An octave twelve is a type of 12-string guitar fitted with a short-scale neck and a small solid body. It is tuned one octave higher than a standard guitar, giving it the tonal range of a mandolin, and enabling a guitarist to achieve a mandolin sound without learning mandolin fingering. The effect is similar to that of capoing a standard 12-string guitar at its twelfth fret. However, unlike a standard 12-string guitar, the courses of strings tuned in unison, rather than in octaves.
The octave twelve was invented by engineers at Vox, which sold the octave twelve as the "Mando-guitar" from 1964 to 1968. Notable users of the Mando-guitar include Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones. Most modern octave twelves are modeled after the distinctive body shape of the Vox Mando-guitar. (Some believe that George Harrison of The Beatles used it on the song "Words of Love" in 1964, but the Mando-Guitar was not introduced until the following year.)
Famous quotes containing the word twelve:
“Peering, I heard the hooves come down the hill.
The posse passed, twelve horse; the leader’s face
Was worn as limestone on an ancient sill.”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)