Tune down and capo a 12-string all the time?

Very often guitar lore is filled with wisdom that used to be applicable until more modern construction techniques included the addition of things like truss rods. For example, many sites will tell you to remove and restring the guitar one string at a time to avoid changes in tension that might throw the neck out of kilter. The guitar expert I trust around here tells me that this once made sense but no longer makes sense because of the truss rod which stabilizes the neck much more reliably than was possible way back when. I suspect something similar is going on with 12 strings. (Which I don't own so I have no real idea what I'm talking about :roll: ).

At any rate, check this reference from the highly reliable site FRETS.com:

FRETS.com's advice on 12 string tuning. He suggest concert tuning for light gauge strings and tuning down a step for heavier gauges. You can trust this guy, I think.

Hope that helps.

This is sound advice simply from this standpoint: There is no doubt that lowering the tension can help extend the troublefree lifespan of any guitar. Will it sound okay? Totally subjective and everyone must decide for oneself. My Guild was built at a time when Guild's quality control was better than it is now -- hopefully that will improve once again under Fender's ownership. In any case, I had that guitar strung as both a 12 and later a 6 for about 15 years before having to repair it. Is that unsual? A short time? Unacceptable? A long time? Again, this is somewhat subjective. The guitar is built like a tank in most respects -- double truss rod, slightly stiffer concert-sized body, but the solid spruce top is necessarily a bit thin and delicate to achieve a good tone. I've always strung it with mediums because they sound best. Plus, it has suffered through many midwestern and mid-atlantic winters. So a bit of top bellying and bridge lifting does not surprise me. The key in all of this is it is well crafted guitar and almost a living instrument and is quite repairable -- and worth repairing. It will undoubtedly provide at least 15 to 20 years of service before needing a similar repair. Honestly, if it were a cheaper beast with a thicker or laminated top, I'd expect it to still be in near original shape today (as is my cheapo Alvarez). But, again, it is somewhat more delicate by virtue of the construction that makes it sound good. I'll trade repairs every 15 or 20 years for better tone any day.