Fender Squier Venus-12

made in japan in 1996 by fender, it has 22 frets with one volume and one tone controls. two seymour duncan pick ups (very classic) with a very resistant body. also a classic bridge (similar to the fender XII 1966) with a fender gig bag :).

the sound is very similar to the classic fender XII, although u need to have a good speaker like fender or marshall to hear a very very good sound.
i bought this guitar specially for the sound, cause i like to hear that retro sound that u dont hear other modern 12 strings.

this guiar is the deal, the seymour pick ups will give u that special classy sound, and also the neck is very counfortable, i only needed to adjust the guitar trust r once and it was good to go :)
the only problem are the tuning machines on this guitar (and the fender classic) u will spend at least one hour changing the string on this kind of t.m. :\

i just bought this guitar from ebay, and even its a 12 year old guitar it still has that brand new appareance so i could say this guitar has a very good durability.

this guitar is working great so i haven't called costumer support nor the seller to report any problems

a great guitar, highly recommended :) dont need to spend 1300 on a rick or even 3000 (and up) on a fender XII classic, just go with this excellent sounding guitar :)

Gloss polyester three-color sunburst double-cutaway basswood body, bound 22-fret rosewood fretboard on maple neck, wide-medium frets, medium sized neck (comfy!), 25 1/2 inch scale. Fender XII-style bridge, two Seymour Duncan USA vintage-style Fender XII type pickups (apparently no longer made). Kluson type vintage-style tuners. One volume, one tone control, three way toggle switch. Deluxe gigbag (guitar will not fit into a Strat/Tele case as body is too wide, but will supposedly fit into a Jazzmaster/Jaguar case). Crafted in Japan ('96-'97 'A' serial number).

Sounds great--very strong in the 'fundamental' (bass strings as opposed to the 'octave' strings), even though the octave string is the first one you hit (Rickenbackers are strung the opposite way, the fundamental strings are the first ones you hit on the downstroke). Very quiet--pickups are designed like the Precision bass pickups, two separate sets of coils (one for three strings), but are hum-cancelling because the electronic fields oppose each other. Strongest low E of any twelve string around--probably due to the 25 1/2 scale length. Sounds are very versatile regardless of the pickup setting, very usuable! Very rich and airy sounding. Begs to be played as a lead instrument, not a rhythm filler! You could do surf or spy-movie stuff on this!

Action very good, fit and finish is comparable to anything that Fender Japan does--flawless finish, tight neck pocket, nothing out of place. Controls are scratchy--but then again it's about 10 years ago--and pots and switches could stand to be replaced with more reliable units on any Fender Japan guitar. Fretwire is a bit rough on the ends in some places (again, guitar is 10+years old, could be due to natural shrinkage) but doesn't affect playability. Workmanship is very solid--there are a lot of things that can go wrong with a 12-string electric, but this one has stood the test of time very well. Truss rod access sucks as everyone else mentions here, but I haven't had to try to tweak it. Plastic binding on the neck looks cheap but is set flawlessly. Weird angle to the end of the fretboard--it's not an extension--which means if you need a new neck, you'll have to either (a) rob another Venus XII for it's neck, or (b) have one custom made--probably not a price-effective option.

Very solid guitar. In spite of the basswood body, seems to resist dents well. I don't think I'd need another for a backup--though I'd like to have two!

Never dealt with the company.

Great guitar--I would probably drive everyone crazy if this was the only guitar I played, but the sound is extremely versatile! Beats the 'leading brand' for sound. Extremely excellent guitar for the price. I like the fact that the bridge is set back farther than most guitars (basically back to the rear 1/4th of the guitar). Not only does it make the guitar about as long as a standard 6-string electric, but it gets rid of the 'head heaviness' you hear about in most 12-strings! Maybe it has something to do with it being a 'woman's' guitar--but I think that perception was dead wrong in the beginning--I don't think there is such a thing re guitars for men or women! If it's good, it's good, and if it fits you, play it!

The Venus was co-designed by Courtney Love and the Fender Custom Shop. Which given Courtney's rapidly fading popularity of the time is maybe why this guitar was only made for a bit over a year after being release in July 1997. The body is made from basswood, the neck maple, and the fretboard rosewood with 22 frets. The basswood allegedly produces a pronounced midrange tonally but I have not noticed this.

The equipment design I have found to be well thought out considering this is a budget guitar, taking the best bits from the original Fender XII. The two split Seymour Duncan single coil pickups are humbucking allowing the jangly tone of the single coils without the hum. The bridge is great allowing intonation adjustments on each string easily. This is similar to the original Fender XII, and is far more convenient than the awkward system on the current Strat 12s, and more useful than most 12 string electrics where the intonation is only adjustable in string pairs.

The toggle select and tone and volume knobs are as previously mentioned.

My Venus XII is a sunburst model with white pearloid pickguard. Strangely it looks less ugly in the flesh than the photos, though I'm probably going to change the pickguard at some stage. The headstock is not painted. I bought it second hand for AUS$600 (divide by 1.4 for US$ equivalent) and I think it was a good deal.

I agree with other comments that the truss rod adjustment is well buried inside the neck. The neck on mine is great but it looks like it has had adjustment at some stage as the lacquer around the truss rod adjustment hole has had a beating.

I like the sound of this guitar. I play indie rock / pop and I use it with a Marshall DSL401 combo (EL-84 tubes) and the two combine very well. The guitar is quiet generally, with just a little hum when the fingers are off the strings and no significant hum with the fingers on the strings. I tend to use it on the neck pickup (I find the bridge pickup a bit tinny) and find this provides a great full sound. The bottoms strings played individually provide a nice twangy tone - not dissimilar from my Jazzmaster.

Compared with the Epiphone Riviera 12 (the only 12 I can compare with) the sound is clearer and more defined. I like it a lot.

As I mentioned above I got this guitar second hand and my trusty local guitar technician was surprised by the lack of setting up it needed - just a little intonation adjustment. However, it did come with a loose pot wire resulting in no sound! It was an easy fix, and the tech said it was probably because of a lack of locking nut on the underside of the pots, which means they could be over rotated, which then pulled on the short pot wire leading to its detachment. Bizarrly the jack had a locking nut but not the pots. Apparently (according to him) locking nuts on the underside of jacks and pots is standard for Fenders but is is only intermittent on the Squiers.

The basswood body is a soft wood, and mine came with a couple of small dents in it. I don't think I'll be throwing this guitar around too much.

The rest of the finish I found to be fine, though I agree the binding is a little cheap looking, and a few frets that come over this can stick up just a little. This doesn't interfere with playing at all, but again is just a little cheap looking. But what do you expect for $600??

Overall, despite these niggles, the guitar plays extremely quickly and well (I play a drop tuning D to D with 46-9 strings) with no buzzing.

I haven't played with this live yet but I won't be using a backup. The guitar is now 8-9 years old and seems somewhere close to new, so I think it will be going for a while yet, especially with the locking pot nuts now! My only concern would be the softness of the body as I mentioned above.

Hard to know about this but my local tech is great! Never had to deal with Fender at any stage.

I bought the guitar because I was not quite happy with the way my Epiphone Riviera 12 sounded in the context of the band I'm in right now. The Venus sounds better in context for me, and just flat out plays better (and weighs less!).

The lack of extra volume and tone controls for each pickup doesn't bother me at all as I tend to alter the sounds if required through my effects loop not the guitar.

What continually impresses me about the guitar are the pickups, and the thought that went into the overall design. It's not a perfect guitar but it represents fantastic value for money for a 12 string electric. I would be very disappointed if it got stolen because these are not easy guitars to come by.

as far as year, not positive, never worried me. serial # is v039193 with SD split p/ups. as compared to my strat 12-actually like the SD.s better. not the action of course, but they are mellow-sharp and mucho bass. i'm probably spoiled, but neither compare to the action & tone of my original '65 hockey head solid VII. has blond neck w/stripe but the body colour is awful! teal-blue-green turquoise ? tuners are cheap but original. not too much trouble with string height but didnt intend it for stage usage. biggest problem with this and so many electric 12"s is they must be tuned concert or the strings rattle. my others are tuned one note lower than standard. it sat in the store for so long that im not sure the ohsc is "O". it is ugly, and other than the SD's and sound, i'd use it to clean fish on. i give the Venus 12 a "3" and the SD's a "10"

i'm pro-and like so much of my junk, i came-i saw-i bought! i'd be rid of it in a heartbeat if i thought anyone actually wanted it!

Split pickups (Made by Seymour Duncan!)similar in design to the old Fender Electric XII,other features as listed in other reviews. I Agree about the cheesy truss rod hole on these guitars....

I haven't gigged out with this guitar yet, but before I bought it I compared it to other XII's out there...luckily I found a place that had a Venus and a 60's elec.XII in stock...I really like the pickups on this guitar... very quiet with good sounds similar to classic Fender Electric XII sounds and Ric sounds(bridge position)...plus its own fuller sound in the middle position...this was the deciding factor when I bought this guitar.This guitar has its own sound and the classic electic 12-string sounds as well.

The action sucked on this guitar when I bought it (used). The frets were terrible and separating from the fingerboard at the ends...I saw this on several other Venus XII's I looked at so this is not a unique problem to my guitar. The rest of the guitar was nicely turned out with the exception of the aforementioned truss rod hole. Really a let down on the neck tho, compared to previous Fender Japan stuff I've seen...fixable by any good guitar guy (Luthier?) but a disappointment, especially considering the list price these had when new.I've heard the same complaint about the Strat XII's MIJ.

Materials and hardware seem fine..output jack feels a little flimsy tho..

I think this is kind of a unique little instrument...they're hard to find and the least expensive Fender product in this category...seem to be going up in value...If you're looking for an electric 12-string instrument I'd definitely recommend checking this out...It seems basic but it works well with the existing pickups and controls.

Japanese 1998 version, 12-string solidbody, with double-cutaway, offset waist body (like a warped Strat), pearloid pickguard, 2 pairs of split single-coil Seymour Duncan single-coil pickups (each split coil positioned beneath three sets of strings, a la the old Fender XII solidbody), bound rosewood fingerboard, extended headstock with string-tree, basswood body, maple neck with "skunk" stripe, 12 Fender Kluson-style tuners, 1 volume, 1 tone, 1 3-way pickup selector, 12-string through-body bridge (intonation adjustable for each normal and octave string, like the Fender XII), jack mounted on the pickguard. This one is sea foam green; it also came in black and I think sunburst, but I've never seen the sunburts version out there. Gigbag included. Very simple layout, similar to the Fender XII solidbody made during '65-'68, with the control layout of a Jazzmaster (minus the extra tone and volume wheels on the upper cutaway).
The guitar is pretty, although it is obviously a low-cost axe. The binding is decent, but cheap material. The headstock is painted to match the body. The real problem is access to the truss rod adjustment nut; it's BURIED inside the headstock and accessible with a hex wrench (provided), and it is very easy to mar the finish on the headstoch while adjusting this rod. Also, the bridge height is all-or-nothing -- you can't adjust the individual string heights, but you can adjust the treble or bass ends of the bridge. Sort of like a rickenbacker. It's lightweight and balanced very well.
Considering that most manufacturers don't make 12-string electrics, this is a pretty good entry-level 12 that will do the job well.

It's not a rickenbacker; it really sounds close to the Fender XII (similar to Jimmy Page on Stairway to Heaven). The sustain and warmth of the guitar is lacking compared to the Fender XII (it's an alder body), but otherwise it sounds very good on most amps. It will ring. The split-single coils are hum-cancelling, so feedback is minimal. You can position each coil at different levels below the string triplets, thereby getting some subtle tones. The 3-way selector is an improvement over the 4-way switch that the Fender XII featured. However, the single tone and volume pots are a bit of a limitation as far as varying your tone. Again, for a low-cost guitar, it's not bad, really.

Finish is perfect, except near the headstock where they got a little slopping near the bindings. A razorblade trimmed off the excess there. The bindings are cheap plastic, not celluloid. The rosewood fingerboard is pretty low grade. Maybe this is true of higher priced instruments from Fender and Gibson nowadays -- I keep hearing complaints about the rosewood on the Les Pauls (go check out their Forum page on the Gibson website).
My real gripe is the trussrod; it's as if they don't want you to adjust the neck at all -- it's hard to access through the little hole with the hexwrench, and, damaging the headstock paintjob is easy to do if you aren't careful. Moreover, the trussrod, as adjusted at the factory, is really frozen, and, near the limit! The bridge has these little round rollers for saddles, and they are pretty high, compared to the bridge and neck. Hence, you really are limited in terms of lowering the action on this guitar. The best way to adjust the neck action is to shim the 4-bolt neck cavity as they did back in the '60's, using either thin wood (balsa, mahogany) or cardboard. That way, the neck inclination can compensate for the string height somewhat and bring the action down a bit. If you are not familiar with this technique, don't try to do it yourself, but go seek out a guitar store and explain what you want and they can do it in a snap.
Actually, most 12-strings have higher, stiffer actions compared to 6-strings, so I suppose this is par for the course. Moreover, the higher string height does improve the string vibration, so I suppose I will live with it and build up the lazy muscles in my fingers and hands.

Oh, it's durable like all Fenders. Rock solid.

Never dealt with them.

I bought this guitar because I was looking for a Fender XII-type sound without the goofy headstock, weird 4-way knob, and outrageous price. They no longer make the Venus-12 (as of June, 1998) -- I think it has been out only a year.
As far as guitars go, this is the best 12-string electric for the money. It has its flaws, as I listed above, but it does offer you something different from Ric 620 solidbody models (which are wimpy as far as I'm concerned -- the 300 series hollowbodies are superior 12 strings) in terms of sound. You can still find some of these around, as it was not a popular model (its association with Courtney Love may have something to do with it) and consequently got dropped from the Squier line. I saw a used one in mint condition go for $350 (shit! and I paid $500!); the dealers want to clear inventory and will almost give these away. It may be a collector's item some day (who knows?); go out and buy one if you want a 12-string electric and don't have $1200 for a Ric.