[Stephen Palmer]

Hi, I followed advice from a pro musician/guitar tech with great results: "tune down 3 frets and use a capo on 3rd fret".  Actually this seemed a bit drastic so I went 2 frets down instead.  As a result my £400 Norman 12 string (12 gauge strings) is now easier to play than my £700 Tanglewood 6 string (11 gauge strings)! and there is no loss of tone.

That's a great one, I've never heard of that trick before. Gonna give it a try!

[habiTat]

Hi, I followed advice from a pro musician/guitar tech with great results: "tune down 3 frets and use a capo on 3rd fret".  Actually this seemed a bit drastic so I went 2 frets down instead.  As a result my £400 Norman 12 string (12 gauge strings) is now easier to play than my £700 Tanglewood 6 string (11 gauge strings)! and there is no loss of tone.

Caveats:
    The tension on the neck will be much reduced so YOU WILL NEED A SET UP.
    You'll need strings that are not too light and sloppy.
    You'll need a good quality capo designed for 12 strings (I use a schubb)
    Some of those twiddly bits above the 12th fret will become un-reachable.

I was told this lessens the tension on the neck and the guitar may last longer as a result - not sure about this as I would assume they are built for the strain, but it stays in tune anyway.
cheers
GTB

This works!!

I just tried it and my 'virtually unplayable' 12 string is now a dream (No more hurty fingers)

I only tuned it down one fret because I didn't want to go the re-set-up route but it's just enough for what I need.

Thankyou SO much, it really has transformed it 

hab..

[Neil C]

Yep I'm with Estreet and go for light 10's on my old Sigma. Oddly I get so used to it that I find playing a six string can be harder to strum and pick with my right hand.  It has the advantage of having a wider neck for my oversized left hand...

Neil

[basshead]

hi habitat

have to agree with GTB. I have a 149 quid Brunswick 12 and action wise its my best gtr to play. i keep it tuned down a tone and use a capo and i can play a root Bb on it without duffing any strings- something i seem to be a bit crap at on my 6 strings  i use light guage strings and it didn't need setting up again. don't have a problem with the dusty end as a: its electro acoustic and has a cut-away and b: i don't get up past 14th fret much  but tuning it down helps a lot with the tension and i'm paranoid about it folding up, although as shiny thang has pointed out, he finds it hard to believe that manufacturers wouldn't take the extra tension into account - and he knows a bit about stresses and strains - it's a big part of his day job i believe !