Changing Strings on a 12-String Acoustic Guitar

[@ThereseLefebvreComposerPianist]

Oh well I dont have anything to do with guitars... but awesome guidance Dave... do you tune pianos? Wanna come over? 😎😂🌹

[@steve-o6413]

A bit more complicated to change your strings I'd say but give Dave a challenge and he might accept lol : )

[@DaveRucci]

Hahaha! No on the tuning... but I’m sure you’re fun to hang out with Therese 🙌🏻🙂

[@DaveRucci]

Yes and I’d attempt it with a guitar tuner and a wrench.

[@ThereseLefebvreComposerPianist]

@@DaveRucci ...yeah am quite jolly 😂

[@ThereseLefebvreComposerPianist]

@@steve-o6413 ...we're getting close 😂

[@Jherrera-garcia]

Us Mexicans love takamine guitars 🔥we don't use octives tho we use 2 sets of normal strings

[@DaveRucci]

Lol

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

The High G String is an 8 & the tension is fairly low to prevent brekage, big plus. The High G broadens the range of the Guitar & it's a step below teh High A on a Tenor Guitar (the Octave4Plus B4 at .006 is a step above the High A of a Tenor Guitar, & the 5 Gauge C5 string is a minor third above that etc.) Octave4Plus makes super strong strings.

[@jenniferferris9473]

Thank you so much. I found a yamaha 12 string at the dump. No strings, missing the nut. A cpl things from Amazon (bone nut, and new strings (D'addario), and your video got me ready to mess around and see what I can do. My dad had a 12 string, and although I never heard him play, it reminds me of him. Tyvm (Now to learn how to tune, then learn how to play!)

[@DaveRucci]

Oh ok nice. Good luck! I hope this vid helped you a bit? 😮

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

A set of D'addario EJ41 Extra Light 12 String Guitar Strings will minimize the tension & facilitate playability.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

I reccomend getting a Pro Winder Cutter.

[@Herfortz]

R.I.P. Chris .... The guitar is in great hands.

[@DaveRucci]

Thanks Steve. 👍🏻

[@amoamasamatitagain1715]

Oiling the fretboard is also recommended…..Lemon oil. Same with the bridge.

[@DaveRucci]

😎

[@ScottWConvid19]

This is embarrassing to admit. I've been playing guitar for almost exactly 30 years. All of this time I always strung the 12-string with the thicker string on top. I'm not sure how I started doing that, but I've seen them strung both that way and the reverse. I always thought I was the one doing it the right way 😂 most of the guitars that I've seen in shops had them strung the incorrect way also. I even borrowed a highly crafted Taylor 12 from a reputable high end guitar shop for a studio project that had the thicker string on top. But, the last time I strung my guitar, I strung it in the order the strings were given on (and in) the package. It felt awkward because my fingers adapted to doing it the other way. A friend thought I had them on backwards and I thought he was right when I looked at the order and it felt awkward, so I decided to restring it again and noticed that the order of the strings on the package was the same. Then, I looked up and found your video and that caused me to look at the grooves on the nut and behold! I was doing it wrong for almost 30 years! 😂 I prefer to be correct than to be stuck in incorrectness. I liked that you cleaned the fret board and bridge and such. Do you not oil the wood to preserve it?

[@DaveRucci]

Wow. That’s a crazy story! I think if you’re picking notes it’s harder to hear the smaller string if it’s below the larger one. That’s why small goes on top I think. Big one takes up more surface area and a pick will likely miss the small string unless you pick down and in towards the sound hole. I’ve only recently been using the fretboard oil to clean. I forgot what I use but it’s in my recent floating tremolo setup video.

[@ScottWConvid19]

@@DaveRucci Yes! I did notice that picking the guitar feels different and has an all around voice difference between the upstroke and downstroke when picking and strumming. 😂

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

There's also the XT coated strings which are basically updated EXP Strings.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Pretty thin means the tension is going to be fairly low to make it playable.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

The High G has to be under fairly low tension to prevent brekage.

[@MartinMaat]

Tip: you will get in tune quicker if you first pull each string up, away from the body with some force. The windings on the tuners will set and you get out most of the relaxation that otherwise sets in later, making you retune again and again. I don't play that well but I am a handy MF :-).

[@DaveRucci]

Ok yes thank Martin. I think I’ve heard that before... tbh I hardly change any of my strings often so I don’t get to practice that technique much. But I will try it next time! Appreciate ya. 🤘🏻

[@FedericoBorluzzi]

Wow, I can say that changing 6 strings is a hard work for me already... So with 12 strings you basically double everything. :D

[@DaveRucci]

Yea. Lol. Keeping it in tune is fun too 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Recycle your strings

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Chris Peck. When did he die at what date? Was that recently? I'd imagine that using 2 sets of Power Pins will make stringing it easier cause you load the strings into the bridge like an Electric Guitar.

[@DaveRucci]

July 31, 2011

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Those Light Gauge Strings seem to reduce the tension on the top since they're under lower tension.

[@MrRayzer1]

I thought you were gonna say, changing strings on a 12 string, in 3 min's oh well.Fun video Dave, gonna have to have a go at mine soon :)

[@DaveRucci]

Next time Ray... speed change! 😰

[@hubertgunpowder]

Great guitar with a beautiful sound...Great job, Dave !! ♫

[@DaveRucci]

Thanks my friend!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Some Guitars have a built in tuner which is a big plus.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

The lower tuning is what I also use because it's so much easier on my Voice.

[@meripat]

Thank you! I have always done string changing in a much more meticulous and time consuming way, instead of wrapping the string around the tuning peg when its slack, I have always left about 5 - 10 cm of slack, pushed it through the tuning peg and then tightened it with slack, one hand on the tuning wrench and the other keeping the string tight, but your method is WAY more efficient! One thing that no one talks about is the bridge nut (the white thing that is in contact with the strings at the bottom of the guitar) I always get confused, which way is it supposed to be? I mean, it's sloped on one side, then sloped the other way, on the g-string, I guess, and then again the other way? Thanks again for your tips, that wrapping of the strings first thing will most likely save me hours of time in the future!

[@DaveRucci]

You’re welcome dude! Glad it helped you. You need to explain what your method was, cause I don’t understand reading your description…

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

The bottom 4 pairs are in Octaves & the top 2 are in Unison. You can also make the 2nd pair of Strings in Octaves by replacing the Unison B String with an Octave4Plus .006 B4 String. Octave4Plus makes 12 String Guitar strings that have the 2nd pair of Strings tuned in Octaves to broaden the range & they're under fairly low tension to prevent brekage & make it playable.

[@DaveRucci]

Didn’t know that. Thanks for the info dude 👍🏻

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@DaveRucci Can't wait to hear the Octave4Plus 6 Gauge B4 String.

[@christopherbarrueta6317]

It has a bridge doctor tho

[@AWESOME295]

You know about Alip ba ta?,a very talented finger style guitarist on KZbin '

[@bradleymonroe6443]

That is one amazing 12 string guitar. Have you tried playing the 12 string tuned down a half or whole step below E standard?

[@DaveRucci]

Yes. I won’t tune this to standard. Too tight

[@steve-o6413]

Well Dave your Bud's DNA is embedded in that guitar so he'll always be playing with you. A great Tutorial on changing strings play many great tunes with it...

[@DaveRucci]

Awww thanks SteveO. That’s nice of you to say man. 👌🏻

[@valcrist7428]

I wonder which one is harder to setup, this 12 string acoustic or a 6 string electric guitar with a floating tremolo (e.g. Floyd rose)..

[@DaveRucci]

Definitely a Floyd floater.

[@retinalcircus]

Great stuff! I need to convert a 1960s Italian left handed 12 string (with a metal nut and bridge,) back to right handed. Also a gift from a former bandmate. This would be a good way to get the strings off and on at least (after flipping the plates,). By the way one slight tip, when you put on a new string tug it gently and then over tune it when tuning it back up, keep doing that until the string stays in tune. Will save you up to half hour easily. It's a great trick for restringing before or during a gig too and keeping it in tune.

[@DaveRucci]

Got it! Good luck with you conversion!

[@briannorman952]

Sorry to hear about your friend. You have the guitar to keep his memory alive my friend!

[@DaveRucci]

Hey thanks Brian… I almost forgot I talked about him in this video. Yea it’s a nice reminder

[@Darren-D.C-Cross]

Thanks!

[@mruncletheredge]

Loved the little White Lion shout-out....

[@DaveRucci]

Oh haha... I forgot about that!

[@johnthomas5465]

Thank you Sir!

[@DaveRucci]

You are welcome!

[@uwewilly]

👍🎸👍

[@DaveRucci]

😆