Standard tuning for a Rick 12 String

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squirebass
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Standard tuning for a Rick 12 String

Post by squirebass »

This may sound like a stupid question, but how is a Rick 12 string tuned? I've only been playing 6 string for about 10 months, and I've never tuned a 12. Seems like I remember hearing that the lower strings are tuned in octaves and the upper ones in fifths or something. I just got a new 660/12 today and I'm gonna have to tune it up so I can play it! Thanks for the help.

GS
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ted_williams
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Post by ted_williams »

The low E, the A, the D, and the G (assuming standard tuning) are tuned in octaves, while the B and the high E are tuned in unison. Be careful while tuning the G octave, as it's (usually) the thinnest string on the guitar and prone to breaking. See Mark the MD's tips on stringing and tuning a 12-string.
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doctorwho
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Post by doctorwho »

Here is a 'trick' I use on the 1st and 2nd string pairs: with an electronic tuner, I tune one of the pair ever-so-slightly above (+) and the other ever-so-slightly below (-) the "zero-point" for that note. On my Seiko tuner (I think it's an ST-747, but I'm not at home as I write this), the string is in tune within the +/- 5 range, so I set the strings within this so that the strings are just slightly out of resonance. To me, it adds a bit more "ringing" to those strings.
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