OffsetGuitars.com

As someone who plays clean mostly and uses the volume and tone knobs, I have to say I loved that video when he wasn’t using the drive pedal.

ThatGuyOverThere wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 15, 2019 2:14 pm

More video... some stuff with drive too.

https://youtu.be/5P7E9a4VEUE

Mine only has 21 medium jumbo frets

I've been trying to find some YouTubes of these Guitars with Guys that actually know how to play? Mostly Strummers?? I'd like to hear some guys playing well known 12 String Songs... Byrds, Beatles, Hollies etc. So I can really get a good idea about these Guitars before taking the plunge.... Have you seen any?

Larsongs wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 16, 2019 6:10 am

I've been trying to find some YouTubes of these Guitars with Guys that actually know how to play? Mostly Strummers?? I'd like to hear some guys playing well known 12 String Songs... Byrds, Beatles, Hollies etc. So I can really get a good idea about these Guitars before taking the plunge.... Have you seen any?

I suspect the video from Fender and the one posted yesterday are as close as you'll get. A recent That Pedal Show episode had a whole conversation about how even barely playing a few bars of a classic riff is enough to get slapped with copyright infringement notices from YouTube.

ThatGuyOverThere wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 16, 2019 6:17 am

Larsongs wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 16, 2019 6:10 am

I've been trying to find some YouTubes of these Guitars with Guys that actually know how to play? Mostly Strummers?? I'd like to hear some guys playing well known 12 String Songs... Byrds, Beatles, Hollies etc. So I can really get a good idea about these Guitars before taking the plunge.... Have you seen any?

I suspect the video from Fender and the one posted yesterday are as close as you'll get. A recent That Pedal Show episode had a whole conversation about how even barely playing a few bars of a classic riff is enough to get slapped with copyright infringement notices from YouTube.

Andy, Greg Koch & other guys play well known tidbits of various Songs... MytwangyGuitar slightly alters well known songs. Not to mention scores of Cover Bands who play whole songs.... Maybe there just aren't enough of these new Alt 12's out there yet?

FIREBOT wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 25, 2019 6:04 am

I bought a set of Novak XII pickups with the intent to rout the 88' and install, but now with these coming, I will save them for one of these. I suspect it could be perfect for me if the neck isn't too narrow.

...so... got around to taking this in and having my Novak’s installed, and added a rotary switch and vintage wiring spec to the job (along with a more thorough set-up). I just got it back. I’ll spend some time with it tomorrow.

FIREBOT wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 19, 2019 12:25 pm

FIREBOT wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 25, 2019 6:04 am

I bought a set of Novak XII pickups with the intent to rout the 88' and install, but now with these coming, I will save them for one of these. I suspect it could be perfect for me if the neck isn't too narrow.

...so... got around to taking this in and having my Novak’s installed, and added a rotary switch and vintage wiring spec to the job (along with a more thorough set-up). I just got it back. I’ll spend some time with it tomorrow.

Hi, which rotary switch did you use ?

And mine, back from my luthier:

Hey, I was wondering, witch pickups did you end up going with (I know hes has 2 different types). And do you think they are lower output than the originals that came with the guitar? The stock pickups are ok. Nothing to write home about, but the major thing I dont like is I think they are a bit too hot. Not by much, but a little. It seems to me that they are a tad bit muddy, and missing a bit of clarity. Any one else share this opinion?

Well, I finally pulled the trigger on a blue one - it should arrive today. Probably won't get much time with it this weekend.

I'm wondering if anyone's done any comparison videos. Specifically between the Stratocaster XII from last year and this. And between the stock pickups and the Novaks. I've got one of the Strat XII's and a partscaster Tele XII, so maybe I'll do a comparison video between the three before I sell the Strat. Not that I'm any good, but I can stum something as well as the next guy.

Turns out I got some time with it this weekend! This guitar is an absolute winner. Compared to my Strat XII from last year, which is more vintage spec, the Electric XII is just so nice and comfy to play. The Strat has a 7.25" radius neck, with a U shaped profile. It's always just felt a little cramped and small to me. Okay for strumming, but a little tough for me to even do arpeggios on. The Electric XII is a 9.5" radius with the C shaped neck profile - very similar to my #1, a turn of the century American Deluxe Tele. I'm sure some people are grousing about the changes, but I for one really like this as a player.

It's not nice resonance too. Nice to play even unplugged. which to me is always a good sign. Setup isn't awful, but could use some tweaking for sure. Capos are not happy thing on it yet. I'm still not sure about the pickups; they sound decent, but I really with someone that had switched to the Novaks had done a before and after comparison. I think I'm going to switch out the wound strings for some flats and live with it for a bit before I think about new pickups. I'm also not even missing the series option, which I tend to want on all my single-coil guitars.

Two months and 10 pages worth of posts on this thread later, Sweetwater let me know they have my XII that I preordered. Why the rest of the world got theirs already I can't say, but they gave me a good deal and have been on top of messages and such. Here's hoping I'll see it soon.

tylerforyou wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 07, 2019 9:45 am

...Why the rest of the world got theirs already I can't say...

Nope. We're looking at possibly next year before we get ours here.

(3TS versions have hit shops, but the other colours are still coming).

natthu wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 07, 2019 10:44 am

tylerforyou wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 07, 2019 9:45 am

...Why the rest of the world got theirs already I can't say...

Nope. We're looking at possibly next year before we get ours here.

(3TS versions have hit shops, but the other colours are still coming).

And here in the UK I've just been told it will be late December, possibly new year!

Review @ Guitar.com - 9 out of 10

Manufactured for only four years between 1965-69, Fender’s Electric XII left a significant footprint in the history of rock. Featuring most famously on Stairway To Heaven, the purpose-built 12-string design was aimed primarily at folk-rockers, but found favour with a diverse bunch, from Jimmy Page and Pete Townshend to Lou Reed, Tim Buckley and later Nick McCabe. And although Bryan Adams sang about his “first real six-string” on Summer Of ’69, an Electric XII features prominently in the arrangement.

Returning to the catalogue half a century after it was discontinued, 2019’s Electric XII is one of the stars of Fender’s Alternate Reality series – limited-edition, Mexican-made models which mix and match features from a variety of instruments and eras. As such, our review guitar isn’t a faithful reissue of the 1960s original and some design changes have been implemented.

Unlike the 1960s model, only six of the Electric XII’s strings are strung through-body – the octave and unison strings top-load through the back of the modern bridge, which provides individual intonation adjustment for the full dozen. Surrounded by a plate with a similar outline to the original Electric XII bridge, the new unit has a footprint more like that of a Strat hardtail, while the saddles resemble those used on current Danelectro 12-strings.

Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII

Electronics comprise a pair of old-school split-coil pickups paired with a master tone and master volume, while the four-way rotary selector switch that delivered series and parallel pickup combinations back in the day has been jettisoned. Fans of the old series setting will lament its passing, but players new to the model won’t know what they’re missing and many will prefer the ease and familiarity of a three-position toggle.
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The body’s bass-side horn is a little sharper than a typical Jazzmaster, giving the Electric XII slightly more futuristic lines. Replicating Lake Placid Blue is something of a moving target, but the slightly greenish hue of the gloss polyester finish here, with its hint of Ocean Turquoise, is as cool as a Norwegian plunge pool. The pau ferro board is rich and chocolatey enough not to appear anaemic and the look is completed by the hockey-stick headstock. Despite the size of the peghead and the hardware onboard, strapped-on balance is excellent.

Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII
In use

Neck dimensions are of huge importance to prospective 12-string buyers and happily, our review guitar’s 42.5mm nut width and even string spacing hit the bullseye – it’s neither too cramped nor unwieldy. The combination of a 9.5-inch ’board radius, comfortable ‘C’ shaped satin-finished neck, low action and 21 medium-jumbo frets delivers about as easy a playing experience as you’ll get from a 12-string of any brand. In terms of playing technique, the only adjustment required is the need to be quite deliberate with downstrokes when every octave note is required to ring out.

Once you plug in and get past the familiar Beatles, Byrds and Petty-isms, you’ll find an awful lot of inspiration can be unlocked – it’s a guitar that suits modern-day experimentalists and stompbox addicts down to the ground. The natural wooziness of a 12 adds a hint of shoegaze-y psychedelia to proceedings even when dry, but add a long plate reverb and combine it with echo or tremolo and you’ll quickly find yourself in ambient heaven.
Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII

Despite the low action, it’s great for slide and it loves drive – the octave strings adding new textural interest to otherwise familiar lines. We spend a lot of time exploring the fullness of the neck pickup, but the softer middle setting is ideal for strumming, while the strident bridge unit has plenty of bite and aggression. 50 years on and at such an accessible price point, the Fender Electric XII might just be more relevant than ever.
Key Features

PRICE £859 (inc. gigbag)
DESCRIPTION Solidbody 12-string electric guitar. Made in Mexico
BUILD Offset alder body, bolt-on maple neck with 9.5” radius pau ferro fingerboard, dot inlays, 21 medium-jumbo frets and synthetic bone nut
HARDWARE 12-saddle hardtail bridge, vintage-style tuners
ELECTRICS 2x Split-Coil Electric XII pickups, volume, tone, 3-way toggle pickup selector switch
SCALE LENGTH 25.5”/648mm
NECK WIDTH 42.5mm at nut, 51.6mm at 12th fret
NECK DEPTH 21.7mm at first fret, 23.2mm at 12th fret
STRING SPACING 38.1mm at nut, 55.3mm at bridge
WEIGHT 8.6lb/3.9kg
FINISH Lake Placid Blue (as reviewed), 3-Colour Sunburst, Olympic White