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I'm contemplating a twelve string acoustic build but I need measurements for the nut width and spacing for the strings at the nut, i.e. the space between individual strings and the space between each pair..... also, what spread is used at the saddle?
I guess this has been discussed before but I can't seem to find it on the search bit.

Obliged

Bill S.

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Dream to be a luthier

Here ya go Bill...

viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=27952

Thank you Haans, much appreciated and BTW I just love your work. Your posts and pics of your parlour build has inspired me to start building a ladder braced parlour...one with the fancy arrow head winged bridge. Parlours are so neat!

Thanks again,
Bill

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Dream to be a luthier

I would suggest going to a guitar store with lots of 12 string guitars, bringing your digital calipers, play a bunch of them, and take measurements on the ones you like.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

Thanks Bill! I really like parlors too. They are so "handy". Consider a short scale. I use 24.625". Works very well with light guage strings.

Todd, Good idea but I live in a small country town which does have a music shop with some guitars but dare not touch one!...unless you want to buy it, let alone approach them with a set of calipers . It would be Ideal if I lived in a city but I don't drive and I don't get around much.

Bill

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Dream to be a luthier

When I built my 12-string dreadnought (http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=27637), I was looking to "fix" all the things I didn't like about my own Martin D12-28. Like most Martin 12's, it has a nut width of 1-7/8", a width at the 12th fret of 2-5/16 and string spacing of 2-5/16. Those are typical specs for many other makes, as my research found. Even though I have large hands, it's always felt clunky. Many Guild 12's have a 1-13/16 nut width, and that 1/16" less makes all the difference in my hand.

So, I designed my 12 with:
nut width: 1-13/16"
width at 12th: 2-1/4"
string spacing at saddle: 2-5/16"

Generally speaking, my preference is for the strings to be closer, rather than farther apart. At the nut, I set the pair width to 2.5mm, and the overall string spacing to 42 mm (i.e., 2 mm inset on either side). Spacing between pairs was defined by the StewMac string spacing guide, which I also use for my 6-string builds. At the saddle, the limiting factor (on a bridge using 12 standard pins, rather than 2 strings per pin) is the clearance of the pin head. I set the treble pairs 3.5 mm apart, and the bass pairs 4 mm apart.

The advice to try out various 12's is a good one, as small differences make a huge difference in feel. I would advise any client to do this and advise me of their preference. At least I have 2 12's here for folks to try, and I have no doubt which one most folks will prefer.

There are a lot of players who prefer wider string spacings, too. Best to build for what suits the individual.

Using one bridge pin for each pair of strings is an option well worth considering. Then you can use a little tighter spacing (at the saddle) between strings within each pair, and you don't have to make an oversized, overweight bridge.

Here are photos of two of mine set up like that.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

Thanks Tim and Todd, very useful information..for me that is as I have medium sized hands but short thumbs. They measure only two and a half inches from palm to tip which gives me problems with some chord stretches plus the fact that my arthritic fingers get stiffer by the year. Another fact is I'm not a player or performer. I can plunk a couple tunes but hell, who cares? I just love the sound of the guitar and it's a joy to build them.

Bill

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Dream to be a luthier