Thoughts on 12-String Guitars

by Roger Alan Skipper

Originally published in American Lutherie #113, 2013



We at the Guild of American Luthiers are quite often asked about 12-string guitars: What should be done to beef up a 6-string guitar plan to make it suitable for a 12-string configuration? What have the major builders done in the past, and how successful were their efforts? What are current builders doing? To find the answers to these questions, we queried several experienced luthiers:

Dana Bourgeois of Pantheon Guitars in Lewiston, Maine ◆ Frank Ford of Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto, California ◆ Charles Freeborn of Freeborn Guitars in Portland, Oregon ◆ David Freeman of Timeless Instruments in Tugaske, Saskatchewan ◆ Evan Gluck of New York Guitar Repair in Manhattan, New York ◆ John Greven of Greven Guitars in Portland, Oregon ◆ George Gruhn of Gruhn Guitars in Nashville, Tennessee ◆ Arnold M.J. Hennig of Elderly Instruments in Lansing, Michigan ◆ Bruce Petros of Petros Guitars in Kaukauna, Wisconsin ◆ Andy Powers of Taylor Guitars in El Cajon, California ◆ Tim Shaw of Fender Guitars in Scottsdale, Arizona ◆ Marc Silber of Marc Silber Music in Berkeley, California ◆ Robert Steinegger of Steinegger Guitars in Portland, Oregon.

Though this article is arranged as though we were having a roundtable discussion, it was assembled from individual responses; differing opinions are simply the results of varying experiences, rather than dissension.