New score!!! Alvarez 12-String

[geek_usa]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33022&item=7310858290&rd=1

 

 

I got outbid on the first one I bid on (AD160-12 or something), and i turned around and won this beauty an hour later! NICE!!

[owd200]

 

I really want to try a 12 string sometime. Post a sound byte of you playing when you get it!!

[Terry Allan Hall]

Have that adjustable bridge saddle replaced with a solid compensated saddle and you'll love the sound a lot more....those adjustable bridge saddles really lose a lot of the tone.

 

Good score, otherwise!

[geek_usa]

 

Originally posted by Terry Allan Hall Have that adjustable bridge saddle replaced with a solid compensated saddle and you'll love the sound a lot more....those adjustable bridge saddles really lose a lot of the tone. Good score, otherwise!

 

 

what can I do/where do i get one, what is it, and how much would my local luthier charge (on average)? Or is it something I could do myself relatively easy?

 

 

thanks!

[Terry Allan Hall]

 

Originally posted by geek_usa what can I do/where do i get one, what is it, and how much would my local luthier charge (on average)? Or is it something I could do myself relatively easy? thanks!

 

 

Shouldn't be too expensive...I charge $35 to do this, including the cost of the bridge saddle blank (I use bone, but I've also seen 'em made of ebony and rosewood), so I'd guess your local repair people charge in that ball-park.

 

And you could try to make one yourself, for that matter...it's not hard and requires only a small saw and files.

[Singin' Dave]

Unless you know what you're doing, I'd take it to a luthier in your local guitar shop - But Terry's right---get a bone or tusc solid compensated saddle and you'll be very pleased.

[guitarcapo]

Try this little trick:

 

Replace the doubled high E and B strings with standard guitar strings, making it a 10 string guitar. Play it a while that way and see if you like the sound.

[rh2d]

Congrats on your new guitar. I've played a 12 string for over thirty years and there is no question in my mind that the Alvarez is the best to come from Japan. I play mainly a Martin but to tell the truth I can not tell the difference. Have fun with it and welcome to the club.

[geek_usa]

thanks for the replies, guys! I can't wait to get it in the mail and take it for a test drive!!!

 

 

and i probably shoud have asked this earlier, but...

 

 

 

Originally posted by Terry Allan Hall Have that adjustable bridge saddle replaced with a solid compensated saddle and you'll love the sound a lot more....those adjustable bridge saddles really lose a lot of the tone.

 

 

 

how much tone is lost from the guitar with the adjustable saddle? what does the adjustable bridge do to it that makes it lose tone, and can anyone describe what the tone loss would be like... i.e.

 

compensated saddle vs. adjustable saddle?

 

 

thanks again!! -Jared

[guitarcapo]

The problem with adjustable saddles is that all the vibrations from the strings have to pass through the metal adjustable screws to get to the soundboard. The screws sit far to the edges and this creates a cushion of air between the saddle and the rest of the guitar (especially in the middle strings). Adjustable saddles are convenient because you can raise and lower the action of the guitar on the fly without reshaping the saddle by hand, but tone gets lost a lot. If you live in an area where fluctuating humidity is causing your action to change frequently (or maybe because it's just a new guitar that hasn't settled in), a better method to compensate might be to have a few solid bone or ivory saddles made of different heights and just swap them during string changes.