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This guitar has been the object of a lengthy experiment since I bought it in 2001. Loads of new songs have been inspired by it with the 12 string pairs tuned to 5th's instead of octaves.
The main strings are in standard guitar tuning intervals but tuned down a tone and a half, which means the lowest string (11th) is C# rather than E.
The higher strings (physically above each of the main six strings) are tuned a fifth above on each pair, so the highest string (2nd) becomes a G#... hence the need for the tiny 009 gauge, which can break when you tune it up, so do it slowly!
In case you want to try it with that old neglected 12 string, you will need to buy custom gauge strings. Of course gauges can be to your taste, but these are a combination of what I had lying around plus a few extra that I had to buy to make up the set and it should give you a good reference point.
Here are the tunings for each string with the string gauges I use. The p after the gauge signifies a plain string...
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string
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1st
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2nd
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3rd
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4th
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5th
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6th
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7th
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8th
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9th
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10th
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11th
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12th
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tuning
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C#
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G#
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G#
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D#
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E
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B
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B
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F#
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F#
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C#
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C#
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G#
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string gauge
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013
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009
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017p
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012
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028
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016p
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038
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023
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044
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030
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056
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040
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This tuning is great for finger pickers although strumming works on most chords, producing some beautiful jazzy harmonies. You don't need to analyse the notes, just use your ears and experiment with different ways of picking. Using open strings amongst the chords sometimes produces good results. Good luck!
Here are some links to a couple of songs I've recorded for Youtube, so you can get some idea of this tuning...
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