Epiphone PR 350-12

12 string acoustic dreadnought.

emphasizes high frequencies. brittle, abrasive. perhaps different set of strings or a different set-up might take some of the hard edge off. barring that, perhaps micing it a certain way might help in a mix.

in any case, although it can sound like crud, it has amazed me at times when in a mix alongside various boutique guitars, this cheap little 12 string wins praises. it goes to show.

action is reasonably good, but not great. the finish is unmarred after a decade of ownership.

tuners maintain proper tuning over long periods of time. solidly built guitar.

My ratings are relative to the price of the guitar.

I've since supplemented this with a Jerry Jones electric 12 string, which is generally a better sound. It can be hard to work this guitar into a mix for a sustained period of time, but for an odd lick or transient chord, it can fill a spot.

This guitar is also good for impromptu jamming outside. It holds its own and carries little risk if mishandled. And the 12 string jumps out, effectively carrying a bass line on the low strings for a pickup band scenario.

Can't add much to the other reviews. Standard wood, neck size, dreadnaught, etc. Bought in 2004 from Music123.com as a closeout item. No extras at this price, but didn't expect any. Did appreciate having both strap buttons on. Chrome tuners, neck a little wider than my hands like, but easy to adapt to. Made in Chine, nice finish without noticeable flaws.

I play a little of everything, but love 3 chord rock, blues, country, oldies, etc. This guitar takes a hard pounding but still has a sweet voice on the slow stuff. My first 12 string, has a real nice harpsichord type sound (my best description) and sustains pretty well. Sound is much better on the bottom. In fact, my big complaint is the first 2 E strings have no ring to them, compared to the bottom strings. Has a nice full acoustic sound. Haven't amplified it at all.

The action was great right out of the box. Clear down to the body. A cutaway would add to the reach on the chording. If you want to play clear up there, I suggest getting a different guitar anyway. My major complaint was a 2" split near the nut on the neck. Unbelievable. Nearly druined my ideas of on line shopping. But see my comment about the dealer. I can't say for sure where the split happened...maybe in transit. I can't imagine anyone in a dealership sending this out. It wasn't real obvious until after 30 minutes or of playing. The rest of the first guitar was great. And the replacement came in perfect shape. I can't find a single flaw anywhere. No, I don't sell these. I could care less what anyone else buys or uses. Low score on first guitar only. 10 on the replacement.

I've played for forty years. And I've played hard, fast, crazy, etc. And this guitar seems to take any style well. I haven't had it very long...less than a month, really...but I play my guitars. And I go everywhere from John Denver to Metallica. OK, on a 12 string acoustic that probably won't happen much. But I would trust this guitar on any gig I ever played. Studio work would be ideal. I figure with even a little care and polish this guitar will last a long time. I have about a 30 year old epi Texan in great shape. And that was before I grew up enough to take care of stuff.

Here will be my greatest kudos. Music123.com is absolutely great. I found the split, called that night, and had a replacement in five days (counting a weekend). No questions asked about abuse, etc. They apologized for the inconvenience and promised to make it right ASAP. And they did. I'm still amazed. And impressed. And they kept me advise about the one coming and the return. Pretty fantastic, I think. At my age (52) I have dealt with some pretty bad people and dealers. A few good ones. These guys/gals were great. Guitar itself has the standard epi lifetime (limited?) warranty. I also liked being able to register the warranty online and keep in touch with Music123.com online. Nothing beats trying the guitar in a shop. But nothing will ever beat having a great dealer, either. Free shipping, too.

I have several epis (les paul, acoustics); I have owned several Fender electric solid bodies (no acoustics) and currently a tele; I have Aria solid body electrics, A/E with ABS FLAT body (wonderful), and an Ibanez AEG10 A/E. I have owned Gibson Les Pauls in the past. I have been playing since I first heard the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. I would replace this guitar with the same type in a minute. I would rather have the auditorium size body, but this is still a great buy.

My PR 350 12 was made in China. I have an Epiphone Sheraton that was made in Korea. I have always felt that Korean luthiers are the some of the best mass producers of affordable guitars in the world. I opened the box from Musicians Friend and saw the Made in China sticker and thought "Oh No", the I looked the guitar over. The action is low and does not buzz. Epi always puts a second sticker on the back of the head stock to remind you that the guitars are set up in Nashville before going to the stores. Set-up employee #25 did an outstanding job on my guitar. Thank you #25. The diamond inlays on the fret board are very pretty as is the crown on the head stock. The top is a rather wide grained solid spruce but it is solid and finished well. The tuners look like Gotoh knock-offs, very stable. The bracing and ribbon on the inside are all very solid and well built. The only reason that I gave the features a 9 is because the sides are laminated - I know that this keeps the price down and I'm OK with that.

The sound is very pretty and full. I put D'Addario 80/20's on it right away and the tone is very nice - I have played all wood 12 strings with slightly more bass hence the 9 rating.

I play fingerstyle and I flat pick (equally) - I have a Martin OM16 GT with a 1 3/4" nut therefore adapting figerstyle to the wide 12 string neck was very easy.

Playing with fingers, a pick or whomping gives a great many sounds - lots of fun.

The set up right out of the box still amazes me and I am fussy. My D-15 and OM16GT were both set up by a luthier, I may not have anyone work on this guitar....the set up really pleases me.

I stopped at a Guitar Center and a Sam Ash recently and I played every 12 sting that I could. I was intersted in a Martin DX 12. I played every 12 string guitar that I could under $600.00...Martin - Washburn - Yamaha - Fender, I also played a $1,200.00 Taylor and a $1,400.00 Guild. The neck on this little Epi is better than most. I own 3 Martins in total and I'm so happy that I passed on the DX 12 and stayed with the Epi. Nice guitar.

Solid as a rock, very dependable, I have no durability issues. I would play out with this as my ownly 12 string.

The neck is a joy. Epi builds great lower priced guitars.

I've never called Epiphone - never a problem.

I have played for 30 years. I'm 39.

In my stable; Martin D-15; Martin OM16GT; Martin DX-1; Epi PR-350; Les Paul Special; Fender Strat; Fender Tele; Fender P-Bass; Epi Sheraton; Epi Les Paul Special; Sigma Mandolin.

Keep in mind that this is a $200.00 guitar....wow, nice $200.00 guitar, if you are itching to practice on the Leo Kottke stuff, this is a heck of a $200.00 guitar, Hard to go wrong for $200.00

Some people claim that the body is smaller than a Dreadnaught - I placed mine back to back with my D-15 - exact same size bodies, in fact the PR 350 12 fits in my Martin d-15 case like a glove, with 1/2 to spare at the head stock top.

There are also solid vs laminated top debates happening - the top is mine is solid spruce (rather wide grained) but solid. There does seem to be confusion about the top style even in Epiphone literature, sometimes I read laminated, other times "Solid". The 9 is because of the odd descriptions of the top in various publicationes.

Affordabale GEM!

Firstly, this guitar has a LAMINATED spruce top. It is most certainly not a SOLID top. There may have been a solid top version produced at one time, but all the Epiphone literature I've seen describes the top as "select spurce" - surely if it was solid they would proudly boast this fact. Besides which, if you look at the soundhole you can see the layers of plywood. I bought this guitar knowing it had a laminated top, but the reviews on this page are misleading - someone might end up very disappointed. With that out of the way...

This is a decent Korean-made dreadnought 12 string guitar - note that the body is actually slightly smaller than standard dreadnought size. Mahogany back and sides, mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboard. Thick neckm - obviously. Natural gloss finish. The bridge is plastic, as are the hopelessly stiff bridge pins. Tuners feel somewhat cheap, but hold the tuning remarkably well. No electronics - I believe this was an option on older models.

It's actually a remarkably good-looking guitar with it's mother of pearl diamond inlays and vintage elongated headstock, but you do get what you pay for - this is certainly no Gibson (or even Guild, for that matter)!

For a laminated-top guitar, it actually sounds pretty good - the sound is bright and clear, although it lacks low end. No complaints here.

I bought this used, so I have no idea if the previous owner set it up or not, but the action was really low - especially for a 12-string - with little or no buzzing. The frets really let this down, though - they were so poory filed that I managed to get the first string stuck underneath the fretwire within minutes! Finish is OK, but can't hold a candle to the high-gloss finishes of higher-end dreadnoughts.

It seems solid enough, although the finish isn't great at withstanding knocks and scratches - it had a few when I got it and I've already managed to make a few more! I've strung it with mediums (.012s) and tuned it down to DGCFAD just to be on the safe side, although it does appear to be well braced. Hardware seems pretty solid.

Never dealt with them.

I bought this guitar just to experiment with a 12 string. For the money, it's pretty decent and I'm certainly making headway with my technique.

I also own a Guild D-25 and, whilst the Epi frankly cannot compete with the Guild sound-wise (and that's what it's all about, really!), it hasn't held me back so far. I wish it had a decent rosewood bridge and a solid top but I'm aware that I'd be very lucky to get a guitar with both of these for the price I paid. If I can find one over here in the UK (and when I can afford one) I'd like to get a Guild 12-string. Until then, this'll do for the time being.

A correction to other folks previous comments....this is NOT a solid top guitar. It is laminated spruce.

1998 12-String guitar. Made in Korea. Solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides, mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard with split diamond inlays. Natural finish. Elongated vintage Les Paul style headstock. Wide neck (as you'd expect on a twelve-string). I bought it off the wall in a guitar shop in Alnwick, Northumberland, where it had been gathering dust for two years. I doubt I'd have been able to get a similar guitar from another manufacturer at double the price...

This is a truly beautiful-sounding guitar. Chords sound rich and full, but with a bright zip to them. Single notes have all the chime and presence that you hope for from a twelve-string. Good sustain and projection. Excellent intonation. This guitar would hold its own in almost any company.

The finish on this guitar is excellent. The book-matched spruce top looks great, and the mahogany sides/back/neck are flawless. The binding and rosette look good too. When I bought this guitar, the action was horrible - far too high. I took it to a guitar shop in Notting Hill, and they gave the guitar a full set-up for #50.00. Money well-spent! It now plays as beautifully as it sounds. Rating reflects the current set-up - the factory set-up would probably be nearer 5.

I keep this tuned down to D to prolong its life - but it's a pretty solid instrument. The machine heads are excellent. I recently picked this guitar up after it had been sitting in a corner for about a month, and it was still in tune - a minor miracle for a six-string, but a major miracle for a Korean-made twelve-string! I expect this guitar to age well...

Never dealt with Epiphone

I've been playing for ten years. I also own a Fender '62 Strat Reissue and an Epiphone Les Paul Goldtop '56 Reissue. I also have a friend's Takamine acoustic on long loan, which is a beautiful instrument. If this were lost or stolen, I would really miss it, but buying a twelve-string involves a sudden rush of blood to the head that would probably not be repeated! Even with the extra #50.00 for the set-up, this guitar was still a steal. I prefer smaller guitars (this is HUGE), but this has a personality of its own.

This is a 12-string sub-dreadnaught (well, it's about an inch smaller than my yamaha fg-355 on the lower bout), 6 tuners per side. I think they are Gotoh... they are exactly the same design as the Gotohs on my danelectro. No electronics. Nice inlays on the headstock, diamond fretboard inlays. Adjustable truss rod (well, probably. It's got a truss rod cover on the headstock that I've never needed to open).

Suits my style well... it's got a bright, chorusy sound. (If I hear one more person try to describe a 12-string as "chimey" I am going to kill them. There's nothing even remotely chimey about the sound of any 12-string. This is your final warning.)

Due to the smallish body, it's a little sparse on the low end, and a little dull on the high end. I think it will get brighter as the wood dries out... but then again I am used to the thuderous sound of a giant yamaha 6-string. This thing kicks the shit out of my roommate's Takamine as far as tone and action are concerned.

I got it for $125 in an ebay steal from a guy who strung it up with two sets of 6-strings. This lifted the back end of the bridge. I had it reglued and set up so I don't know what the original setup was like, but it currently has the nicest action of any guitar I own. The finish is thick and seems durable. The soundboard is smooth, not warpy, and it looks great.

It's got strap buttons on the bottom and the back of the headstock, so you don't need a string to tie on your strap. It stays in tune nicely if you lubricate the nut, prestretch your strings, and play gently (i.e., don't beat the crap out of it.)

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing for 7 years, I also use a yamaha 6-string acoustic and a danelectro dc-3 through a frankenstein rig. Before I bought it, I wish I had asked, "oh, by the way, did you string it up like a retarded monkey and rip off the bridge?", since the answer was yes. But the purchase price + repair and setup were still a bargain. If it were stolen I'd probably replace it with a bigger epiphone 12-string. I compared it to both yamaha and ibanez 12-strings, and a nasty old fender villager 12-string. It was comparable to the yamaha, it sounded better than the ibanez, and kicked the shit out of the fender.

This is a Korean made acoustic 12-string. Sounds great considering the aforementioned. It is a solid-top, probably mahogany or something like that. Stays in tune great.

This guitar fits my style of playing great, just strumming. Has a rich, crisp, kind of zing to it. Like an electric harp you'd hear on a Lovin' Spoonful song.

This guitar has excellent action, and actually has never had its saddle sanded down. It needs it, but it hasn't been done yet. Bar chords are tight and clean up to about the 10th fret or so, depending on how tired my hand is. Hey and the finish is nice as well.

I've used this guitar in a live setting by mic-ing it, and it sounds pretty good. Yeah it's reliable.

N/A

For $250 (it was a 50% off blowout sale, so it was really tagged at $500) it is a super-duper value.