Baton Rouge AR61S/ACEC-12

Let me start by saying that the service from Thomman was brilliant from ordering to delivery.
Now the guitar. I have owned many 12-string guitars over the years, both low and high end, some were very low end and some very high end, £4k+ !! but there was always something not quite 'hitting the spot' mainly to do with build quality and playability. When I came across Baton Rouge I wasn't sure as I didn't know much about them. After some research and looking at the price I thought it was worth checking one out, so bought the AR61S/ACEC-12 not really knowing what to expect.
After unpacking and checking it over, I was amazed at the build quality, just stunning, both inside the body and outside. The quality of the woods and finish was perfect, as were the frets, and for the first time ever the action straight out the box was spot on, for me anyway.
It felt well balanced when played seated and the 48mm nut width and overall string spacing at the bridge was again perfect for me as was the sound, which of course is very subjective.
What also suprised me was the playability, just astonishing imho, from one end of the neck to the other.
By the way, the Cole clark PG3mk2 pickup system is also amazing.
Now, the reason for only 4 stars for quality, this is the ONLY bad thing I can say about this guitar.
The TUNERS...argggg!!! They are so stiff and notchy, almost like they have gone dry internally (they are sealed)
I hope that maybe I just got unlucky and mine was a bad set, who knows.
However, this guitar to me is what I have been looking for, for years, so some new Gotoh mini tuners are on order and I am OK spending a little bit more to make this guitar perfect for me.
Some people would argue that it should be returned for an exchange, and maybe they are right, but I personally love it too much to let it go and at this price point, the cost of replacement tuners is still worth it imho.
I hope my ramblings are helpful in some way and I personally recommend this guitar. It fits my needs and I hope it fits yours.
All the best.