Less than a month after receiving my Ophirio RD on December 17, 2011, I realized that the RD would make a wonderful 12-string. I contacted Rod and asked if he'd be willing to build me lefty 12-string. I wasn't sure if he'd want to take it on since it would probably be more than twice the work, especially since his 12-strings feature a pinless bridge. However, he was ready to take on the challenge, so I started practicing 6-string lefty to try to get ready for the 12-string.The pinless bridge took a bit of time to work out, but on July 17, Rod sent me a picture of it. This was the first picture I got of my new guitar, and I looked at it daily.
On August 29, Brock sent me some pictures of the finished guitar, along with a tracking number, delivery expected on the 30th. Since I'd been practicing lefty, including the morning of the delivery, I hoped I'd be able to play it well.
It arrived Thursday, shortly after noon. I had a nice chat with the FedEx lady who has delivered a few other guitars to me. During our conversation, Ebony, my chatty little guinea pig, wanted to join in. Most of the time, my guinea pigs cower and hide when someone comes to the door, but she wanted to be included in the excitement.I found the 12-string challenging to play. It was set up perfectly, but my lefty playing was quite clumsy as it was quite difficult for me to manage the extra six strings. Now that I've had about two hours of practice, things are coming along pretty well.
The guitar is gorgeous. The bass is quite deep and almost rumbly ... the trebles are on the bright side, but still nice and fat. The thing that really gets me going is its resonance and liveliness. It is a very balanced guitar ... and, though bright, the basic sound is still mostly with the lower strings rather than the octaves ... that is what I really love about Rod's 12-strings.
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