My son's birthday is comming up and we are trying to think what to get him..

He wants a 12 string acoustic. What is good? Takamine? Seagull? don't want to break the bank...

Also looking for a mixer to interface with the computer, I am thinking about a powered mackie. 8 channel. We need to add several instruments and mic's.

I have a tascam board now, but it doesn't power any monitor speakers. Looking for something that can travel.

Thanks, herb

Check shops that sell used equipment, and craigslist.com. You should be able to pick up a used Takamine 12 string for around $400. They are decent guitars. Best thing to do is have him play a couple of them as one will feel better in his hands than another. Of course if it's going to be a surprise then that might not be possible.



Since you already have a taskcam board, you could just keep that and get powered speakers instead. There are many brands that have amps built-in to them. Otherwise, Mackie is about as good as anything else in that price range. As far as mics, get a couple of SM57s because they are cheap. If you want a good sounding condenser mic, look at the low-end Rode mics. A great value for the money. If you want to get a nice tube mic for little $, look at the Chameleon Labs tube mic. They sound fantastic and are a fraction of what you'd pay for a higher end mic. A supurb all around great mic for recording would be a Neumann TLM103. They are inexpensive for how fantastic they sound, but they will still run you around $700. They are a do-everything mic.




Are you looking for a mixer that you can use live? Do you want to record your live gigs? If so, there are several rack mounted mixers that will do the job and you could always get something like a Motu USB rack mount Mixer/preamp to run directly into a laptop for the recording. Units like the MOTU usually come with some type of software that lets you record directly to a computer. You could hook up your powered speakers to it too for mixing.


Hope this helps.

Give him a voucher, I hated my first guitar. Even from the same company they can have a different weight, neck feel and action.

Thanks!

We have played many different guitars...he likes the Takamine and others...it won't be a surprise..
The Tascam needs more inputs to be really useful. It is hard when we have 2 vocals, base, guitar and drums.

Right now, he is really into making youtube videos...over 41 at last count. hmmm what about a hidef video camera?
thanks, again,

You'll be hard pressed to find a good 12 string without spending some money. Personally I'm a Taylor man, they are more than the imports, but even the low end Taylors play great. The Tayor price differences being the wood species, inlays, electronics, etc.

There are some cool USB mixers available now that have good features at good prices. I'd look for three or four band channel e.q. if you are using any live mics. If it's all line inputs then you don't need much channel eq.

I always look for good used gear. I got my Taylor 615ce barely used (5 months old) for about 25% less than new. There's no shortage of musicians low on cash, so good used gear is out there, it just takes some times, and you'll probably see some junk before you find the prize.

Good luck!

I like my Yamaha 12 that I have had since 94. I bought it on the way to a gig and I liked the sound so much for the price that I often string it 6 as I dont play 12 much. It was $400 and has nice wood and pearl inlays. As for recording gear, I am so out of the loop with that stuff now I cant help you. BUT, I have a rack mounted Sony DAT recorder you can have if you can use it. I also have a Tascam cd-a500 that I can part with.

Hey, Doc...

If no one wants that DAT, I'd like to buy it...

Takamine is a really good guitar for the dollar range it plays in. But, if you could find a used martin for the same value of a new takamine I'd jump on the Martin.

Whichever brand of 12 string you decide on, make sure the truss rod is good, because you'll be tightening it at least once a year from the string tension of the 12. Always tune a 12 string a full note down, and use a capo to help with the tension. I'm really partial to my Ovation 12, since they make a special neck for them that can be tuned to pitch & left that way. I'm also very partial to the "Gibson/Epiphone" 12 string SG singleneck I built. Since Gibson never built one, and I wanted one, I built it myself. I can't even bear to take it apart to paint it.

Guild 12s are nice.....maybe pricey tho......

all great ideas...keep them coming..thanks,

I personally like the Washburn J28SDL 12 string. Its a little pricey but its a great guitar, nice and loud, great action and looks great too. I got mine off of musicians friend. Check there they have the best prices

Dont buy anything yet. I have someone who may be able to help, but I need to see if he can first

Kool....Give me a call and we can discuss....

My agent says you have been handled

ok, I don't know if I should bend over or what?

I guess he hasn't contacted you yet. He will.

he did...got handled...

If you want the 12 string sound, just get a chorus pedal!

I know very little to nothing about guitars but I was in the Gibson factory and museum in Memphis this afternoon. Lot of nice items there. Even took the time to watch them building them.