Bellzouki, introduced in 1961 by Danelectro based on a design by session guitarist Vinnie Bell. It was seen as a mix between an electric guitar and a bouzouki rather than a traditional 12-string guitar. In 1963, JMI in the UK briefly made the Vox Bouzouki, later produced in Italy as the Vox Tempest XII. It was used by Vic Flick on the Peter and Gordon hit “A World Without Love” in 1964. In late 1963, Burns created the Double Six, which Hank Marvin of the Shadows used on the 1964 movie Wonderful Life and on the Searchers’ version of DeShannon’s “When You Walk in the Room.”
The electric 12-string gained popularity with the release of the Rickenbacker 360 in 1964. George Harrison of the Beatles used it on the album A Hard Day’s Night and many other recordings. In 1965, Roger McGuinn of the Byrds made the Rickenbacker 12-string central to their folk rock sound, helping the instrument become more famous.
By the mid-1960s, major guitar makers like Fender, Vox, Gretsch, Guild, and Gibson produced electric 12-strings. Fender’s Electric XII was used by Roy Wood of the Move, and Vox’s Phantom XII was used by Tony Hicks of the Hollies. Gretsch made custom 12-strings for Michael Nesmith of the Monkees for use on their TV show.
Standard electric 12-strings became less popular as the American folk rock scene declined in the late 1960s. Fender and Gibson stopped making the Electric XII and ES-335 12-string models in 1969. However, in the 1970s, some progressive rock, hard rock, and jazz fusion musicians, such as Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, Don Felder of the Eagles, John McLaughlin of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Alex Lifeson of Rush, used double-necked guitars like the Gibson EDS-1275, which had six-string and 12-string necks, for live performances.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the post-punk era saw a return to electric 12-strings in alternative rock, pop, and indie music. Musicians like Johnny Marr of the Smiths, Dave Gregory of XTC, Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles, Marty Willson-Piper of the Church, Peter Buck of R.E.M., and Tom Petty and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers often used 12-strings, especially Rickenbackers, in their songs.
In the 1980s, John C. Hall, president of Rickenbacker, invited Roger McGuinn to create a limited-edition signature model. McGuinn was happy with the idea, and the Rickenbacker 370/12 RME1 was introduced in 1988.
Design
The strings on a 12-string guitar are grouped into pairs, called courses, and are usually played together. In the lower four courses, each pair of strings is typically tuned an octave apart, meaning one string sounds twice as high or low as the other. In the top two courses, the strings are tuned in unison, meaning they sound the same. Usually, the higher string in each pair is played first when strumming downward. However, Rickenbacker electric 12-string guitars often reverse this order. The second string in the third course (G) may be tuned in unison or an octave apart, depending on the player’s preference. Some players prefer the bright, bell-like sound of an octave string in this position. Another variation is tuning the octave string in the sixth (lowest) course two octaves above the lower string instead of one. Some players remove certain doubled strings to simplify playing, such as removing the higher octave in the three lowest courses to make bass lines easier to play while keeping the higher strings for full strums. Some manufacturers have made 9-string guitars based on this setup, with either the lower or upper three courses having single strings. Some players also use unconventional stringing, such as Big Joe Williams, who used doubled strings on the 1st, 2nd, and 4th courses of his guitars and later switched to 12-string instruments.
The extra tension from the doubled strings can cause the guitar’s neck and soundboard to warp over time. This was a common issue in older 12-string guitars, but modern instruments made after 1970 are less likely to warp. Before the 1940s, 12-string guitars were often tuned lower than the standard EADGBE tuning to reduce tension. For example, Lead Belly sometimes used a low-C tuning, but other recordings show he used lower tunings like low-B or A, partly because of the long scale length (about 26.5–27 inches) and heavy strings (14–70 gauge) on his preferred guitars. Some 12-string guitars have special structural supports, such as larger reinforcement plates on the bridge, to prevent warping, though this can affect the guitar’s appearance and sound. Older 12-string guitars also had shorter necks and scale lengths than 6-string guitars to reduce tension, though some exceptions, like Oscar Schmidt guitars, had longer scale lengths (around 26.5 inches). Acoustic 12-string guitars often used tailpieces or floating-bridge setups more frequently than 6-string guitars to manage tension.
Since the 1970s, improvements in materials, design, and construction have reduced the need for these adjustments. Modern 12-string guitars are typically built with the same size and scale length as 6-string guitars, though they are still made more robustly with heavier bracing.
Tuning
The most common tuning, now considered standard, is a variation of the standard six-string guitar tuning: E 3 •E 2 A 3 •A 2 D 4 •D 3 G 4 •G 3 B 3 •B 3 E 4 •E 4, listed from the lowest (sixth) string to the highest (first) string. Some musicians, like Lead Belly, have adjusted the lowest string pair to be two octaves higher instead of one, creating a third string that matches the top string in pitch. Others have also made the third string pair match the top string in pitch, and some have tuned all string pairs except the top ones to octaves.
Some musicians use open tunings and other non-standard tunings on 12-string guitars. Some have experimented with tuning the two strings in each pair to intervals other than octaves or unisons. For example, jazz guitarists like Ralph Towner, Larry Coryell, and Philip Catherine have tuned the lower strings of their 12-string guitars to upper fifths and the higher strings to lower fourths instead of octaves or unisons. Michael Gulezian tuned the top two string pairs to whole-tone intervals (and possibly other strings an octave lower) to create a rich, complex sound. The many strings on a 12-string guitar allow for many different tuning possibilities.
Nashville tuning is a method used to copy the sound of a 12-string guitar using two six-string guitars. This is done by replacing the lower four strings on one six-string guitar with the higher octave strings from a 12-string guitar and tuning these strings an octave higher than usual. Playing this guitar together with a second six-string guitar tuned normally helps create a "cleaner" 12-string sound in recordings.
Mexican twelve-string guitars, also called requinto style or Sierreño style, are modified 12-string guitars that can sound like a bajo sexto or bajo quinto and are used to play regional Mexican music, such as norteño, Tejano, and conjunto. In a standard 12-string guitar, the four lowest strings (E, A, D, and G) have pairs of strings tuned an octave apart, while the top two strings (B and E) have pairs tuned in unison. However, for regional Mexican styles, all strings are set up with pairs tuned in unison instead of octaves. This setup creates a sound similar to the bajo sexto but increases tension on the guitar’s bridge and neck. It often requires changes to the nut, adjustments to the neck, and reinforcement of the bridge.
Playing
The 12-string guitar has more strings and tighter tension than a regular guitar, making it harder to play. Pressing down on chords requires more strength, and the wider neck and tight strings make it difficult to play solos or bend strings. The space between pairs of strings is usually smaller than on a regular six-string guitar, so players need more careful movement with their pick or fingers when not strumming chords. Because of these challenges, the 12-string guitar is often used for accompaniment. However, some musicians have learned to play it as a solo instrument. Electric guitar players often use flat-picking for solos, while some acoustic players, like Leo Kottke, use fingerstyle techniques. Others, like Ralph Towner, use classical playing methods.
Roger McGuinn created his own way of playing a 12-string guitar. The Rickenbacker 360/12 model has a neck as wide as a regular six-string guitar, making solos easier to play. McGuinn used techniques from playing the banjo to form chords. A unique feature of Rickenbacker 12-string guitars is how the string pairs are arranged. Most 12-string guitars place the octave string pair on the lower side of the standard course, but Rickenbacker places it on the higher side. This design, along with the semi-hollow body and neck structure, creates a distinct sound. The use of a compressor also helped shape the sound of the band The Byrds. Lead Belly used both simple strumming and fingerstyle techniques, as did Blind Willie McTell.