Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII 12-String

[burpgun]

I'm in the US and managed to run down a white model via Amazon of all places, although the actual purchase was fulfilled by some shop in Texas.

God, what a nice guitar. I'm mostly a bass player but mess around on guitar, and cotton to odd ball instruments. My XII has a nice solid weight, and even with all those strings it's not any more difficult to play than a normal guitar. The fretboard material is a little weird as there's what looks like a dark line running the length of the fretboard. It looks natural, but it's something I haven't ever seen in a rosewood board (yes, I know the board on this is pau ferro.) If there's anything that I'm unhappy about, I would say the neck pocket is not well done and could be a lot tighter. I'm keeping the guitar and hope that doesn't come back to bite me later. I hope someone makes replacement pickguards because I'd like to slap a black one on. The tort is nice and dark but it's never really my thing.

Fender does seem to be producing these in limited numbers, so while I have no plans to sell, I wonder if this is one of the rare new guitars that actually appreciates. I got my Pawnshop Bass VI for like $700 and it seems like the limited number there has led to very good resale now for that model.

[Embenny]

I 100% think that these will end up being one of those models that appreciates in value. The only question is whether it sells well enough that they feel they can release it in a less limited-time line, like a Vintera or something. If not, I don't see there being another proper XII for a long time. Just look at what happened with the Bass VI - there hasn't been a production Fender model since the Pawn Shop one, which was totally analogous to these AR guitars.

[jfine]

DADGAD should work fine on a 12-string.

[BoringPostcards]

I tried one recently and I was floored by it. If it was blue, I'd already have it. They only had an aged white one. It was beautiful, but I want LPB.

Sounded rich and majestic through a Vox AC 15 they had in the shop. I tried it through a tweed champ and Princeton as well. It sounded best through the Vox.

The one I tried was flawless. No issues at all.

[YALCaster]

I originally wasn’t a fan of the reissue, but I finally found one and played it today. I loved it, I almost bought it!

[Embenny]

So now that people have these in their hands, did the pickups turn out to be humbucking, or is each pair wound with the same polarity and direction like the vintage ones?

[Ceylon]

Well, I can't find them on Thomann anymore, so they just might have reached the end of their run.

[YALCaster]

Does anyone have any pics of it under the pickguard?

[Jubaea]

Does anyone have any pics of it under the pickguard?

[baseggio]

So now that people have these in their hands, did the pickups turn out to be humbucking, or is each pair wound with the same polarity and direction like the vintage ones?

With mine, I get hum in positions 1 & 3. The middle position has no hum.

[burpgun]

So now that people have these in their hands, did the pickups turn out to be humbucking, or is each pair wound with the same polarity and direction like the vintage ones?

With mine, I get hum in positions 1 & 3. The middle position has no hum.

Same for me. I think the guitar sounds great so I wouldn't change anything, but I do wonder why these pickups are the way there are if they aren't noise-canceling. I'd always assumed these type of guitar pickups were like the Precision bass pickup, which cancels hum, but I believe is wired differently than most humbuckers. Some serial or parallel thing I never quite wrapped my head around.

[HNB]

Guitar center has two in Tacoma if you are in the area and wanna try or buy.

[Embenny]

So now that people have these in their hands, did the pickups turn out to be humbucking, or is each pair wound with the same polarity and direction like the vintage ones?

With mine, I get hum in positions 1 & 3. The middle position has no hum.

Same for me. I think the guitar sounds great so I wouldn't change anything, but I do wonder why these pickups are the way there are if they aren't noise-canceling. I'd always assumed these type of guitar pickups were like the Precision bass pickup, which cancels hum, but I believe is wired differently than most humbuckers. Some serial or parallel thing I never quite wrapped my head around.

Vintage XIIs had both halves of the pickup wound with the same polarity and direction, but the neck vs bridge pair reversed relative to each other. Each half is in series with the other half, but the neck and bridge pairs as a unit are parallel with each other when combined.

It seems silly to replicate this on a reissue that isn't striving for accuracy (the shape is even modified).

When I had Curtis Novak wind me a pair, I requested that each half be RW/RP relative to each other - and every switch position is hum-free as a result.

[burpgun]

With mine, I get hum in positions 1 & 3. The middle position has no hum.

Same for me. I think the guitar sounds great so I wouldn't change anything, but I do wonder why these pickups are the way there are if they aren't noise-canceling. I'd always assumed these type of guitar pickups were like the Precision bass pickup, which cancels hum, but I believe is wired differently than most humbuckers. Some serial or parallel thing I never quite wrapped my head around.

Vintage XIIs had both halves of the pickup wound with the same polarity and direction, but the neck vs bridge pair reversed relative to each other. Each half is in series with the other half, but the neck and bridge pairs as a unit are parallel with each other when combined.

It seems silly to replicate this on a reissue that isn't striving for accuracy (the shape is even modified).

When I had Curtis Novak wind me a pair, I requested that each half be RW/RP relative to each other - and every switch position is hum-free as a result.

So I take from this the split pickups on the new XII are the way they are purely for aesthetics and to retain some of the old vibe? Again I like the new pick ups just fine, but I do want to understand what’s up.

[jakeisjake]

I played a LPB XII in guitar center in Clearwater...it was a fine instrument. Played great and sounded sweet. Smooth all around.