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34-399: The Gibson EDS-1275 is a double neck Gibson electric guitar introduced in 1963 and still in production. Popularized and raised to iconic status by musicians such as John McLaughlin and Jimmy Page , it was called "the coolest guitar in rock". Gibson's first doubleneck guitars were produced from 1958 to 1961 with a hollow body and two 6-string necks, one being a short-scale neck tuned to

68-408: A Don Felder "Hotel California" signature model. New Gibson EDS-1275 and Epiphone G-1275 models feature longer 12-string headstocks than the original EDS-1275 and the "Hotel California" EDS-1275. Gibson released a Jimmy Page Signature EDS-1275 model in 2007; a total of 250 were made. Page kept serial number one for himself. Serial numbers 2 through 26 of these were played and signed by Page; number 11

102-558: A higher octave; from 1962 to 1967 it had a solid body. A model with a 4-string bass and a 6-string guitar neck was called the EBS-1250; it had a built-in fuzztone and was produced from 1962 to 1968 and again from 1977 to 1978. In 1963, the solid-body EDS-1275 was designed, resembling the SG model ; this version of the doubleneck was available until 1968. The guitar was available in jet black, cherry, sunburst, and white. In 1974, Gibson started making

136-585: A number of double-neck bass guitars, including one with a fretted and a fretless neck, the DN440T, made for Steve McDonald . Chris Squire of Yes played a custom triple neck bass on "Awaken" on Going for the One (1977). This is a replica of a model built by Wal for Roger Newell of Rick Wakeman 's band, the English Rock Ensemble. Squire's original had a four-string fretted neck, a four-string fretless neck, and

170-461: A person of average stature holding the instrument in a normal standing playing position, and it's hard to see how that neck could be played with any facility with both arms extended to their limit just to reach it. Although playable hybrids with up to eight necks have been produced (see the "Rock Ock", above), five necks would seem to be the practical limit for multi-neck guitars . Luthiers seem, however, to be undeterred by either practicality, or by

204-657: A six-string tuned in octaves (tuned to aA-dD-gG). This bass is currently on display at the Hard Rock Cafe . Steve Digiorgio used a multiple-necked bass guitar with a fretless neck and another fretted neck. A number of makers have also produced double neck basses with an 8-string bass neck (double courses, tuned in octaves like a 12-string guitar) on top and a 4-string bass neck on the bottom. Double neck basses with various other combinations exist, such as 4-string/6-string and 4-string/5-string. Multiple-neck "guitars" have also been made which include other stringed instruments among

238-471: A stand and played with drumsticks as a percussion instrument. As of 2012 , the most necks placed on a single guitar is 12, apparently first achieved in 2002 by Japanese artist Yoshihiko Satoh. In alphabetical order (of family name) : Fender tweed Fender tweed is a generic name used for the guitar amplifiers made by the American company Fender between 1948 and 1960. The amplifiers are named for

272-535: Is seen holding one on the cover of the 1969 albums Two Bugs and a Roach and The Moon is Rising , and Elvis Presley sports a cherry doubleneck in the 1966 movie Spinout . In the early 1970s, jazz-rock musician John McLaughlin played an EDS-1275 in his first years with the Mahavishnu Orchestra . Another guitar player who was known for playing the EDS-1275 was Charlie Whitney , the principal guitarist for

306-538: Is set up as for a 6 string guitar and the other neck is configured as a 4 string bass guitar. Guitarist Pat Smear of the Foo Fighters utilizes a double-necked guitar during live performances (bass guitar top neck, six-string electric guitar bottom neck) in order to perform Krist Novoselic 's bass part in the song "I Should Have Known," from the album Wasting Light , in addition to his own duties. Rickenbacker International Corporation and Gibson Guitar Corporation in

340-406: Is the in-house brand for Thomann Music Store produces the 'DC-Custom 612 Cherry' doubleneck at an affordable price point. It features 6/12 configuration with 22 fret necks. Multi-neck guitar Today, the most common type of multi-neck guitar is the double-neck guitar , of which the most common version is an electric guitar with twelve strings on the upper neck, while the lower neck has

374-632: The Blues Junior and Pro Junior . The Fender Blues Deluxe and Blues DeVille and their later reissues were also available in tweed, as well as the Custom Shop reissues of several of the Tweed Era amplifiers. In 2012, Fender introduced its first "Signature series"; Eric Clapton helped design the "EC" series of three amplifiers, including the Vibro-Champ, based on the five-watt amplifier "allegedly" used for

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408-472: The National Guitar Museum unveiled the "Rock Ock", which it calls the world’s largest fully playable multi-necked stringed instrument. The guitar weighs 40 pounds, has 154 frets, 51 strings, and 8 necks. The eight instruments are a mandolin, ukulele, 6-string, fretless bass, standard bass, 12-string, baritone guitar, and a 7-string. The guitar was designed by noted artist Gerard Huerta (responsible for

442-417: The "Double Mandolin" (Gibson EMS 1235). Hybrids with a 6-string guitar neck and a true 8-string mandolin neck were also made (e.g., the 1971 Dawson Electric guitar/mandolin). And Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones has a triple-neck electroacoustic instrument, custom made for him by luthier Andy Manson , which features (from top to bottom) 8-string mandolin, 12-string guitar, and 6-string guitar necks. In 2011,

476-452: The "wide panel" construction, where the top and bottom panels are wider than the side panels. In the later "narrow panels", introduced in 1955, all panels have approximately the same size. Later amplifiers used tolex for the covering. Beginning in 1990, Fender began to utilize the tweed covering once again, starting with the '59 Bassman Reissue. Some later amplifier models came in the split option of tweed or black tolex covering, including

510-495: The British underground band Family . Clips of Whitney performing with his EDS-1275 are readily available on YouTube from Family appearances on Beat-Club and The Old Grey Whistle Test . The EDS-1275 was mostly popularized by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin , most notably during live performances of " Stairway to Heaven ." The doubleneck eliminated the need to switch guitars mid-song: at the beginning of "Stairway to Heaven", he used

544-599: The US have both manufactured production models of these configurations in the past. A less common configuration has a 12-string guitar neck combined with a 4-string bass guitar neck: Geddy Lee of Rush is well known for using the 4/12-string Rickenbacker 4080/12 production model live in the 1970s. In the 1970s and 1980s Mike Rutherford of Genesis was known for playing a custom-made Shergold Modulator twin-neck guitar-bass unit in live shows, as he frequently changed between lead guitar, 12-string guitar and bass guitar, depending on

578-424: The alternate necks. Country guitarist Joe Maphis played a double-neck Mosrite instrument that had a regular 6-string neck on the bottom and an "octave guitar" for the top neck. This was a 6-string neck tuned an octave higher than the standard guitar, that both extended the range of the instrument, and allowed Maphis to play mandolin-like sounds. Between 1958-1968, Gibson made an instrument of this type which it called

612-464: The arrangement of the song. The unique design of this guitar set is that it consists of several modular elements, that could be separated and combined by a system of dowels and thumbscrews, including an electrical connection. The complete set originally consisted of a 6-string guitar "top-section", two 12-string guitar "top-sections" to have different tunings readily available, and a 4-string bass "bottom-section". The bass section could be attached to any of

646-453: The bottom 6-string neck for the intro and first verse, then switched to the top 12-string neck, then to the 6-string neck for the extended guitar solo, and back to the 12-string for the final chorus. By the time Page desired an EDS-1275, they were no longer in production so he ordered a custom-made cherry 6/12. Page's influence was such that after him other guitarists picked up the EDS-1275, including Alex Lifeson of Rush , who used it to play

680-507: The cloth covering, which consists of varnished cotton twill , incorrectly called tweed because of its feel and appearance. They are praised for their sound, their circuitry being considered "hallowed ground". Fender generally stopped using the twill covering in 1960, exceptions being the Harvard which continued to be covered in twill until 1963, and the Champ until 1964. In 1953, Fender introduced

714-773: The duet/harmony guitar solo shared with Joe Walsh . Felder's original EDS-1275 is on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. As of 2009, the guitar is offered only through the Gibson Custom Shop as a special order model. It features two volume and two tone control knobs, a three-way pickup-selector switch, and a three-way neck-selector switch. It has vintage tulip tuners, pearloid split parallelogram inlays, black pickguards and pickup rings, twenty frets per neck (bound with single-ply white binding), and 490 Alnico (R) and 498 Alnico (T) humbucking pickups. The Custom Shop also makes

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748-478: The end of the synthesizer solo where he would switch to his Les Paul or Explorer or Ibanez guitar) and "Queen Of Spades" (for the intro and outro). Don Felder's white EDS-1275 was most famously used for playing " Hotel California " live with the Eagles and now (via Gibson Custom Shop replicas) in solo shows. It can be seen in any number of clips from the mid to late 1970s. Felder customized his EDS-1275 by removing one of

782-610: The guitar again, in a number of additional colors, with production lasting until 1998. Since then, alpine white and heritage cherry versions were made by Gibson USA in Nashville, Tennessee , until 2003, in the Nashville Custom Shop from 2004 to 2005, and in the Memphis, Tennessee , Custom Shop beginning in 2006. The EDS-1275, while never selling in great quantities, was used by a number of notable musicians. Chicago bluesman Earl Hooker

816-538: The iconic AC/DC logo, among others) and built by Dan Neafsey of DGN Custom Guitars. The guitar hardware was supplied by Mojo Musical Supply while the instrument itself was commissioned by the National Guitar Museum. The instrument has been used in live performance and can be seen on YouTube. Some luthiers not only built guitars with two necks in common configurations, but worked to expand the possibilities with multiple necks, extra bridges, odd configurations, and

850-401: The instruments are heavy and awkward, but this can be managed with practice. Triple neck instruments are even weightier and more unwieldy. This raises the question as to whether some of the larger varieties of multi-neck guitar are even playable as guitars, much less practical in performance situations. The bottom neck of Rick Nielsen 's famous five-neck Hamer guitar is barely reachable by

884-719: The like. Hans Reichel crafted a series of third bridge guitars with two necks on both sides of the body. Linda Manzer crafted the Pikasso guitar (a three neck guitar with 42 strings) for Pat Metheny . Solmania is an Osaka -based noise music band known for making their own experimental electric guitars out of spare parts. The guitars usually take an extremely bizarre form, utilizing unconventional body shapes, extra necks, strings and pickups in unusual places, and various extraneous gadgets such as microphones . Most of their instruments are double neck guitars or harp guitars . Many of those who have played double neck guitars report that

918-452: The limits of human anatomy, and have produced instruments with even more necks. In 2008, Macari's Music of London commissioned a six-neck guitar ("the beast"), similar in design to Nielsen's five-neck. Yamantaka Eye , of the Japanese noise/rock band Boredoms , has toured with a seven-neck guitar (the "Sevena"). This instrument has four necks on one side and three on the other, and is mounted on

952-426: The normal six. Combination six-string and bass guitar are also used, as well as a fretless guitar with a regular fretted guitar, or any other combination of guitar neck and pickup styles. There are also acoustic versions. Two necks allows the guitarist to switch quickly and easily between guitar sounds without taking the time to change guitars. There are many ways to customize a multiple-necked guitar, such as

986-520: The number of strings on a neck, frets or no frets, the tuning used on each neck, etc. One of the earliest designs still in regular use is the acoustic contraguitar , invented around 1850 in Vienna . This guitar, also known as the Schrammel guitar, has a fretted six-string neck and a second, fretless neck with up to nine bass strings. One of the more common combinations is where one neck of a double-necked guitar

1020-400: The pots (bridge pickup tone control), and replacing it with a second output. This allowed for the signal to be sent to two separate amplifiers: for "Hotel California", an Echoplex and a Leslie for the swirling tones (played on the 12 string neck capo at the seven fret), and then later through his standard guitar amp (a Blackface Deluxe Reverb or Tweed Deluxe ) using the six string neck for

1054-410: The song " Xanadu " live. Eddie Van Halen also had one in his collection which he used live and in the studio on the track "Secrets" from Van Halen's 'Diver Down' LP. Tommy Shaw of Styx had a custom double neck which had two 12 string necks which he used live with Styx on the band's live performances from 1977 to 1983 on "Fooling Yourself" (live versions from 1977 and 1978), "Suite Madame Blue" (up to

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1088-401: The top-sections to create a variety of twin-neck combinations. (Additionally there was a smaller lower-body-section which could be attached to any of the top-sections when they were not in use as part of a double-neck configuration, to complete the shape of a single guitar.) As a tongue-in-cheek reference to Rutherford's frequent use of this double-neck guitar, the puppet version of Rutherford in

1122-647: The video for " Land of Confusion " plays a four-necked guitar. Electric bass guitars with two or more necks have existed at least since the 1970s. Some basses have three or more necks, but usually upon custom order only. A double-necked bass guitar can be used for multiple tuning (e.g., B-E-A-D on one neck and E-A-D-G on the other, etc.); combining fretted and fretless necks; combining necks with different numbers of strings, etc. Carvin Guitars made double-necked guitars and basses from 1959 to 1993; their business model relies greatly on custom-made instruments, and it has produced

1156-635: Was donated for auction to benefit a charitable cause. In 2019, Gibson announced a black model for Slash . Epiphone (a Gibson subsidiary) makes a version of the classic doubleneck, marketing it as the G-1275. Japanese guitar manufacturer Ibanez produced a model inspired by the Gibson, called the Double Axe, from 1974 to 1976. They were available as a 6/12, a 4/6, and a 6/6 configuration, in cherry and walnut finishes. German guitar manufacturer Harley Benton , which

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