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I always detune a full step, down to D then use a capo for songs in standard tuning. Detuning will also stop string tension ripping the guitar apart. The lower string tension due to detuning will also lower the action and make string breakages less likely.

I must have watched 50 hours of guitar setups that didn't explain filing the nut, the angle towards the tuner, and what height above the first fret to set the slots at. You may say that there are tons of videos out there about setups, but for some reason the ones I've watched didn't do justice on filing the nut. This one did. Thanks.

There was a guy who worked in a store in my neighborhood. He used to say: "Tuning a 12 string is like putting army boots on an epileptic centipede ".

Like many guitarist I keep my 12-string guitars tuned down a full step and Capo 2 for standard tuning. It's less stress on the guitars, and my fingers during long sessions. A trick I was shown many years ago for new acoustic instruments is to place them on a stand in front of a stereo speaker, sound hole facing speaker, stereo playing music you like at a normal level. If you lightly touch the back of the instrument you will be able to feel the wood resonating with the music. Older wood instruments sound better than new cause their wood has been seasoned by the years of being played. What this resonate vibration is doing is helping speed up the seasoning process of the wood itself. 2-3 weeks (nonstop, 24/7) in front of a speaker this way will season the wood equally to what years of normal playing would eventually achieve. Works for all acoustic wood instruments. Brings out the truly beautiful sound the instrument will mature to have, years sooner.

Truly love your A.D.D. tinged communicating tendencies. Seriously do. Not an insult. You do exactly what I do with the caveats, distractions and meandering. I find it just right for my own tendencies. PS. Tge most helpful ADD description is NOT an inability to pay attention. Instead, it’s closer to an inability to NOT pay attention to……EVERYTHING at the same time. Sometimes that’s super helpful! Sometimes not. 💪🏻🤷🏻‍♂️👍🏼

I inherited an old Estrella 12 string from my great uncle and I always keep it in open d. Absolutely beautiful sounding in that tuning

My dear friend Warren, RIP, always taught us to not pop a g string: tune up a little then back down a half, then up a little more, then down a half, that’s the way to not pop the string when you’re putting on new strings. Otherwise, you get a buildup between the nut and the tuners that can break. The other thing is, push down on the string above the nut to release the tension. You gotta wiggle it into tune.

I have a Takamine 12 string made with the Martin style headstock. My wife got it for me for Father's Day several years ago. She bought it used for $275.00 back in the 80's. It's a good guitar.

I’ve been playing 12 strings for 58 years. I have always tuned standard with no problems with one exception. I am a luthier and know how to set it up properly. Thank you for identifying the “idiot wrap” on the string posts. I tune starting with the D string then G then B then A then high E then low E. I go through this process at least three times at a gig and have very little re-tuning over the course of the gig. I play at least 50% of my tunes on my 12. Currently a Taylor jumbo that was not built with electronics. I’ve been putting pickups in acoustic guitars since the mid 70’s, so I disagree about piezos. BTW, everything forward of the X brace is dead as far as affecting the sound. All of the sound is produced from the X brace to the end block. I was glad to see you adjust the truss rod with full tension on the strings. Filing the nut requires finesse and making sure to file at a down angle so that the back edge of the nut towards the first fret is the point where the string touches the nut last, otherwise the string can vibrate somewhere along the slot and cause an irritating buzz.

Great Pointers. I have a 12 string but I never thought about some of your pointers. Thank You!!! I like the way that you play!

On most of Lonnie Johnson’s recordings with a 12 string, he had two strings for each of the top three (G, B and E) and a single string for each of the three lower strings (E, A and D). This made it a 9 string.

Man, ya had me tearin' up there near the end. Mighty fine pluckin'. I can see why the guitar company asked you to check out their stuff. Nice video.

You taught me a lot about 12 strings during this .thank you.i have a Maton 12 string and you inspired me to use it today instead of the 6 string

Awesome review and I loved the cardboard box quote in closing! Gave me a chuckle! Thanks so much! Learned some great "set-up" tips!

Great video. Nice to see a guy who knows what he's talking about. And his playing at the end section is really tasty. A real musician who knows the guitar 👏

I love 12 stringers. Spend half my time tuning it and the other half playing out of tune lol. Got a Yamaha in the 90s. Only took 10 years of playing in standard tuning before the bridge started to lift. I repaired it and don't tune it any higher than E flat now. Great, informative content. I enjoyed this, Brad. Liked and subbed. 👍

Thank you so much for what you're doing. Thank you for standing on your principles. Don't forget your songs have volume. Charging more or less for your tickets can get in the way money is evil and it works in a lot of different ways.. Don't let them use money. As a wall to keep your light in.

I've got a 50+ year old Alvarez I traded a tent for when I was a kid and embarked on my guitar journey. I've got way too many guitars now, but I will always love my 12 strings. That Alvarez is a great guitar and I I've since got a couple Ric 12s and a Gibson Hummingbird 12, they are fun and add a lot to the mix on the right song. And the strings usually last a long time.

Thanks for the excellent review!! The Fez sounds nice! The Cardboard Box wisdom had me laughing!! Thanks for adding that part to conclude matters!!

The ending of the video is a perfect dismount---judge's score: 10/10 🤣

Thanks for checking out every detail of it and giving it a new look! This has helped us with future design and production, and thanks to everyone in the comments section for your insights, we'll be looking at it and referencing it carefully, it's much appreciated🙏🙏

Thanks. Been binging 12-string videos while awaiting delivery of my first one. Much useful info and advice.

brad this is brilliant stuff, i bought a 2nd hand fender 12 string years ago just to learn `life by the drop`that intro is killer, all you did here was exactly as i did my upgrades, even marking the files with a felt tip pen! lmao, i kid you not, (the shop in leeds uk was closing down) so i got a bargain , great video brad thankyou 😇👍👍

Those unfinished frets and the nut slot fixes are an example of what Brad said. They cut corners to keep the price lower. After Brad fixed those parts it sounded great

Not too shabby for about $200. I got lucky and scored a really nice barely used Alvarez 12 string for $350. I see high nut slots all the time on new and used instruments. Recutting those slots is one of the first things I do whenever I get an instrument or repair one for someone else. It's surprising to most people how much of a difference that can make. Fret ends are probably the second most common fix 😁😁

I just discovered your channel; I’m hooked! Excellent explanations and demonstrations. Thank you from Gilbert, AZ.

I have been a fan for a while now, and I really like this demo of this guitar. I could tell by lookig at this vid that you like this 12 string and enoy playing acoustic guitars, a nice smoothe style...your time put into this is clear. Again, very nice!!!

Right from the jump, I was born in 79 and I love that your opening sequence is modeled after 80s & 90s HBO sequences

Very interesting and informative! The ending was a special treat of humor! I'm going right now to watch the ending again.

Nice work! I started watching your channel years ago for your amp repair knowledge and now find myself learning how to setup and play an acoustic 12-string guitar. Keep up the great content I really appreciate it!

I just really enjoyed listening to you play guitar! Very nice way to end evening, thank you for sharing! ✌🏻

I wish I knew all this stuff when I got my first 12 string guitar, an Epiphone, in 1970. I didn't know anything about truss rods, filing down the nuts, etc. But I had awesome calluses on the tips of my fingers, lol!!

I have a Framus and a Hofner 12 string from the early 70's with no warps or bridge pulling up. They feature a zero fret, invaluable an a 12-string.

Brilliant ! we can always learn something by listening - I learned to tune the thicker strings first, alternating top and bottom, then I tune in thin strings, ending on the G thinnest, equates the tension - anyway, cheers, entertaining and very useful information you give !!

Thanks Brad although other people have this same content it's really cool to watch you do it 👍

A very nice video about how to buy and cheap guitar and get it to sound quite good for the money. I suspect most people will just take it to a Luthier and get new strings and a good setup. I know that costs almost as much as the guitar but you really need to do it. Even some high end guitars need setups out of the box. I've found that Gibsons half the time need a setup and new strings. Talyor's almost never do. They put long lasting good strings on them and their setup seems perfect out of the box. Smart of Taylor to do that. My only critique is that I clicked on the video to find out how I might be playing my 12 string wrong only to find out that MOST of the video was unboxing and setting up the guitar. The last 2 minutes out of a 49 minute video you talked a lil bit about playing and nothing new there for me. Please refrain from "click bait" like "you're playing it wrong." How about "Unboxing and getting an inexpensive 12 string guitar to sound great!" Thanks again for a good video.

Brilliant presentation. I learned a lot.

Thanks for showing how to dress the frets. Your lesson is very clear and it's a good tip regarding the movement of the strings.

I'll happily wait for 'Brother, can you lend me a dime'. Boz & Duane !!! FANTASTIC 🤯

thanks Brad. very informative. i have an aria 12string. i have detuned it to Db because of the immense string tension. i should look at that nut too.

Excellent video, thank you very much, many interesting tips and nicely presented

I HAVE watched plenty of other videos on tuning and setup....Dude THIS VIDEO JUST BECAME TOPS!!! Thank You for a Real Quality Video

Very thorough and comprehensive. I have to call "click bait" on your title, though. I've been playing my 12-string RIGHT since 1972. My first decent guitar was a Lyle Hummingbird 6-string, bought in 1966, but an 8th grade teacher brought his 12-string to play Civil War songs for the class, and I HAD to have one, so my folks got me a no-brand one (used) for Christmas. When I went away to college in 1972, someone in the dorms had a Lyle Hummingbird 12-string that they were willing to sell, so I sold mine and for $100 I had a matching pair of Humingbirds. I've played that 12-string for over 50 years, on and off, in standard tuning. The biggest revelation I've had related to playing it was when an older fellow student took out his 12-string and started playing it with banjo picks! (I found out later he also played 5-string banjo AND classical guitar.) We started a folk group together, and I've used banjo picks ever since (and also learned to play 5-string banjo, although not extremely well!) Since the thumb pick always strums down, it's easy to do the strokes you recommend for runs on the lower strings. The only problem I had with my Lyle 12 was when the trapeze bridge broke -- one of the dividers between two of the strings snapped. Since the strings are doubled at the lower end, and it had ball-end strings, more force was put on the slots. Fortunately, I was able to find a very similar trapeze bridge to replace it, since there was no way to repair it. Worth the effort!

Interpretation of the true words on the cardboard box:😉 "When you tune a Fesley you tune your soul...which we own...along with your electronics, your pharmaceuticals, your medical supplies, your musical instruments, everything you buy from Amazon/Temu/WalMart, and of course your President. Your Fesley guitar is your heartbeat. Please enjoy it and take it everywhere...we put a gps tracker in it 👀." Signed- Sook Mi Dong Fesley BTW loved the video. Watching the process as you were figuring it out was cool.👍

Brad i must say, if u were in the U.K., you would be my go to guitar/Amp fella, but im now 54, and i would struggle to swim that far, coz i hate flying, sober anyway, keep on keepin on pal

Sounds good nice video makes me want to play with my 12 string learned a few things to thanks for sharing your knowledge

Thanx for the tips and your sense of humor !

Well, it took about 46 minutes to find out what I'm doing wrong, but you're right--I never thought about that so much--I'll take your advice about the downstrokes.

Saved an Eko "Rio Bravo" from the dumpster with a reverse-engineered Bridge Doctor (using a fiberglass rod in place of the dowel) and an oversize neck screw

Great nut setup technique and demo! I have always been always scared of trying to alter mine myself in case I effed it up but now, having seen the way you do it, I feel like I could tackle this job armed with the right tools….nice one dude.

I don't know if you want feedback or not but I'll put some in and it can be ignored or used. Overall I think that this was a pretty good video. A couple things stood out that taught me some things and I saw some age-old rookie things that many people do and they aren't super bad things but here goes. I would guess that about 95% of people don't know how to properly use a file. A file generally has teeth or cutting edges and most people, when filing, move the file back and forth. This is something I learned many years ago so indulge an old man here. When you file, only put slight pressure on the file and know how the "teeth" on your file are. Usually, you file in only one direction and that is typically determined by holding the file in your hand and apply slight pressure and move the file away from the handle, if you have a handle and if not, move the file away from the gripping part. Picture holding the file in your hand with your index finger pointing towards the end of the file, away from the grip or handle. A file used in this type of work and even with metal is designed to only "cut" one way. The reason why this is important is that it extends the life of the file and if you want to go to the lengths of using the file best, in the way it's designed and have the file work the best is to have a cloth, like a rough washcloth draped over your leg or arm of a chair so you can wipe filings off your file. Keeping your file clean from buildup and filing in only one direction allows you accuracy and keeps any buildup from affecting your adjustments. This may seem like a lot of trouble but if you establish practices like this, you will not be hesitant to work on any guitar from a cheapie to an expensive Martin plus it becomes second nature and actually allows you to work faster, easier and more efficient and accurately. If you do this, you don't risk buildup to affect your adjustments in a negative way by having to file and measure as much and it eliminates the risk of buildup affecting your work. Trust me, you may hate it at first but will be glad you did it, down the road. Also wipe your files often and you can even buy a file cleaner, which is like a wire brush but designed to clean files so clean them often as properly cleaned and maintained tools are just a good practice. My preference in tuning a guitar is to press down on the string you are tuning with your fingers on your picking hand. Since I started doing this about 35 or 40 years ago, I think I may have broken one string. This takes the slack out while tuning and allows the string tension to be less and I find that when I am finishing the fine tuning it takes less time, the strings stay tuned better and the strings break less. I play both electric and acoustic guitar and I do pretty drastic bends and again, I don't break strings. Thanks for the tips on filing the nut towards the peg of the string. I appreciate your sharing your knowledge as even a 60 year pro learned something. I feel that sharing knowledge is how I learned and hope to pass my knowledge and experience along as I have worked on many guitars that people that have played for years wouldn't have attempted so for you younger guys, start on cheaper guitars and grow your experience. Never fear knowledge and share your successes and screw-ups with others as everyone wins. Thanks again for the video and hope I added and didn't piss you off.😂

Hey Brad, once again excellent video everything you said was spot on from start to finish and I actually love the cardboard box comment that was hysterical. I agree 100% with everything that you said, and did with this you are the man.

You are the number oneth guitar reviewer in the World

Hey Brad! Long time subscriber. I just wanted to comment and tell you that your channel is great and you are awesome!

Great video! Thanks for all the tips and showing us the right way to set 12 strings up 👍 I have a Carvin 12 string from the 90s it still has that beautiful new wood smell. It plays and sounds amazing.I am going to tune down to D from now on. I have a few electric 12 strings as well.

You lower the string action above the guitar neck by adjusting the nut and/or bridge course heights, or the entire height of one or both ends. The string heights are usually checked at the first, 7th and 14th frets. Temp fluctuations and relative humidity swings will age any guitar. My Taylor 12 and 6 strings were cured at 75°F and 47%RH. So aiming for 50% and 72°F is similar to how they were cured. I can't afford to replace my two electrics and four acoustics. So, we condition a room for them and Carolyn's piano. Tip: For humidifying a room during dry seasons, use a steam device, not a vaporizer. When it's wet use a room dehumidifier. Advice from the NYC Met Museum musical instrument restorers. Steam is water in a pure gaseous state; vapor is not and droplets will pick up crap in the air and deposit themselves onto the instrument wood finish and worm in. You can leave the guitars out of case in these conditions. For in the case storage, you can use two-way humidipacks that are rated for 50% RH. If the RH drops below 50%, the crystals release water, and absorb water above that point. They come in high 40s thru high 50s for this application. Put 1 pack in the sound hole and 1 near the headstock. They last about 3 months unless left to regulate the great outdoors or your entire house. And no icky, moldy old water to touch from older case water drips. The truss rod stiffens or loosens the neck to keep the string action at the correct distance up and down the entire neck fretboard. Think of it like rebar in concrete; the truss rod makes the neck less prone to moving out of plane. Unlike Boeing fuselage doors. 😢 As for string gauges, some of the best players used surprisingly thin gauges. B. B. King had both fluttering fingers and diabetes. He used 9s as his high treble string. Even talked Joe Walsh into doing the same. "The 9s allow my fingers to move and bend my sound easily, the hardware gives it volume and sustain when I can't." Even Eric Clapton has serious excema that cover his hands. He has to put steroid cream on his hands, bandage them and play from under those cloth bandages. We all have our own crosses to bear.

I had wandered into the local guitar store, picked a guitar at random, and sat down to play. The store owner congratulated me on being a very accurate finger-plucker ('especially on a 12-string'). I squinted at the strings and them at the guitar head. I was so drunk I hadn't noticed. I bought the guitar.

Thanks nice educational video man, appreciate it.

I sinch my strings like that but I put at most one wrap around the post. Works wonderfully.

Very nice, lots of tips and tricks. Haven't had a 12 string for years. ☺

I took the Piezo out of my Takamine and put a new bone bridge in it at the same time lowering the 12th fret clearances and 1st fret also. It now has a LR Baggs HiFi Pickup. Love it now, much better than the crap electronics that it came with! Kept the box on the side for housing the battery only.

I'm reminded of my project Takemine I pulled out of my Bro-in-Law's garage, it's been a chore, but once it's set right, it sings like a bird

Sick video, really digging your uploads recently. Literally nothing is better than a Schubb capo though. I will die on that hill.

Excellent video ! Well done !

I learned a lot of things I didn't know about 12 strings. Still my favorite guitar sounds. Thanks Brad.

Thank you i picked up some great tips there that i had not even begun to think about esspecially the down strokes i liked it so much i subscribed and hit the notifications for more great content As we say in Wales TIDY MUN.

Hal lenord told me when I was 14 to tighten the string up till it quits buzzin then tune from there.

Excellent, instructive and entertaining video. Thank you so much. So many guitar reviews are put up by relative beginners. Not this one. Your experience and skills shine through :)

Very nice jam at the end 🤘!!

Very enjoyable with just the pro tips being worth it. Imma check them geetars out.

Mr.brad, you are the best tecnical entertainer in guitars&gadgets on this planet!🫠👍greets from vienna!😘🎸🎸🎸🎶🎶🎵

On my Taylor 300 series, I had a pickup installed. I put on medium strings and tuned it "traditional" tuning ,B to B. That way I got the rattle and hum I love about acoustic 12s. There is a capo for 12 string where the higher string and lower string match in height.

Thank you . I have a 12 string Taylor. Got it lightly used. It’s got a beautiful sound I’m a beginner. Also have a 6 string Yamaha acoustic. I enjoy both. If I have any problems I hope I got someone like you to fix it.

The wavy wood is due to sanding technique; It shows up immediately during sanding. The wood is soft between grains and the sanding block will expand into the softer wood. This can be remedied with a metal block, finer grit, and taut paper. - Humidity loss in the softer wood between grains may also occur, but as I said, the problem is already visible during sanding before any drying occurs. Redwood is particularly bad in this regard.

I have a Guild JF-30, made in Westerly, Rhode Island circa 1998. Dual truss rods in the neck handle medium gauge without any problem. It starts to buzz a little when tuned down to D standard! Also, Guild neck profiles feel awesome!

I have a Conrad made in Japan 12 string I bought in a Mississippi pawn shop. I made a tailpiece out of sheet metal from a water cooler. I have 6 string held in by bridge pins & 6 from the tail piece that go over the bridge to the saddle. So 6 strings hold the bridge down & 6 are pulling the bridge up. I cut grooves in the bridge to have a good angle on the saddle for the tailpiece 6. It works well. Whatdaya think?

Warm up and dry out the guitar for a few days before filing down the frets. Dry air makes the wood contract and heat makes the metal expand so the frets will stick out more and you can shorten them more.

Old guitarist carpenter here. Great info. Especially to learn what the proper tools look like.

Thanks for the entertainment…and tips on setting up a 12 string…very good advice. Plus Fesley should be happy with your assessment. Just makes me want to run out & buy one to see for myself!!! I already have 3 that I paid WAY more for long ago.

You should leave the thinnest string till the end…..to tune…. After the thick strings are tuned the thin string will be easier to

Amazing sound!! love 12s!!

Thank You . Insightful. Informative. Enlightening.

Boy, oh boy! That was a masterclass in setting up and playing a 12-string acoustic. Thanks, man! (sub'd)

for me the 12 string come into its own in alt and open tunings. I play Leo kottke, Don Ross, and some of my own similar pieces. The possibilities in open and altered tunings are endless.

Nice review Sensei, 12 string guitars are underappreciated.

Great tips. Thanks. 🤟🏼🎶

Brilliant! I've learned a lot 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Great playing tip!

Excellent and a nice improvement to a guitar. I'll be checking my 12 string to see if I can get the action a little lower.

This video sweetly strums. I bought a Vangoa 12 string and have been super careful and just getting to know it (no popped strings). Thank you for showing the whole process and giving insight and reason to the art. I’m 57 and just started. Luckily, I’m very technical oriented and want to know about angles, depth, action, stresses and alternate tunings. I decided to go with a drop D, but the open didn’t sound right. I set my tuning at (from low) D G C F Bb Eb. I like it but don’t know if this is a named tuning. Because of the lower tension I had to tighten the truss rod. I actually pushed down on the neck when it looked good then tightened the nut. Hooked on a Feeling and Air on a G String have new meaning to me. The best outro.

Esteban needs a reboot. Bring them back! They're just as good as a $4k Martin. I know this because Esteban himself told me in the infomercial. The sound hole is _round_ . Just like a Martin. It takes a strap. Just like a Martin. It even comes with frets...just like a Martin. Plus, they're shiny (just like a Martin). Besides, who doesn't automatically look cooler when they wear a sombrero when they play guitar? I like to wear mine when I go bowling, and I get all the attention from the ladies when I hit the clubs. Snazzy!!!

More vids like this. I actually learned stuff. ❤

I had a 1970's Yamaha that was pretty nice..... been a long time since playing >> fingers/hand nerve system injury. But I still like to see what's out there.. thanks for the video. peace

Question: the guitar was pretty inexpensive, but you also put a good about of time into making it a quality instrument? How many hours (if you weren't filming) did you put into its improvement, plus the cost of tools used (assuming someone didnt have similar tools on hand)? What's the monetary value of this guitar then?

Enjoy the way you explain things Brad, keep up the good content! I’ve been having an issue recording a 12 string electric guitar DI, it loses the nice 12 string sound listening to it back, any tips or ticks how to capture that 12 string electric tone?

What a great video. Thanks.

Good stuff, thanks for the words of wisdom. Hope Fesley compensated you appropriately. Cheers!

Very educational and entertaining, Brad.

Came for the review, stayed for the education, and enjoyed the humor. Side note: I kept finding myself trying to blow the shaving off the neck during the filing portion. 😂