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Time for me to figure out how much taper to put into the fingerboard on my 12-string project. Width at the nut is 1 7/8", string spacing at the bridge is 2 1/4" for each group (primary and octave). Total string spacing width, from outermost E to outermost e is 2 7/16". So, following what I think I remember as a rule of thumb, the fingerboard ought to be 2 7/16" wide at the 12th fret, too. Am I missing something?

Thanks!

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Peter Havriluk

Yes, general rule of thumb: fingerboard width at 12th = string spacing width at the saddle. No different for a 12 string.

I would add a sixteenth to make it 2 1/2 @ the 12th and give an extra thirty second each side, but I like wide fretboards anyway.

Thanks, folks. First 12-string, I have no idea but what I could be missing unique 12-string considerations. So far so good.

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Peter Havriluk

Welcome to the dark side....

Fingerboard width and neck contour are important considerations in a 12-string, since there is so much going on under the fingers of the player’s left hand. Small variations in specs seem more important to playability for these instruments than the average guitar. Mr Goodman is the guru for this branch of our craft so I am sure he has the finer tips. Is this for yourself to play? It might be a good idea to go around a few guitar shops (when they re-open) and try every 12er that you can get your hands on. See if you prefer a fat/thick neck (Guild) versus a thinner neck (Taylor). Concentrate, on feel and playability rather than sound. Shamelessly take measurements of the one that feels best, and forensically examine why you don’t like another.

Thanks, everybody. I like to roll my own, otherwise I'd never take the risk. I had a Seagull Walnut 12 which my instructor (lifelong teacher and performer) allowed as how it was an extremely playable instrument. Which I didn't do much of but its new owner loves it, so all good. And I got a good idea of what's to like (hint: it ain't the imposing monster of a 12-string fullsize dreadnought).

This is a bit of an experiment for me, and there's no big cash outlay but a serious time investment. So far, so good. I hope to make something that is a 12-string littermate to the four 6-strings I've made and happily enjoy.

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Peter Havriluk

Can I suggest you visit some stores and play a bunch of 12s? There really are no rules about what is ideal, and I dare say you’ll find 12s from big names you just plain don’t like.

I had a 12-string in my quiver for most of my life, except for a period after university when I was cash-strapped and sold all but one guitar (a classical). When I finally I had some money, I bought what I thought would be a dynamite Martin D12-28. Bad decision. Neck like a cricket bat and needed a neck reset in short order.

So when I got the chance, I built a 12-string dreadnought, roughly following Martin style, but fixing the neck specs to my liking (starting with a 1-13/16” nut). Guitar is 11 years old and still brings a smile to my face. Setup hasn’t changed a bit.

What I like may not work for you. Play a bunch of guitars and figure out what YOU like.


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Tim, that's good advice, much obliged. I, like you, like to build for myself. Hence the build-a-12-string illness. There's no visiting music stores for the forseeable future, and there's not much bang I'd anticipate from visiting them, as what I want has been running around in my head for a while. And I'm not going to buy a storebought guitar. My necks, I work on them till they feel nice, and put on a finish. I'll be doing that once more.

I appreciated the mention of nut width, as 1 7/8 inches begins to look like a shovel after a while. When I first started building, I made all my necks 1 3/4" as reaction to the storebought guitar I had was 1 11/16" and I was having a hard time fretting accurately. Playing my most recent project, the neck feels miles wide, so I think I've learned something in the meanwhile. Today I was talking with my consulting luthier (nearby, only five road hours away) and he mentioned that he just finished a commission of a 12-string and he put both the octave and main strings on the same pin, and could then narrow the string spacing a bit. I intend to copy that idea. Taylor's selling 12-strings with six pins, too, so there's commercial precedent for it, and encouragement that doing that is trouble free enough to do commercially. We'll see.

Thanks very much.

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Peter Havriluk