In the final analysis it all comes down to personal taste - you have to trust your own ears and fingers to tell you which is the best instrument for your needs.

Having said that, I'm very satisfied with the Washburn D10 SLE12 I bought almost a decade ago. Its sound - acoustic or amplified - is more than adequate, its action is very comfortable (with no buzz anywhere on the fingerboard) and its intonation is spot on all the way up the neck.

It cost me £UK200 - reduced from 300 in an end-of season sale - which is one of the best musical bargains I've ever made.

It would be interesting to hear more from luthiers or other guitar-savvy people about the special advantages and problems associated with 12-strings. In my experience, cheap 12-strings (other things being equal)sound considerably better than 6-strings in the same price-bracket.

Might this be because the jangle produced by the slight out-of-tuneness of each string pair produces a richer sound from the box, compensating in part for the cheaper woods and less meticulous construction techniques? Any other ideas out there?

Wassail!