Buying a 12-string
 

Hi there, so I found an add on Kijiji for an Ibanez 12-string acoustic. The guitar itself, according to the seller, needs a new nut and new tuning pegs. Otherwise the seller doesn't give a whole lot of other information other than the guitar is from the 70s. I was just wondering... what should I offer for this: 70's Ibanez 12-string Acoustic,
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-guitar/saskat...tic/1076901777

Thanks in advance!

$75 and be prepared to use it as a wall hanging....

Buying a cheap 12 string is like buying a factory second parachute.

i'm not sure but looks like the pickup and volume and tone circuit has been added. so, hopefully you won't have any problem with that. if it needs a new nut, it may also need refretting and, you would need to check the neck. also, if it needs new tuning pegs or machines, you'll have to find the correct fitting ones or be prepared to drill them out for retrofitting.

sounds like a lot of work to me for this guitar but, it is your choice. $50-75 depending upon condition and your ability to do the work.

play music!

Walk away.
Save up your pennies.
A cheap old 12-string that needs work...
Let's just say to fix what you see will be more than the guitar is worth.
To fix the unseen will just break your heart...and wallet.

Buy a used Guild.
Buy one that has been well taken care of.
It will likely outlast you, and perhaps your children.

Make him pay you to take it away. ;).

Im all about buying fixer uppers... but i suspect if the tuning pegs and the nut were taken off it was stripped for parts because its unplayable. Obviously thats not the only reason someone would do that but that would be my first guess... if you go look at it make sure the truss rod works, it could be that someone who knows about guitars separated the usable parts from the firewood...

I hate to chime in singing the same chorus as everyone else, italianstallion, but the advice you've been given in this thread so far is correct: buying a cheap 40 year old 12 string that the seller admits needs work is a bad idea. This guitar will be a money hole for you, and even if you get it refitted, optimized and playing perfectly it's never going to sound very good.

You're much better off keeping an eye out for a used Seagull or Simon & Patrick 12 string, if a 12 string is in fact what you want. You might want to play a few in music stores before you commit to that configuration, because they're more physically demanding than 6 string guitars, by a considerable margin.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

Made my evening!

HE

Good advice here from everyone.
A bad 12-string is not equal to 2 bad 6-strings, it's more like 10 times worse.
Think Richter scale.

Yes, very funny. I wish I had said that. :D