Christian,
I play a cheap Dean 12-string quite a bit. It's a great sounding, nice playing instrument. My 8-string influences would have to be Greg Lake on ELP's Works Vol. I (I LOVE Fanfare for the Common Man), assorted Chris Squire with YES and on his solo Fish Out Of Water, and John Paul Jones' recent solo albums (where he plays double-course 12-strings). My ultimate dream is to own an Alembic 10-string Series I, ebony lams and 35 inch scale, probably in the Valentino lots-o-points body style...
John