12 string

[Barry snook]

Hi everyone

Thinking of doing a 12 string for my next build, has anyone completed one of these? Trying to find posts but I can’t seem to find any

Thanks

[Marcel]

RCM-12.... by Gary B.
https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...ead.php?t=8885

TLA-12 .... by me
https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...ead.php?t=8444

Hope this helps

[Fretworn]

https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...ghlight=string

[Simon Barden]

The ES-1 12 string seems to no longer be available from PBG, at least ATM.

The bridge on the TL-12s is poor and really needs to be upgraded to the Gotoh bridge it is a bad copy of (unless the bridge has been upgraded very recently as there were a few complaints).

[Barry snook]

Thanks for this everyone! Gives me a nice amount of reading

im thinking of getting a custom order, ATL-1FB “THINLINE in a 12 string

https://www.pitbullguitars.com/shop/...ic-guitar-kit/

As i would like a semi hollow style TL, would it be wise for me to ask for the holes to be drilled for string through or should i do this myself, as simon has suggested i get the gotoh 12 string bridge. i'm not sure if things would line up properly. thats if this model can have a string through.


thanks

[Woltz]

Thanks for this everyone! Gives me a nice amount of reading

im thinking of getting a custom order, ATL-1FB “THINLINE in a 12 string

https://www.pitbullguitars.com/shop/...ic-guitar-kit/

As i would like a semi hollow style TL, would it be wise for me to ask for the holes to be drilled for string through or should i do this myself, as simon has suggested i get the gotoh 12 string bridge. i'm not sure if things would line up properly. thats if this model can have a string through.


thanks

Someone else can probably chime in to confirm but I expect that the centre strip of the guitar would be solid. Have a look at my scratch tele thinline build and you will see the inside of my one, I would expect the pitbull kit semi-hollows to have similar chambering.

With regards to the string through holes and whether you should do it yourself, do you have access to a drill press?

Here is some useful links for drilling string through holes.
https://reverb.com/item/1008819-tele...e-luthier-tool
https://www.tdpri.com/threads/drilli...s-help.704327/

[Simon Barden]

You’d get 6 strings through the body and 6 strings that top load, both with the kit bridge and the Gotoh one. There isn’t room for all 12 strings to string-through) The kit bridge used to date is dimensionally identical to the Gotoh, but the saddle heights for each string pair are different by 1-1.5mm (they should be the same) and the holes that should allow the bridge to be intonated correctly for R/H use aren’t tapped for the screw, so proper intonation can only be achieved if used on a L/H guitar or you swap out the nut and fit the string pairs the Rickenbacker way with the heavy string at the top (though the string heights will still be different so playing up the neck will be awkward).

The factory isn’t well known for getting its string-through holes lined up very well, so you may feel happier drilling the holes yourself. It’s not too hard to do and you’ve a much better chance of getting your ferrules in a nice straight line.

[Barry snook]

Someone else can probably chime in to confirm but I expect that the centre strip of the guitar would be solid. Have a look at my scratch tele thinline build and you will see the inside of my one, I would expect the pitbull kit semi-hollows to have similar chambering.

With regards to the string through holes and whether you should do it yourself, do you have access to a drill press?

Here is some useful links for drilling string through holes.
https://reverb.com/item/1008819-tele...e-luthier-tool
https://www.tdpri.com/threads/drilli...s-help.704327/

Thanks for that, no access to a drill press, but i'm fairly sure with the help from those links i would be able to manage it.

You have some skills with that scratch build, and also recovering from that split!!! good to see the inside, i'm pretty sure this would be similar.

[Barry snook]

You’d get 6 strings through the body and 6 strings that top load, both with the kit bridge and the Gotoh one. There isn’t room for all 12 strings to string-through) The kit bridge used to date is dimensionally identical to the Gotoh, but the saddle heights for each string pair are different by 1-1.5mm (they should be the same) and the holes that should allow the bridge to be intonated correctly for R/H use aren’t tapped for the screw, so proper intonation can only be achieved if used on a L/H guitar or you swap out the nut and fit the string pairs the Rickenbacker way with the heavy string at the top (though the string heights will still be different so playing up the neck will be awkward).

The factory isn’t well known for getting its string-through holes lined up very well, so you may feel happier drilling the holes yourself. It’s not too hard to do and you’ve a much better chance of getting your ferrules in a nice straight line.

good to know, its a shame the bridge is like that, well i think ill give it a go at drilling though myself

[Simon Barden]

I've used a basic drill stand with a normal drill to do it very well, just setting it up to drill through the hole at the bottom of the stand. Use the bridge holes as a template for marking the positions on the top, then drill the two E string holes all the way through and the four inner holes 2/3 the way though. Then turn the body over, use the two E string holes to line up the bridge, then again use the bridge holes to mark the 4 inner string hole positions, and drill those through about halfway until the holes line up. That way your top and rear string holes should be in a nice straight line.