The Birth of the American 12-string Guitar
This article explores the historical origins of the American 12-string guitar, suggesting it evolved from early harp-guitar designs rather than traditional double-course instruments. The author details his research into the instrument's provenance and development.
Why it matters
It provides a niche historical analysis of musical instrument evolution for enthusiasts and historians.
The Birth of the American 12-string Guitar
by Gregg Miner Rewritten July, 2013 Last Update: August 2025
For those wishing to skip to the heart of the matter, just jump to the end of this article. However, as it took me quite a while to get there, you may find the provenance, and my eventual analysis worth reading first. What started out as just an interesting little blog - from something I unearthed in my harp guitar �To Do� folders - ended up as an extensive and pretty exhaustive research project, so I published it here on the more permanent site � even though it has less to do with actual harp guitars than standard guitars.
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