He Ain’t Neck Heavy…

Neville Marten wonders why some manufacturers, who otherwise do sophisticated, musically wonderful things, sometimes fall at the final fence

They say that with 12-string guitars you spend half the time tuning and the other half playing out of tune. They should have added, “and lifting the neck up because it’s dropped due to the weight of 12 cast metal tuners!”

“The headstock on my new 12-string has dived towards the f loor. Could it be that the headstock is carrying an extra half pound of metal?”

As someone who’s ironed his own clothes since he was about 12, I can’t count the times I’ve cursed the iron’s creator: “Did the idiot that designed this ever actually try it?” The cables always foul up, and the one I currently use has a space where you’re supposed to coil the cord, but the space isn’t big enough unless you spend five minutes meticulously wrapping it, and there’s no clip to stop the thing simply unravelling.

And driving. My old gig travelling companion Rog used to say, “The trouble with ‘smart’ motorways is, they’re only as smart as the people who design ’em!” One time, we were gigging in England’s North West, and Rog was driving. It was a Friday, I think, and traffic was heavy. A sign over the motorway suddenly read, ‘Long Delays Ahead’. I said to Rog, “So how long is long?” 20 minutes we could live with, but if it’s an hour we’re stymied. I found the local Highways Agency number and actually got through. I said to the guy: “Why don’t you say how long the delay is, then we can decide whether or not to find another route? You think that by writing ‘Long Delays’ you’ve done your job, but that doesn’t help drivers at all.” He hummed and hawed, but, no kidding, a little further along the overhead sign was reading, “70 Minutes Delay.” I’d like to think it was my doing. Needless to say, we exited the motorway as soon as we could.

This general beef with everything arose because I have tried a few 12-string acoustics recently, and looked at lots more online. So can the manufacturers tell me why, when adding a third as much again onto the headstock’s length to accommodate six extra tuners, do they almost invariably fit a dozen heavy cast metal machineheads? Especially when they don’t use these on the six-string version?

“Oh look, the headstock on my new 12-string has dived towards the floor. Could it be that the headstock is carrying an extra half pound of metal?” Yes, perhaps that’s it! A few, like the American-built Guild 512, have 12 open Waverly-style tuners, and open six-a-sides are readily available. So, surely it’s not beyond the wit and buying power of other big acoustic companies to address the issue? True, some like Takamine often fit lighter plastic buttons, which certainly helps, but Schaller and Grover-type tuners – which have kept guitarists in tune for decades – both supply lighter wooden or plastic buttons, so why aren’t they more commonly employed?

Slot Machines

Vintage 12-string Martins used the slotted headstock design. It removed wood to save weight, plus they fitted side-mounted classical style six-on-a-strip tuners. Today, it’s 12 heavy Schallers on a solid headstock! It looks so inelegant, too. Taylor, who usually gets everything so right, does the same. Old Gibsons had six-on-a-plate Klusons, now it’s 12 cast Grovers.

Now, I admit I haven’t played every single one of these actual guitars, but years of playing and reviewing experience tell me that most of them will neck-dive when played on a strap. Many makers now fit a button on the underside of the heel, which pulls the neck up more than if it were screwed to the heel tip, but my own six-string Taylor also neck dives so I’m replacing the metal Grover buttons with lighter ebony ones.

Perhaps we should go back to how the live acoustic guitarists used to work. And that was to attach the end of the strap to the headstock, usually by a bootlace type affair that slipped under the strings behind the nut; new straps even came with the lace. It looks so cool that way, too – think of Elvis, Johnny Cash or Joan Baez. Who agrees? I’m going to try it. See you next time.

GAS OF THE MONTH

Daily Dozen

What? Takamine GJ72CE-12NAT

Where seen? www.bax-shop.co.uk

Price? £569

Despite Takamine’s bonkers naming scheme, this company does know how to make great stage acoustics. This jumbo 12 is a case in point. With a cutaway laminated maple body and solid spruce top, and 20-fret bound rosewood fingerboard with dragonfly 12th-fret inlay, it’s a fine-looking beast. Pickup-wise, it boasts Takamine’s simple but excellent TK-40D preamp with volume, three ‐band EQ, notch filter, mid contour, and tuner with LED display. Oh, and its 12 cast tuners at least have lighter plastic buttons!