12 string questions

[jrturner]

Hi. I am new here, but not new to Larrivee guitars. I have a L-03-12 Indian Mahogany made around 2004 that sounds fantastic, stays in tune, intonation seems just fine, but...the bridge plate is beginning to separate from the top of the guitar. It is slightly raised on the top high E string end with no string tension, and high enough to fit a business card under the edge of the plate when tuned to standard E.

I have a few questions:

1) I have heard (and actually heard Leo Kotte say 2 nights ago) that 12 strings were never really made to be tuned to pitch. My dad has always said this too. However, the Larrivee 12 string was designed to be tuned to pitch, was it not? I assume this because I have tried tuning it down to C# and D, but neither sound as good as it does when tuned to guitar standard. Nowhere close.

2) What should I do about the bridgeplate? Can these instruments be played for a number years without  replacing this part or will it just suddenly pop off while I am playing it one night?  I have a feeling that it needs to be fixed, but I am not sure about putting my L12 in just anybody's shop. Does anyone have repairman recs for the Greensboro NC area? What do you think it would cost? Lastly, would it be worth it to send it to the Larrivee factory for repair? I have had this instrument long enough such there is no warranty, if there ever was, so I would definitely be willing to pay to send it back to Larrivee, but it would be expensive, methinkst.

Anyway, I look forward to meeting some of you, and to hearing your thoughts and experience with this sort of thing!

Jacob

[JOYCEfromNS]

Greater heavy weights than I will weigh in on repair advice, but may simply require a regluing <$50 or possibly a replacement around $150.

You could send it across the country and Larrivée would do a fantastic job BUT I wouldn't

Looking at the Repair Tech Recommendation thread  I see HERE:

"For the Western Carolina and surrounding region, Randy Hughes of Fairview, NC is a highly respected and usually booked solid luthier.
His Phone number is 828-628-9777 "

This may or may not be of some assistance as I see its about 2 hours away for you - but its a start

[unclrob]

Is it the bridge or the bridge plate which is inside the guitar?If its the bridge no big deal,$50-75 would be a good guess for reglueing the bridge.The bridge plate is another matter I charge $175 to pull and reglue the bridge plate.I always tuned my 12 string guitars to pitch and have done so since buying my first 12 string in 1970.

[Mr_LV19E]

Is it the bridge or the bridge plate which is inside the guitar?If its the bridge no big deal,$50-75 would be a good guess for reglueing the bridge.The bridge plate is another matter I charge $175 to pull and reglue the bridge plate.I always tuned my 12 string guitars to pitch and have done so since buying my first 12 string in 1970.

+1 on the tuning, any good quality guitar should be able to be tuned to pitch. Do you have any pictures showing the gap under the bridge? I assume you meant bridge not bridge plate.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[jrturner]

Hi All!

Yes I meant the bridge, and not the plate on the underside. Oops.

The Ebony? part is coming unglued. Thanks for the Western NC Repair rec. I will look him up. It wouldn't take too much twisting of my arm to get me to drive into the mountains of WNC.  Also, its good to hear that it may be a simple glue job.

I did not properly explore the forum, obviously. Otherwise I would have found the NC repair guy.

Thank yall for gettin back so fast.

-J

[AZLiberty]

First of all, a Quality 12-string by any reputable builder can handle being tuned to concert pitch EADGBE without any problems at all.  They are braced for it.

I have no problem keeping a Guild, Martin, Breedlove, Larrivee, or Taylor tuned up to pitch.  Won't hurt the guitar at all.   I have a 1973 Guild F-212 and keep it tuned up.

An older Martin without an adjustable truss rod?  One of those I would probably keep tuned down two half steps.  A Larrivee? No trouble at all.

As for the Bridge lifting, that should be a simple, completely invisible, repair.  $50-60 or so would be my estimate.  If it is lifting because the guitar has dried out it will have to be humidified properly before it can be repaired.

[eded]

First of all, a Quality 12-string by any reputable builder can handle being tuned to concert pitch EADGBE without any problems at all.  They are braced for it.

I have no problem keeping a Guild, Martin, Breedlove, Larrivee, or Taylor tuned up to pitch.  Won't hurt the guitar at all.   I have a 1973 Guild F-212 and keep it tuned up.

An older Martin without an adjustable truss rod?  One of those I would probably keep tuned down two half steps.  A Larrivee? No trouble at all.

As for the Bridge lifting, that should be a simple, completely invisible, repair.  $50-60 or so would be my estimate.  If it is lifting because the guitar has dried out it will have to be humidified properly before it can be repaired.

Pretty much...  except for a Taylor Leo Kotke model (do they still make them?)...  which is made to be tuned down. 

It could be argued that tuning down (on a typical 12 string) puts less tension on the top than it is designed for, which delivers less than it can.  Of course, if it sounds like what you want it to...  it's right. 

I'm near the manic side of my manic depressive relationship with 12 strings.

Ed

[AZLiberty]

Pretty much...  except for a Taylor Leo Kotke model (do they still make them?)...  which is made to be tuned down. 

The LKSM was discontinued years ago.  Haven't seen one in person in at least a decade.   They used heavier strings though, which brought the overall tension back to the same as a standard 12.

[eded]

The LKSM was discontinued years ago.  Haven't seen one in person in at least a decade.   They used heavier strings though, which brought the overall tension back to the same as a standard 12.

Heh...  so much for me keeping up...

Ed

[ffinke]

The LKSM was discontinued years ago.  Haven't seen one in person in at least a decade.   They used heavier strings though, which brought the overall tension back to the same as a standard 12.

I just saw some recently on Ebay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.XTaylor+LKSM+12+string.TRS0&_nkw=Taylor+LKSM+12+string&_sacat=0
And a forum member even has one: http://www.larriveeforum.com/smf/index.php?topic=51258.0