Double neck guitars have become popular in the music scene ever since some of these types were used by popular musicians in their performances. There are definitely a number of advantages of double neck guitars – one of which is being able to use two guitars with each having different numbers of strings.
The most common combination is that of a twelve-string guitar, and a six-string guitar. This concept of incorporating two guitars into one gives the guitarist the ease and convenience in switching from one guitar sound to the other, without changing guitars.
Usually, double neck guitars are electric, but there are also some acoustic makes. Moreover, combinations for double neck guitars are multifarious. A fretless guitar may actually be combined with a regular guitar. The combination may also include the tuning used on each neck. Furthermore, double neck guitars provide a countless fusion of the number of strings for variations in sound. Each string combination produces a unique sound.
With the rising popularity of double neck guitars, double neck bass guitars have also found their place in the market. The amazing thing about double neck bass guitars is that these could be used for diversified tuning.
More and more musicians and artists have succumb to the idea of being able to use two different sounds and pick- ups in just one guitar. The most popular artist that used a double neck guitar in his performances is Jimmy Page – the lead guitarist of Led Zeppelin which popularized the songs, Stairway to Heaven, and the Rain Song.
Many other types of double neck guitars and even multi-neck guitars have been produced for various artists. Chris Squire used a multi-neck bass guitar in his rendition of the song, Awaken, and is currently displayed at the famous Hard Rock Café.
The guitar makers that have patronized the production of double neck guitars include the Gibson Guitar Corporation, and the Richenbacker International Corporation. These guitar makers have designed and produced multi-neck guitars for well known musicians and guitarists.
Perhaps, the most complex multi-neck guitars are those that are popularly referred to as, “The Beast”, which are actually forty-string guitars. It may sound unbelievable, but these guitars are a combination of two 6-string, 12- string, and 7- string guitars, and 5- string, and 4-string bass guitars. These remarkable limited numbers of multi-neck guitars were produced by Hutchins Guitars in the United Kingdom.