Nuts & Bolts - 12-Fret Vs. 14-Fret Acoustics

[@Indigo-lucky]

I did lots of hands-on and on-line research on this. 14-fret won hands-down for me. I don’t use a pick, I finger-style a lot, I do chords when I sing with both strumming and arpeggios, and for articulation you want for each quick note to come out - 14-fretter is the winner. 12-fret Grand Concert guitars I tried (with both 12 and even 13 gauge strings) were still more muddy, too many overtones, while not as much resonance and clarity of the 14-fret guitar. You do hear more warmth and boominess from the base strings, some darker lows in the 12-fretter, but they either sound a bit muffled or muddy. 14-fretters get more brighness and articulation. This made me conclude the OPPOSITE of what the advise trend seems to be in this and other videos: if you want to mainly strum chords, but get the lows and more “boom” from a smaller guitar, then the 12-fretter is for you. If you do kore melody (with finger-style or pick, solo or arpeggios) - then you need the 14-fretter. Unparalleled clarity, articulation and brightness resonating from each note boldly, no matter how fast you play! The strumming also sounds more loud and resonant (you can even feel the vibration way more and people in always attest to more sound filling the room). So in general, 14 is a winner, but especially for fingerstylists or those who play lots of melody or solos. A 12-fretter I compared recently was getting some extra “likes” from a Martin fan (for the warmth at the lows especially), but even he ultimately agreed the 14-fretter was better, at least for me :) I spent lots of time on these comparisons and just sharing in hopes it helps others who may be as confused about this as I was :)

[@danstevens1024]

Thank you Russhin2Luv for sharing your research! I just started playing guitar this past year and am currently playing an Eastman E1 OM guitar. Terrific beginner's guitar, especially for the money. When I've thought about getting my next guitar I have been attracted to a 12-fret thinking that having the neck closer in to the body might make 1st position chords (e.g. C chord) easier to play. At the same time, I've worried about how well a 12-fret would do with a capo. But listening to some KZbin demos of Taylor 12 and 14 fretters I was starting to notice the same issues you have described here in your comments. Thank you for helping crystallize my thoughts about this!

[@karenruby2578]

I am looking into 12-fretters. How does it work when you flat pick a 12-fret guitar in terms of sound and body alignment? I usually rest my hand on the bridge when flat picking. Is your body out of alignment and your pick is further away from the soundhole. Thanks for the video.

[@adriannasanchez468]

Karen 12 is much more comfortable

[@harrisonrhinehart6996]

00:18 when joe realizes he’s in the video😂

[@CarlosGonzalez-tx4cb]

Con: 14 fret model is less efficient at transferring the vibrating string energy to the top.

[@Theshark-l4k]

The guy knows nothing.

[@sambrinkhuis2599]

explain