Twelve-string guitar

A guitar with six pairs of strings, the extra string of each pair usually tuned an octave above, giving a rich, chiming sound with a wide spread of frequencies.

The doubled courses beat against each other slightly, which produces the shimmer and the full, jangling quality that defines the instrument, and the higher octave strings add top end that a six-string cannot supply. The extra tension means a heavier, more heavily braced instrument with a wide neck, and tuning and intonation are more demanding because twice as many strings must agree. It is usually played with a pick and mostly in open or barred chords.

Example: a strummed twelve-string in an open tuning produces the wide, ringing texture that made the instrument a folk and rock staple.

Twelve-string guitar

See also