J&D Jack and Danny Brothers DG-2-12 NL

ordinary 12string dreadnought with a quite arched back and a lot of depth.
fully laminated wood, mahagony back and sides and neck, spruce top with transparent finish.
cheap tuners, but good quality, not too hard not too soft and they're responsive and safe.
rather thick neck, but not more than necessary for a 12string.

made in china ... it's a 12string acoustic, so let's forget about the features.

I play flat picking and strumming with a lot of percussive elements.
How can I not be superficial on this guitar ... I am not kidding, I own a Washburn D61SWN12 (see other review), a Guild D25-12 and a 1971 Martin D12-20 12string. By now I only play the Jack & Danny. It's somehow sad, but unavoidable.
The wood of this guitar is very thin, especially the top. the X-bracing is scalloped down to nothing, right down to the top wood all around the bridge. this guitar has a full, rich and warm sound that is unbelievable. Maybe the Martin and the Guild have the more sophisticated sound and would sure be the better choice for a studio recording, but for playing without amplifier the J&D is it. Very responsive and fast. the highs are just a little too harsh, but it's already much more than you'd ever expect from a laminated top made in china.
Later you will be able to find a short sound sample here:
http://home.arcor.de/hd3141592/DG212/
In Music Store Cologne they sell these in heaps, just packed in card boxes. I tried one and was surprised. I tried 5 more and found one that was outstanding and bought it right away. Have checked them out some more times there and would say maybe every 10th guitar is outstanding, all the others are average and not worth a review here.

the action was terrible when I bought it. neck was arched far too much, bridge was a little too high and especially the action on fret 1 was already far too high. I lowered the bridge, made a new bone for the neck and put in a zero fret.
before this treatment it always got out of tune quickly and was difficult to play. now it doesn't need tuning even after hours of playing and plays easier than all my other guitars, really fast and easy for a 12string :o)

I have had it now for 2 years. this guitar is delicate ... the tradeoff for the great sound is the thin wood and really thin bracing. It's likely the top will come up in a few years and require some more modifications or repair.
I am playing
E 009 009
H 012 012
G 023 009/008
D 030 012
A 038 016
E 047 027

using the standard 010 and 014 on E and H, like I do on all my other guitars, does not seem like a good idea due to the increased tension. the top seems to come up too much immediately. that's a pity cause the Kaman Adamas strings sound best on this guitar, so I always have to customize my sets.

on the other hand, so far it has survived my playing and camp fires. can't be that bad ;o)
strap button is screwed to the body and solid, the tuners are ok.
I never take a second guitar with me, it is reliable.

I think if I asked for service in the Music Store Cologne they would only laugh at me ... first because they're morons, second because this guitar is like the cheapest stuff you can buy. once you leave the shop the warranty expires ;o)
wouldn't give it away for repair anyway, I do everything myself.

so, I haven't dealt with customer support, most likely I would not get any support and in the end I don't want it. what rating does that make ???

Have been playing now for 14 years, bacially acoustic 12string only.
I have the 12strings mentioned above, a 6string Ibanez Jumbo and a Yamaha LL500, to my opinion one of the finest 6strings ever made and I fully agree with all the glowing reviews about it.

I love the sound and playability of this guitar. Maybe I will replace the tuners some day with some fine Gotoh tuners.
There is nothing to hate, I wished it was a little more sturdy, but how can that be without sacrificing sound ?
For many years I have been trying to get an old Ibanez AW75 12string because the one my friend owns sounds like heaven. This J&D is the only guitar coming close to it. I am thinking about buying another one just to hand it over to a luthier and make exactly the same guitar with some good quality solid woods. Yes, for sure I wished it was a solid wood guitar !
I can not really recommend buying this guitar because most of them are not good, even with damages etc. but someone who knows enough about guitars can easily select and excellent one if he's lucky.
By the way, all the other J&D models I saw, 6strings, and even solid wood 6strings are average at best. this DG2-12 model seems to be some kind of accident ;o) I think I'll try to pick another one and use it as a 6string.
For 111 Euro this guitar is just dead cheap.