12-STRING GUITAR...YOU'RE PLAYING IT WRONG! | FESLEY FDET280 

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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.

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

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.

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

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. 💪🏻🤷🏻‍♂️👍🏼

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🙏🙏

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

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

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!

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

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

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.👍

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.

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

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

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

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!!!

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

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.

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.

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.

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'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.

Hey Brad, can you tell me what the nut width is on this guitar? I couldn't find any specs on it at the Fesley website. Thanks

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

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

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!

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 😇👍👍

Brilliant presentation. I learned a lot.

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.

Cool vid. Cool paragraph from the box. Who is in the poster behind your right shoulder?

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

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. 👍

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

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 😁😁

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 !!

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

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.

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.

Thanks nice educational video man, appreciate it.

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?

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!!

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.

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?

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

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.

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 :)

Excellent video ! Well done !

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!!!

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 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!

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

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.

Does the Fesley have a fretboard radius and how wide is the nut?

Amazing sound!! love 12s!!

Brilliant! I've learned a lot 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Thank You . Insightful. Informative. Enlightening.

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

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.

Very nice jam at the end 🤘!!

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Nice review Sensei, 12 string guitars are underappreciated.

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.

Start with the heavy strings?

wonderful playing, brings back memories,,, can you review an 8 string acoustic ? some times known as a Yotar

Just curious, when filing the nut slots, how would setting the slot depth so the higher gauge strings are on the same plane at the top of the string effect playability?

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

What a great video. Thanks.

Great tips. Thanks. 🤟🏼🎶

Very educational and entertaining, Brad.

More vids like this. I actually learned stuff. ❤

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!

Brad wiuld you do revuew of new EHX Mig 50. Its so close replacement for my 66 Bassman, what quality if build etc

Thank You for the education!

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

You are the number oneth guitar reviewer in the World

Great playing tip!

Seems like a descent sounding guitar. How was the intonation? Your chording didn't sound odd when up a few frets. How was the action at 12?

My 1970 EKO Ranger Xll has a Zero Fret and that makes a huge difference in the open string sounds.

I have a Seagull walnut 12~string of recent vintage. I tune it down to C# concert pitch but use heavier gauge strings because Leadbelly man.

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

Excellent video, Brad. The guitar sounds great! I've wanted a 12-string for a long time because they sound so good, but the string changes and tuning seem like such a chore, and I'm kind of lazy, lol.

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?

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.

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.

Nice work, Brad! Fun guitar. Sounds pretty decent. I find a 12-string is very forgiving when it comes to tone... I'm guessing with a set of better strings and that's going to be a fine guitar for the money.

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

I strangely learned my chords as a young teen borrowing friends dads 12 string. He would jam with me at my house since I had my drum kit at my house on base. He and I played a lot together and taught me the chords (cowboy) as they call it now. When I got to playing or messing with electrics OMG. Power steering. Funny that 35 plus years later I would buy my first electric of my own and learn a bit more lol.