1972 Guild F-112 Mini-Jumbo 12-String Guitar

If you browse my blog history, you'll find my glowing reviews of other Guild F-112s. It's my favorite-model 12-string as I prefer the curvy looks and 000-width (15 1/4" lower bout) body size. Because of the smaller body, the sound is a bit more compressed and forward, too, which works for the style I play. They're no-frills boxes but sport a solid spruce top and solid mahogany back, sides, and neck. The necks feature two truss rods and they tend to be nice and stable instruments.

That said, if the work hasn't been done, any old 12-string is a bear to play. This one had a neck reset in its past and my own work included a fret level/dress, mild bridge shave, saddle slot expansion (made it wider), a new (fully compensated) bone saddle, and a good setup. It plays beautifully with 3/32" E and 1/16" ADGBE action at the 12th fret and features "Jake-style" 12-string light gauges at: 22w/46w, 17/36w, 10/26w, 8/18w, 13/13, 9/9 low to high. This is like a standard "12 string light" set but with all of the thinner strings bumped-back a gauge or two and the feel is more like playing an electric 12-string -- it's slinky and fun.

The guitar is crack-free and all-original save one bridge pin, the saddle, and a (non-hooked-up) endpin jack.

This has a 1 13/16" nut width, mild radius (about 14-16"), and a mild-medium C/D hybrid neck shape.

I love the grain on that rosewood board!

You can see all of the compensation I've done at the saddle in this shot. I also add string ramps for every string to insure good back-angle. I had to widen the saddle a little to the rear to get the lower strings compensated correctly as the saddle slot wasn't cut with enough compensation from the factory.

I shaved (and then polished-up) the bridge about 1/16" to allow for more saddle height adjustment (if needed) in the future. It has plenty of height, now, and the slot is drop-in so it's easy to adjust with shims (or second saddles).

There's an old (patched) hole for a strap button at the back of the heel.

These two lines are just odd scratches in the finish. It's like someone put it on a guitar hanger that had no covering and did this while taking it in/out of it.

This had the leavings of all sorts of electronics that'd been installed inside. They were all removed, so I removed the rest of it. The endpin hole was wide and vacant, so I popped-in an old endpin jack to fill the space. Note the tiny chip-out at the jack's hole.