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I decided to revive this thread I just finished a "peaceport" on my '73 Yairi and thought I'd share a pic... These never show up real well in pics and I'll try to get some better ones posted soon. I want to post a few that I've done for friends as well...

Looks like I'm going to be rained out of work tomorrow too So I'm drafting some ideas for the other 2 that I want to get done this afternoon/tomorrow. Any suggestions/ideas for ports are welcome!! -Pix

Here's a great one I've been really digging lately
Desmond Dekker "The Israelites"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzMWe6XyVdc

I'm a little late joining this thread but wanted to drop in and welcome you to Chordie! Sounds like you guys had a great time I love playing on the beach!! It's by far my favorite place to sit and just get lost in the rhythm of the waves and see how it influences my music. During the summer I'm sitting on the beach at least 3 days a week playing while I wait for the surf to build up I have the pleasure of living really close to the beach and am surrounded by those "secret places" that no one really visits. They make for some great quality time alone with the guit    I can hit the far end of the island almost any time of the year and have the beach to myself... No people, no houses, no traffic, It's really enjoyable. The pic I'm posting below was shot last July and not a sole was on the beach as far as I could see. The wife snapped it.... I was lost to the world eyes closed and just enjoying the flow

There are so many factors here....
  Yea, strings play a big roll... Different materials, gauges, brands, windings, all have a different sounds and you'll find what sounds great on one guitar will be trash on another. It's just one of those things where you have to trust your ear and find what suits you and your gear best.
   Tonewoods are a major contributor as well. The top wood being the most influential. I like to describe it as "The top gives you your tone and the back and side woods add color to that tone" Your top gives you 80% of your tone, the back gives 15-20% and the sides are only 0-5%. Describing the tonal properties of the many kind of wood would take pages. So I'm going to cheat and throw you a link that covers a broad spectrum of common tonewoods http://www.tfoa.eu/quality_of_tone_woods/content_id/142 Just remember that these are only guidelines...2 pieces of EIR or Hog cut from the same tree can still have different tonal characteristics. I find tonewoods to be a fascinating subject and study them fairly religously... I think it's cool to know (for instance), that wider grain often increases bass response where tighter grain usually results in a brighter sounding guitar. Look at most pre-war martins and you'll see wide/uneven grain that had that rolling bass their famous for. Most people don't understand that and look for nice straight tight grain in a top because it's prettier and assumed "better".
  You also have to consider bracing. Not only the materials but the style as well (pre-war, forward shifted, scalloped, etc...) The time and skill level of the workers that voiced (or not) the top... Voicing the top is done on most higher end guitars... This is simply the term used for shaving the bracing for optimal response when tapped or vibrated under string tension. Cheaper guitars are often over braced resulting in restricted tops that don't produce the tone they are really capable of because of restricted movement.
  Let's not forget body size, depth, nut/saddle materials, set up, built on a Monday or Wednesday , bolt on v/s dovetail neck joints, finish type /thickness, and the other 100 or so things that I just don't have time to get into.....

Theoretically they should hold up fine in standard but from what I've seen of older 12 strings they usually don't... Warpage of the neck is not that common but bellying of the lower bout below the bridge is almost always an issue. The exception being solid laminate models... (Laminate is more stable/stronger and holds up better under tension but sound usually suffers) My opinion (for what it's worth) is a solid topped 12 under standard tuning will need a neck reset in 5-10 years (probably closer to 5-7 for most & I've seen some need them after 2-3)  where a 12 tuned down half a step (or just stored tuned down when not played) will last much much longer. For me a 12 is too bright and twangy so I preferred the more mellow/full sound of them tuned down half a step anyway so I always kept mine that way.... So is it necessary? No... Will your 12 last longer? Yes ... There is no harm in tuning down half a step, so if it saves you some time/money on a neck set and improves playability why not do it...

As a general rule of thumb, cheaper 12 strings tend to hold up better because they are over built. A good sounding new 12 string has been voiced and the top is braced just enough for it to keep shape so that it responds optimally to the vibration caused by the strings and these tend to belly before their cheaper counterparts...

Hope you enjoy yourselves! You're only about 45 minutes away from me If you have any time for some friendly picking drop me an email. I'd be happy to throw something on the grill for you guys one evening or drive down and pick for an hour or two...   I also have a few "friends" in the area and if you guys fancy any Charter fishing or maybe the Dixie show I could probably save you a boat load of cash.... Just let me know!  Have fun! -Pix

Played this one a few times tonight... It had been awhile and I had forgotten how good of a song it was http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q29YR5-t3gg

Stand By Me
Wonderwall
Good Riddance (TOYL)
Country Boy Can Survive
Friend of the Devil
Simple Man
Bad Moon Rising
Wagonwheel
Amazing Grace

Most of the people I've played with could play at least one of those.... -Pix

Sorry to hear of your troubles doc! So you can still play with your pointer and middle finger for chording right? I don't know how your stretch is but you should be able to play power chords.... If the stretch is a bit much you can tune down one full step and then capo on the 2nd to get back to standard tuning. The frets would then be closer together and allow for easier fingerings plus you'd have much lighter string tension for easier fretting.  If your open to some fingerpicking you may want to look into some alternate tunings. You can do some sweet sounding melodies with 2 fingers in some tunings.  Just some thoughts...  All the best and a speedy recovery! -Pix

Cool Wayne! Thanks for the review and preview. Seems to work really well! I'll have to keep my eyes open for one I need something other than a $20 webcam to record video's with -Chris

Congrats Nela! I think you got a great deal on it!  Hope she works out well after the set-up! Those have a bolt on neck so even if it needs a reset it's simple to do and can be accomplished without fully removing the neck from the body... A member of "The Flock" ( A forum for godin guitars) did his and posted pics of the process with good results. -Pix