Seagull 12 string EDIT in OP

I was a mediocre guitarist in my day also. Haven't picked it up in a while. However, my last guitar was a Seagull. I bought it because it seemed a good quality for a fair price. It was all I needed and sounded great.

My brother, who is an extremely accomplished guitarist and only plays Martins thought the Seagull was okay and and then proceeded to make it produce sounds I'd never heard before...however, "okay" and a shrug can be high praise from him.

I like them... I like the guitars in the Godin company family (Godin, Seagull, Simon & Patrick, Art & Lutherie, La Petrie)... made in Canada.

I have 6 and 12 string Simon & Patrick acoustics that have been workhorses... I've earned much more money gigging with them than I paid for them.

Seagulls are the more modern designs... try one and see how you like the feel of it. I dig them a lot.

I play a Godin A-12 thin solidbody (or acoustic chambered, maybe) acoustic-electric onstage these days and it's wonderful... and I don't have to worry about feedback or taking up tons of space in the van with big acoustic guitar cases.

I'll echoplex Lee, I love everything from Lasido. That's the parent company, which takes great advantage of Canadian tax breaks and incentives on export commodity goods, kind of like federal incentives American farmers have received for decades to keep them profitable enough to stay in business and keep us fed.

In Lasido's case, however, the export destination is mostly America. And the commodity is timber, which just happens to be prime tone wood. What that means is their production costs, specifically materials, are cheaper, meaning they can subsequently pass that savings onto the consumer. That being said, DO NOT let their asking prices fool you into thinking they are sub-par guitars. They are in fact just the opposite and IMHO one of the best kept secrets in the world of value-priced guitars. So y'all shut up what I just told you so we can keep these affordable jewels all to ourselves haha.

That being said, their 12 strings are phenomenal. If you buy used, make sure it's been take care of and properly humidified, and not strung up with overly heavy strings. A tuned 12 string guitar has over 200 pounds of tension on it, which is a recipe for disaster over time if the guitar hasn't been properly acclimated or stored. And I'm a big believer in extra light strings, 10s, on 12'ers for that reason.

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They are in fact just the opposite and IMHO one of the best kept secrets in the world of value-priced guitars. So y'all shut up what I just told you so we can keep these affordable jewels all to ourselves haha.

That being said, their 12 strings are phenomenal. If you buy used, make sure it's been take care of and properly humidified, and not strung up with overly heavy strings. A tuned 12 string guitar has over 200 pounds of tension on it, which is a recipe for disaster over time if the guitar hasn't been properly acclimated or stored. And I'm a big believer in extra light strings, 10s, on 12'ers for that reason.

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As always thanks Fret for your input, and advice on the lighter strings.

How big of a tone/volume difference is there with such a light string?

TFS has already offered an expert opinion, but Seagull is probably one of the best dollar-to-quality (value) ratios in the entire guitar world. While I still don't own one yet, if I get a 12-string, it will almost certainly be a Seagull, Yamaha or, maybe, an Ovation.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are some great values from Yamaha, Ovation and even Martin, Taylor, etc., with various tier products in their lines, but I don't think anything can approach Seagull (and the other Lasido/Godin brands).