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Guitars with 12 strings have been in use since the late 1800s. These instruments have given singers that extra boost of sound lending an almost orchestral mood to presentations. They are even more popular than they have been in years.

With a double set of strings, they can fill listeners’ ears with a big sound almost like two guitars at once. They can be tuned slightly lower than a standard six string guitar giving a singer more latitude. Having a big sound offered by a 12 string means that a performer can have a full sound without having to share the stage with anyone else.

Their large, robust sound made 12 strings popular with Tex-Mex “Tejano” street musicians. These guitars were so loud that one player could get passing people to stop and listen to their songs and pay for the privilege.

Blind Willie McTell and Hudy “Leadbelly” Ledbetter helped make the 12 string a famous blues instrument. They played Stella guitars, manufactured by Oscar Schmidt. Because Stellas were good quality, inexpensive guitars, they could take the pounding of use and road abuse. These blues players used these unique guitars to achieve a singular sound,separating themselves from other singers.

Their popularity waned somewhat until the folk music fad in the early 1960s. Many new folk singers embraced the full sound of the 12 string guitar and it became a standard of many famous bands. Pete Seeger used a 12 string guitar when he performed with the folk band The Weavers. This renewed it’s popularity and the 12 string soon over shadowed the 5 string banjo that had taken over it’s popular spot.

With the advent of Folk Rock, the 12 string was electrified to stand along side it’s 6 string brothers. Most major manufactures rushed to get into the growing market for electric instruments. Gibson, Gretch, and Fender were all putting out electric guitars with 12 strings. Guitars were made with single cutaways, double cutaways, and standard upper bouts.

The Rickenbacher electric 12 string guitar is perhaps one of the most revered guitars ever in history. It has graced the hands of Slash of Guns and Roses, George Harrison of the Beatles and Roger McGuinn of the Byrds. It will always be The Rickenbacher electric 12 string guitar. This is the one to get you hands on.

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