Rick Nielsen
Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, no stranger
to oddball custom guitars, raised a few
eyebrows with his massive Hamer five-neck
guitar. Nielsen, world famous for his huge
guitar collection, also owns various doubleneck
instruments, including the one-of-a-kind
‘83 Hamer “Uncle Dick” guitar, which features
a full-length caricature of Rick with his legs
forming both necks and a detachable head.
John McLaughlin. Photo courtesy Neil Zlozower.
John McLaughlin
English guitarist John McLaughlin, who
gained fame in the 1970s as a member of
Miles Davis’ group and then as leader of the
Mahavishnu Orchestra, played a customdesigned
doubleneck instrument based upon
the Ibanez Artwood, and built by California
guitar builder Rex Bogue, in 1974. The body
was constructed of eastern fiddleback maple,
the necks were maple and rosewood, and
the fingerboards of Gaboon ebony. Gibson
humbuckers were used, but were rewound
by Bogue, and the inlay work was nothing
short of spectacular, as were the intricate
electronics. Grover Imperial tuners were used
on the 6-string neck and Klusons on the 12.
Finally, the 30-pound guitar was named “The
Double Rainbow” by its owner, who used it
extensively during his days as the acknowledged
master of jazz/rock fusion guitar.
And So Many More
Other celebrated guitarists who have used
doublenecks at one time or another are
Denny Laine of Wings, Johnny Echols of the
earliest incarnation of the Los Angeles band,
Love, and Lita Ford. Laine owned an exceedingly
rare Ibanez Artwood doubleneck.
Reputedly, less than a dozen were made.
Echols owned and played a Gibson EMS-1235. Ford was well known for her use of a
white B.C. Rich doubleneck Bich, nicknamed
“The Twins.”
And there’s the inimitable Pat
Metheny and his jaw dropping Pikasso guitar,
conceptualized by Pat in collaboration
with Canadian luthier Linda Manzer. This
tripleneck instrument has 42 strings, weighs
just over 6 pounds, and when fully tuned,
exerts almost 1000 pounds of pressure on
the necks.
Ron Weinstein
In the camp of the not-quite-world-famous
doubleneck players, there’s Ron Weinstein, a talented
guitarist/singer/songwriter from Long Branch, New Jersey—a loyal user of the Gibson
EDS-1275 and a prime example of how most
of us are influenced by our guitar idols. When
questioned about why he began using one, Ron
replied, “The awesome Jimmy Page inspired
me, of course! I went to see Led Zeppelin at
Madison Square Garden, and immediately
bought a Gibson 6-12 doubleneck that still
sounds and looks cool. The obvious advantage
is the ability to play rhythm on the 12-string
neck and lead on the 6-string neck without
changing guitars. The doubleneck was instrumental
(pun intended) in helping me write and
produce one of my originals, ‘Trippin’ All Over
The World,’ that wound up sounding like a Tom
Petty song, partially because of the 1275.” (
Click here to download a free mp3 of the song)
On the jazzier side, Scott Stenten, a Chicago-born
but New York City-based guitarist,
performs imaginative, adventurous music that
employs both acoustic and electric guitars
joined together in ingenious ways, with magnets,
pins or screws. Stenton owns several
doubleneck instruments, including custom
made models by luthiers Brad Larson and
Steve Klein. One of them is an Ibanez AM-100
semi-hollow electric, mated with a specially
designed Klein-built solidbody. Another consists
of two Martin Backpacker guitars, and
yet another is a marriage of a Taylor 314CE
and a Baby Taylor. All the guitars can be separated
at any time if Stenton wishes. Stenton
has developed a phenomenal technique that
allows him to play both necks of his guitars
simultaneously, a mind-blowing achievement.
Once I started researching doubleneck guitarists, however, I came to
the realization that doublenecks, in whatever configuration a player
may choose, open up limitless musical and tonal possibilities you would
not have on a conventional single neck instrument. I had seen Jimmy
Page play his 1275 many times with Led Zeppelin, so that point was
obvious. The second reason is because doubleneck guitars just look so
darn cool, and as guitarists, most of us are looking for something to set
us apart from the crowd. Doublenecks always attract attention. Playing
one onstage will definitely get you noticed.
[The author would like to thank his new friend
Wally Marx for his assistance, and his buds at
The Gear Page for their help preparing this
article. You know who you are.]