Twelve-stringed guitar. Configuration options

In the life of a guitar player, a moment inevitably comes when the habitual instrument no longer delivers its former pleasure. The desire to experience something new, hitherto unexplored, inexorably breaks through. Trying to diversify their musical life, some buy themselves a classic guitar with a wide neck and nylon strings. All kinds of electric guitars, basses and even double basses are used. In this case, an excellent choice will be a twelve-string guitar. This exotic instrument will brighten up the leisure of any guitar fan, and its deep sound can conquer the musician's heart for many years.

Occurrence

For the first time, American masters from the factories "Rigal" and "Oscar Schmidt" were engaged in the production of 12 string guitars. They took as a basis standard models of guitars produced in these factories, but added to each string a steam room. At first, this innovation was not very successful, but over time the situation changed. In the sixties of the last century, many eminent musicians began to experiment with sound, including with musical instruments. As a result, the twelve-string guitar appeared in the songs of Beatles, Queen, Led Zeppelin and many other star companies.

Since many took the example of rock idols of the time, soon the twelve-string became a common tool. Her rich sound was perfect for the accompaniment. On the domestic scene, this instrument appeared much later than abroad. One of the first on 12 string guitar began to play Yuri Shevchuk, also with her successfully performed Alexander Rosenbaum. Unfortunately, in the USSR it was not easy to get such an exotic version of the guitar, so it was used many years after its appearance.

Sound

The sound of the 12 string guitar is much richer than the usual six- string guitar . This is due to the fact that one more string was added to each string, which is clamped together with it. Thus, a greater number of overtones is produced, the sound becomes more voluminous and diverse. At first, the unearthly sound of the twelve string simply amazes the musician who is accustomed to the usual six-stringed instrument.

However, do not forget that it is much more difficult to extract the sound from the 12 string guitar than from the usual one. The fact is that her neck is done a little more to place so many strings. And to clamp on two strings instead of one - a heavy and unusual occupation. But after practicing for two or three weeks, the musician can perfectly adapt to the new instrument and reveal all his potential.

Structure

Externally 12 string guitar hardly differs from usual, but actually it is slightly stronger, since it is forced to withstand the tension already 12 strings. In this case, mainly internal springs suffer, since they have the main load. Of course, you can make the upper deck thicker, but then the guitar sound will completely deteriorate, become flat and high. Thus, such guitars make Chinese manufacturers, but playing on these dubious fakes is a joyless and useless occupation.

Twelve-stringed guitar also has twice the number of tuning pins and some subtleties in the structure of the fretboard. The peculiarity of this instrument is that the strings on it must be installed in a strictly defined order, since each groove is specially cut for a couple of strings. Despite all the tricks of the producers, the twelve-string rarely lives long and happily. Only expensive and high-quality guitars survive to old age, their less valuable colleagues usually fall into disrepair in just a couple of years of use.

Twelve-string guitar tuning

The structure of the main strings is no different from the usual guitar, but here are the small, extra strings that are configured not so simply. To configure them without special equipment you need to have a good ear, which not everyone can boast of. Therefore, it is best to use a special tuner. The first and second pair of strings are tuned in unison, the rest are constructed so that one string is an octave lower than the other. This gives the impression that two instruments are playing, while only one twelve-string guitar is played.

Thanks to the standard system, you can use ordinary tabs for a twelve-string guitar. The song will sound the same as it should, but deeper and more diverse. Often, 12 string guitars are built on an alternative system, dropped to a half tone or tone, they start to sound simply delicious.

Should I buy a twelve-string?

If you buy your first instrument, then the 12 string guitar is definitely a bad choice. In its purchase, it makes sense only if you have already mastered the usual guitar and you want to try something new. Do not rush with the purchase of such a tool. For example, if you have mastered an acoustic guitar, then you can start to master an electric guitar, instead of a twelve-string. Often such guitars become just a temporary hobby, if it is not a professional musician who decided to brighten up his work. In any case, 12 string guitars are usually an additional instrument, hardly any guitarist will leave the game on a regular guitar for the sake of such exotics.

Another problem of buying a guitar with twelve strings is high cost. It is believed that normal guitars cost at least $ 200. But the prices for twelve-string are higher than for a conventional instrument. So if you do not want to buy a Chinese log, which publishes horrendous sobs instead of notes, you'll have to shell out as much as possible. For those who like to play through an amplifier, there is an electroacoustic twelve-string guitar, but they are encountered somewhat less often than a purely acoustic version.

An interesting tool

It can not be said that the twelve-string revolutionized the music, or at least somehow influenced it. However, there are musicians who often use this instrument and are able to extract incredible sounds from it. In general, 12 string guitars do not differ much from ordinary guitars. If you can play a 6 string instrument, then it will not be difficult for you to perform anything on a twelve string. Good tabs for the guitar are used the same. Perhaps the peak of popularity of this interesting instrument has not yet come, but today we can safely say that the 12 string guitar is waiting for a bright future filled with magical sounds of music.