I sometimes find working on a guitar to be relaxing, usually when changing strings. That's on my 6-string guitars. I am way behind schedule in changing the strings on my Taylor 652 12-string. Today is the day.
This guitar is special: It is a Builder's Edition in a satin Wild Honey Burst finish...
It has a built-in arm bevel. The strings are arranged differently from other Taylor 12-strings, with the principal string above the octave string. I think that gives it a richer tone, but still plenty of that 12-string "jangle." The cutaway has a comfort bevel. Torrefied Sitka spruce top, maple tiger-striped back and sides. The edges are all rolled for comfort, as well as on the fretboard. 12-fret neck on the Grand Concert size body make for a very comfortable playing experience. And I am all about the comfort these days.
My "system" for string changes has to be different with this guitar: it puts both string ends in a single bridge pin hole. That takes a bit more maneuvering to feed both ends in the hole and get them each into a different tuning machine. Then, making sure each string is fed to the right notch in the nut and saddle. While this takes longer than working on a typical 6-string, the tuning is the real time suck. Then, "playing in" the strings to get them to settle. Contrary to what you hear about "strings stretching," there is little of that, but it takes time to get the strings to snug-up in the tuning machines and in the bridge pin holes.
I make it a point to remove the strings from one half of a guitar, clean the fretboard and places the string covered, then turn the guitar 180º and do the same thing on the other side.
It sounds and plays better. And that's the point of putting new strings on.
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A typical sunset this evening. Some are more striking than others, but I try to take them in and appreciate the play of light...
3 comments:
I too use Elixir's on my twelve string, as I want them to last as long as possible to minimize changes. Twice as manys strings - three times the effort. I remember Taylor going to the "two strings in one hole" arraignment. I have twelve pins on the Emerald. Gotta play my green Emerald guitar this sevening, being St Patty's Day and all.
Nice sunset. We are cloudy with intermittent rain today high of 47°. Looking at my weather app we just slid over 12 hours of daylight here at latitude 43° north. Yay Equinox! I thought that was on Friday, as it is usually the 21st give or take a day.
According to Country Living Magazine: Also known as the vernal equinox, the spring equinox marks one of the two instances each year when our sun and the Earth's equator align. The spring equinox always falls on March 20 or 21 (and occasionally on March 19 in a leap year). In 2025, the big day is Thursday, March 20. Based on the Gregorian leap year cycle. That said, living further north, you see more daylight gain each day this time of year. That 47º high is cooler than our overnight low. And that concludes today's meteorological discussion. ;-)
Oh, and there is a real advantage of having the tuning stability of your Emerald for a 12-string... I will be doing as LOT of retuning over the next several days. ;-)
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