12 fret,14 fret, what gives?

Legend-LX-Fan Posted 2003-04-18 11:08 PM (#209874) Subject: 12 fret,14 fret, what gives? Joined: November 2002 Posts: 1196 Location: Lafayette, Louisiana With all the 12 string talk on the board lately, this question I can't seem to resolve. Why do early Ovation 12 strings have a neck that joins the body at the 12th fret? And why did Ovation change that to the neck joining the body at the 14th fret on later 12 strings? Can anyone tell me the advantages to each? I remember early Ovation ads saying their 12 string guitars were design to be played at standard pitch. Does this have something to do with the 12 fret design?....Paul Hebert Paul Templeman Posted 2003-04-19 6:29 AM (#209875 - in reply to #209874) Subject: Re: 12 fret,14 fret, what gives? Joined: February 2002 Posts: 5750 Location: Scotland I think the change from 12 to 14 fret necks on the 12-strings was to do with the introduction of the K-bar rather than anything else. Current 12 fret-guitars do not use the K-bar. Personally I prefer the look of the old 12-fret 12's. The main advantage of a 12-fret neck is that it places the bridge in a "looser" part of the top.