singemonkey wrote
The Gibson 6/12 guitar has a pretty lame 12 string sound with humbuckers, while the Rickenbacker has the electric 12 vibe that everyone knows and loves. I can't recall hearing the Fender 12.
The Fender didn't impress. The Ric has become the epitome of the electric 12-string sound, partly the pickups (single-coil, alnico magnets. 7.4 K D.C. resistance, A5 magnets) and partly the woods (maple semi-solid body, Maple neck with Brazilian fingerboard). But one thing that really sets the Ric apart is the backwards octave strings, which make them stand out more on the upstroke instead of the down (because I'm a fingerstyle player I used to reverse my G octave, but left the other three octaves "normal").
It just seemed to me that P90s might be a great pickup for a 12 string electric. They've got clear definition and twang - like a fender single coil - but also the fat oomph of a humbucker. But I don't think I've ever heard of an electric 12 with P90s. Any thoughts?
That strong midrange is where you run into problems with a 12-string. Muddies everything right up. The P90 is actually quite hot for a single coil (10,000 winds of AWG42 and +/- 9 K D.C. resistance). What you need is something with an enhanced high end (but without a particularly high peak) and reduced treble and bass. Something like a Strat pickup, but without the "icepick". A low power design as you suggest might work - that's the theory I'm working on and why I first thought of Lollar.
One humbucker that might work is the DiMarzio Eric Johnson - a very bright, low output PAF that Johnson likes in his ES335.
I'd really like to get myself the Pacifica 12 string. One of the cool things is that they nicely fit the 12 tuners onto the same headstock as the 6 strings to the guitars match ? .
Do they do that the same as the Rics, with six tuners facing back (like on a classic guitar) and six sticking out the side (like most electric guitars)?
Just noticed a rickenbacker 12 on Dylan's Romance in Durango on the desire album. Hadn't picked that up before on my scratched vinyl copy.
It's a Danelectro Bellzouki. The first mass-produced electric 12-string. Played for the guy it was designed for - Vincent Bell ?
