A multi-neck guitar is a

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

that has multiple fingerboard necks. They exist in both

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

and acoustic versions. Although multi-neck guitars are quite common today, they are not a modern invention. Examples of multi-neck guitars and lutes go back at least to the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

. Today, the most common type of multi-neck guitar is the double-neck guitar, of which the most common version is an

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

with twelve strings on the upper neck, while the lower neck has the normal six. Combination six-string and

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

are also used, as well as a

fretless guitar A fretless guitar is a guitar with a fingerboard without frets, typically a standard instrument that has had the frets removed, though some custom-built and commercial fretless guitars are occasionally made. The classic fretless guitar was first ...

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.

Customization

There are many ways to customize a multiple-necked guitar, such as 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 The contraguitar or Schrammel guitar is a type of guitar developed in Vienna in the mid-nineteenth century. In addition to the usual guitar neck with six strings and a fretboard, it has a second, fretless neck with up to nine bass strings. Customari ...

, invented around 1850 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. 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 is set up as for a 6 string guitar and the other neck is configured as a 4 string bass guitar. Guitarist

Pat Smear Georg Albert Ruthenberg (born August 5, 1959), better known by his stage name Pat Smear, is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead guitarist and co-founder of Los Angeles-based punk band The Germs and for being a rhythm guita ...

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 Krist Anthony Novoselic (; ; born May 16, 1965) is an American musician and activist. He was the bassist and co-founder of the rock band Nirvana. Novoselic and Kurt Cobain formed the band Nirvana in 1987 along with drummer Aaron Burckhard, wh ...

's bass part in the song "I Should Have Known," from the album ''

Wasting Light ''Wasting Light'' is the seventh studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters, released on April 12, 2011, through Roswell and RCA Records. Wanting to capture the essence of their earlier work and avoid the artificiality of digital recording ...

'', in addition to his own duties. Rickenbacker International Corporation and Gibson Guitar Corporation in 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 Geddy Lee (born Gary Lee Weinrib; July 29, 1953) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush. Lee joined the band in September 1968, at the re ...

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 Michael John Cloete Crawford Rutherford (born 2 October 1950) is an English guitarist, bassist and songwriter, co-founder of the rock band Genesis. Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks are the group's two continuous members. Initially servin ...

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

was known for playing a custom-made

Shergold Shergold Guitars, or Shergold Woodcrafts Limited, is an English guitar manufacturing company established in October 1967 by former Burns London employees Jack Golder and Norman Houlder. Based in East London, the company moved from Forest Gate ...

''Modulator'' twin-neck guitar-bass unit in live shows, as he frequently changed between lead guitar, 12-string guitar and bass guitar, depending on 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 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 the video for "

Land of Confusion "Land of Confusion" is a song by the English rock band Genesis from their 1986 album ''Invisible Touch''. The song was the third track on the album and was the third track released as a single, reaching No. 4 in the U.S. and No. 14 in the UK in ...

" plays a four-necked guitar.

Multiple-necked bass guitars

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 Kiesel Guitars is an American manufacturer of custom electric guitars and electric bass guitars located in Southern California, with a heritage dating back to 1946. In 2015, Kiesel Guitars split from Carvin Corporation, taking the guitar and ba ...

made double-necked guitars and basses from 1959 to 1993; their business model relies greatly on custom-made instruments, and it has produced a number of double-neck bass guitars, including one with a fretted and a fretless neck, the DN440T, made for Steve McDonald.

Chris Squire Christopher Russell Edward Squire (4March 1948 – 27June 2015) was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes. He was the longest-serving original member, having r ...

of Yes played a custom triple neck bass on "Awaken" on ''

Going for the One ''Going for the One'' is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Yes, released on 15 July 1977 by Atlantic Records. After taking a break in activity in 1975 for each member to release a solo album, and their 1976 tour of the Uni ...

'' (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 a six-string tuned in octaves (tuned to aA-dD-gG). This bass is currently on display at the

Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and r ...

. 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.

Hybrids

Multiple-neck "guitars" have also been made which include other stringed instruments among the alternate necks. Country guitarist

Joe Maphis Otis Wilson "Joe" Maphis (May 12, 1921 – June 27, 1986), was an American country music guitarist. He married singer Rose Lee Maphis in 1953 and they performed together, later referred to as "Mr & Mrs Country Music". One of the flashiest co ...

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 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 John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

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, the

National Guitar Museum The National Guitar Museum (NGM) was founded to promote and preserve the legacy of the guitar, and is dedicated to its history, evolution, and cultural impact. The NGM addresses the history of the guitar as it has evolved from ancient stringed inst ...

unveiled the "Rock Ock", which it calls the world’s largest fully playable multi-necked stringed instrument. The 8-necked 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 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.

Experimental alternate versions

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 the like.

Hans Reichel Hans Reichel (10 May 1949 – 22 November 2011) was a German improvisational guitarist, experimental luthier, inventor, and type designer. Career Reichel was born in Hagen, Germany. He began to teach himself violin at age seven, playing in the ...

crafted a series of third bridge guitars with two necks on both sides of the body.

Linda Manzer Linda Manzer (born July 2, 1952) is a Canadian master luthier renowned for her archtop guitar, archtop, flat top guitar, flat top, and harp guitars. Career Manzer was a folk singer in high school and played guitar. Her career began when she wante ...

crafted the

Pikasso guitar Linda Manzer (born July 2, 1952) is a Canadian master luthier renowned for her archtop, flat top, and harp guitars. Career Manzer was a folk singer in high school and played guitar. Her career began when she wanted a dulcimer, but she couldn't ...

(a three neck guitar with 42 strings) for

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...

Solmania is a Japanese noise music project, founded in 1984 by . He was later joined by (ex Outo), who first appears on ''Trembling Tongues'' (1995). Ohno is known for making his own experimental electric guitars out of spare parts and using them in ...

is an

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

-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

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and publ ...

s. Most of their instruments are double neck guitars or

harp guitar The harp guitar is a guitar-based stringed instrument generally defined as a "guitar, in any of its accepted forms, with any number of additional unstopped strings that can accommodate individual plucking." The word "harp" is used in reference to ...

Logistics and design

Many of those who have played double neck guitars report that 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 Richard Alan Nielsen (born December 22, 1948) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist, primary songwriter, and leader of the rock band Cheap Trick. He is well-known for his numerous custom-made guitars from Hamer Guitars, inclu ...

's famous five-neck Hamer guitar is barely reachable by 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 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 (born , 13 February 1964) is a Japanese vocalist and visual artist, best known as a member of Boredoms and Naked City. He has changed his stage name three times, from Yamatsuka Eye, to Yamantaka Eye, to Yamataka Eye, and sometimes calls hims ...

, 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 a stand and played with drumsticks as a percussion instrument. , the most necks placed on a single guitar is 12, apparently first achieved in 2002 by Japanese artist Yoshihiko Satoh.

Notable multi-neck guitar users

''In alphabetical order (of family name)'': * Bill Bailey, British comedian *

Balawan I Wayan Balawan (born September 9, 1972 in Bali), better known by the single name Balawan, is an Indonesian guitarist and songwriter. He is best known as a Batuan Ethnic Fusion guitarist and his ability to play double neck guitar. Balawan has dev ...

of Batuan Ethnic Fusion, Trisum, Bali Guitar Club *

Michael Angelo Batio Michael Angelo Batio (), also known as Michael Angelo, Mike Batio or MAB, is an American heavy metal guitarist and columnist from Chicago, Illinois. He was the lead guitarist for the Los Angeles-based glam metal band Nitro in the late 1980s an ...

Matthew Bellamy Matthew James Bellamy (born 9 June 1978) is an English singer, musician, producer, and songwriter. He is primarily known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for English rock band Muse (band), Muse. He is recognised ...

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

Joe Bonamassa Joseph Leonard Bonamassa ( ; born May 8, 1977) is an American blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He started his career at age twelve, when he opened for B.B. King. Since 2000, Bonamassa has released fifteen solo albums through his ind ...

* Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner of Ohio Players *

Junior Brown Jamieson "Junior" Brown (born June 12, 1952) is an American country guitarist and singer. He has released twelve studio albums in his career, and has charted twice on the '' Billboard'' country singles charts. Brown's signature instrument is t ...

* Patrick Boutwell of The Brother Kite * Bumblefoot of

Art of Anarchy Art of Anarchy is an American hard rock supergroup formed in 2011. The band features twin brothers Jon and Vince Votta on guitar and drums, Disturbed bassist John Moyer, former Guns N' Roses guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal as co-guitarist and ...

and Guns N' Roses *

Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician and record producer, best known as the lead guitarist and male lead vocalist of the band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with Fl ...

of Fleetwood Mac * Larry Collins of

The Collins Kids The Collins Kids were an American rockabilly duo featuring Lawrencine "Lorrie" Collins (May 7, 1942 – August 4, 2018) and her younger brother Lawrence "Larry" Collins (born October 4, 1944). Their hits in the 1950s as youngsters, such as "Hop ...

Jeff Cook Jeffrey Alan Cook (August 27, 1949 – November 7, 2022) was an American country music artist. He was best known for being a founding member of the band Alabama, in which he contributed to lead vocals, guitar, fiddle, piano and other musical in ...

, of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

* Christopher Cross * Steve Clark formerly of

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...

Nels Cline Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He has been the guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004. In the 1980s he played jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex, a percussionist. He has w ...

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently d ...

* Don Dannemann of

The Cyrkle The Cyrkle was an American rock band active in the early and mid-1960s. The group charted two Top 40 hits, "Red Rubber Ball" and " Turn-Down Day". Career The band was formed by guitarists and lead singers Don Dannemann and Tom Dawes (who also p ...

* Deke Dickerson of

The Ecco-Fonics ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

Rich Dodson Rich Dodson (born 1947) is a Canadian musician and songwriter who is the guitarist, vocalist and a founding member of the rock trio The Stampeders. He is best known for penning the group's biggest hit, " Sweet City Woman", which hit number 1 ...

The Stampeders The Stampeders (sometimes shortened to Stampeders) are a Canadian rock trio consisting of lead guitarist and vocalist Rich Dodson, bassist Ronnie King and drummer Kim Berly. History Formed in Calgary, Alberta, in 1964 as the Rebounds. they ...

* Kristian Dunn of

El Ten Eleven El Ten Eleven is an American, Los Angeles-based, post-rock duo, known for combining guitar/bass doubleneck or fretless bass, with heavy looping, or vamping, and the use of an effects pedal, over acoustic or electric drumming. They have releas ...

Rik Emmett Richard Gordon Emmett (born July 10, 1953) is a vocalist, guitarist, and member of the Canadian rock band Triumph. Career Emmett left Triumph in 1988 to pursue a solo career. His first solo album, '' Absolutely'', was released in 1990 and bec ...

Triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

Johnny Echols John Marshall Echols (, born February 21, 1947) is an American songwriter and guitarist, who was co-founder and the lead guitar player of the psychedelic rock band Love (band), Love. Early life and career Johnny Echols was born in Memphis, Tenn ...

Love (band) Love is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965. Led by frontman and primary songwriter Arthur Lee, they were one of the first racially diverse American rock bands. Their sound incorporated an eclectic range of styles including ga ...

Don Felder Donald William Felder (born September 21, 1947) is an American musician who was the lead guitarist of the rock band Eagles from 1974 until his termination from the band in 2001. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 with th ...

The Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s ...

, specifically on "

Hotel California "Hotel California" is the title track from the Eagles' album of the same name and was released as a single in February 1977. Writing credits for the song are shared by Don Felder (music), Don Henley, and Glenn Frey (lyrics). Joe Walsh came ...

" * Roger Fisher of

Heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to t ...

Lita Ford Lita Rossana Ford (born 19 September 1958) is an English-born American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, before embarking on a successful glam metal sol ...

* Elwood Francis of

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sou ...

Gordon Giltrap Gordon Giltrap, MBE (born 6 April 1948) is an English guitarist and composer. His music crosses several genres. He has been described as "one of the most revered guitarists of his generation", and has drawn praise from fellow musicians including ...

Pier Gonella Pier Gonella (born Pierangelo Gonella) is an Italian guitarist, composer, arranger, producer and founding member of the heavy metal band Mastercastle and the black metal band Necrodeath. Biography Pier Gonella began playing guitar at the age ...

Rinus Gerritsen Marinus Gerritsen (born 9 August 1946 in The Hague) is a Dutch bassist. Best known for being founding member of Dutch group Golden Earring, he is also a producer of artists like Herman Brood. Steve Harris of Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an ...

Golden Earring Golden Earring (originally known as The Tornados) was a Dutch rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as The Golden Earrings. They achieved worldwide fame with their international hit songs "Radar Love" in 1973, which went to number one on t ...

uses a doubleneck bass Danelectro *

Lzzy Hale Elizabeth Mae "Lzzy" Hale (born October 10, 1983) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of hard rock band Halestorm, which she co-founded with her brother Arejay Hale in 1997. Career Hale began writing and ...

Halestorm Halestorm is an American rock band from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Lzzy Hale, her drummer brother Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger, and bassist Josh Smith. The group's self-titled debut album was ...

* Marko Hietala of Nightwish *

Roger Hodgson Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson (born 21 March 1950) is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the former co-frontman and founding member of progressive rock band Supertramp. Hodgson composed and sang the majority of the band’ ...

Supertramp Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in London in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending p ...

Earl Hooker Earl Zebedee Hooker (January 15, 1930 – April 21, 1970) was a Chicago blues guitarist known for his slide guitar playing. Considered a "musician's musician", he performed with blues artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Junior Wells, and ...

Steve Howe Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist in the progressive rock band Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, North London, Howe developed an interest in the guitar and began to le ...

of Yes and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

Brent Hinds William Brent Hinds (born January 16, 1974) is an American musician best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares guitar duties with Bill Kelliher and vocal duties with Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor. Hi ...

Mastodon A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...

* James Hetfield of Metallica *

Gordie Johnson Gordie Johnson (born 22 May 1964) is a Canadian musician, best known as the front man for the blues/reggae rock band Big Sugar, Austin-based blues/gospel band Sit Down Servant, and southern rock band Grady. Johnson is a Grammy nominated pr ...

of Big Sugar *

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

Tom Keifer Carl Thomas Keifer (born January 26, 1961, Springfield, Pennsylvania) is an American singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter for the rock band Cinderella. Early life Tom Keifer grew up in a musical family and began playing guitar at a young ...

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

Seweryn Krajewski Seweryn Krajewski (born 3 January 1947, Nowa Sól, Poland) is a Polish singer and songwriter who rose to fame in the 1960s and 70s with the popular Polish band Czerwone Gitary. After leaving the group in 1997, he recorded several solo albums. He ...

, Red Guitars, Polish band * Harry Koisser of

Peace (band) Peace are an English indie rock quartet, formed in Worcester. The band consists of brothers Harry (vocals, guitar) and Sam Koisser (bass), Doug Castle (guitar) and Dom Boyce (drums). The band began to receive critical acclaim in early 2012, fro ...

Denny Laine Denny Laine (born Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, known as a founder of two major rock bands: the Moody Blues, with whom he played from 1964 to 1966, and Wings, with whom he played from 1 ...

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...

, especially on the

Wings Over America ''Wings over America'' is a triple live album by the British–American rock band Wings, released in December 1976. The album was recorded during the American leg of the band's 1975–76 Wings Over the World tour. It peaked at number 8 on the ...

tour. * Greg Lake of

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...

Troy Van Leeuwen Troy Van Leeuwen (born January 5, 1970) is an American musician and record producer. He is best known as a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist in the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. Joining the b ...

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout mul ...

and Sweethead *

Alex Lifeson Aleksandar Živojinović, (born 27 August 1953), known professionally as Alex Lifeson (), is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Rush. In 1968, Lifeson co-founded the band that wo ...

and

of Rush * John Lodge of

The Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist Clint Warwick. The g ...

, country music guitarist and television personality * Jeff Martin of

The Tea Party The Tea Party is a Canadian rock band with industrial rock, blues, progressive rock, and Middle Eastern music influences, dubbed " Moroccan roll" by the media. Active throughout the 1990s and up until 2005, the band re-formed in 2011. The Tea ...

Fred Mascherino Frederick Paul Mascherino (born July 27, 1974) is an American musician best known for his work as lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist in alternative rock band Taking Back Sunday. He is currently active with the band The Color Fred, and also know ...

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, formally of

Taking Back Sunday Taking Back Sunday is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. The band was formed by guitarist Eddie Reyes and bassist Jesse Lacey in 1999. The band's members currently are Adam Lazzara (lead vocals), John Nolan (lead guitar, keybo ...

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury and ...

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra * Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * John McLaug ...

of The Mahavishnu Orchestra * Neil Murray, ex-bassist of

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own en ...

Dave Mustaine David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter of the thrash metal band Megadeth, as well as their sole consistent member. Mustaine has relea ...

of Megadeth *

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen ...

John Otway John Otway (born 2 October 1952) is an English singer-songwriter who has built a cult audience through extensive touring. Biography 1970s and 1980s Otway was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Although his first single, "Gypsy"/"Misty Mounta ...

English singer/songwriter * Jimmy Page of

* Joe Perry of Aerosmith *

John Petrucci John Peter Petrucci (born July 12, 1967) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. He produced or co-produced (often with former member Mike Portnoy before he departed the band in 201 ...

of Dream Theater *

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the la ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

* Robbie Robertson of The Band *

Steve Rothery Steven Rothery (born 25 November 1959) is an English musician. He is the original guitarist and the longest continuous member of the British rock band Marillion. Outside Marillion, Rothery has recorded two albums as part of the duo the Wishing ...

of Marillion *

* Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi *

Claudio Sanchez Claudio Paul Sanchez III (born March 12, 1978)Sanchez, Claudio: "The Amory Wars Sketchbook", page 30. Evil Ink, 2007. is an American writer and musician of Puerto Rican and Italian descentKitchen Chronicles: The Menna Family (New York, 2003, p.3 ...

Coheed and Cambria Coheed and Cambria are an American progressive rock band from Nyack, New York, formed in 1995. The band consists of Claudio Sanchez (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Travis Stever (guitars, vocals), Josh Eppard (drums, keyboards, backing vocals), ...

Karl Sanders Karl Sanders (born June 5, 1963) is an American singer and guitarist, most widely known as the founding member of the ancient Egyptian-themed technical death metal band Nile. Early life Before creating Nile, Sanders was in a thrash metal ...

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (born Pål Gamst, 6 September 1961) is a Norwegian musician and songwriter. Waaktaar-Savoy is best known for his work as the main songwriter and guitarist in the Norwegian pop band A-ha, which has sold more than 50 million al ...

of A-HA *

Will Sergeant William Alfred Sergeant (born 12 April 1958) is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in Walton Hospital, he grew up in the village of Melling and attended nearby Deyes Lane Secondary Modern. He is th ...

of Echo & The Bunnymen, Electrafixion, Poltergeist *

Tommy Shaw Tommy Roland Shaw (born September 11, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known for his tenure in the rock band Styx (band), Styx as co-lead vocalist. In between his stints with Styx, he has played with other groups includi ...

of STYX *

Billy Sheehan William Sheehan (born March 19, 1953) is an American musician. He is best known for playing the bass guitar with acts such as Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Niacin, and The Winery Dogs. He is also known for his "lead bass" playing ...

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

of Guns N' Roses and

Velvet Revolver Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup consisting of Guns N' Roses members Slash (lead guitar), Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals) and Matt Sorum (drums, backing vocals), alongside Dave Kushner (rhythm guitar) formerly of pun ...

Steuart Smith Steuart Smith (born 24 June 1952) is an American guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, writer and producer from Arlington, Virginia, United States. He is a touring member of the American rock band Eagles, where he has performed as one of ...

, specifically on "

" *

Peter Sprague Peter Tripp Sprague (born October 11, 1955) is an American jazz guitarist, record producer, and audio engineer. He owns SpragueLand Studios and the label SBE Records. He invented a twin-neck guitar with one neck from a classical guitar and one ...

, jazz guitarist *

of Yes * Steven Stills of

Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member ...

Andrew Stockdale Andrew James Kenneth Stockdale (born 20 July 1976) is an Australian singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and only continuous member of the rock band Wolfmother. Early life A ...

Wolfmother Wolfmother is an Australian hard rock band from Sydney. Formed in 2004, the group is centred around vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, who is the only constant member of the line-up. The band has been through many personnel changes since ...

* Luca Stricagnoli * Chad Stuart of

Chad and Jeremy Chad & Jeremy were a British musical duo consisting of Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde, who began working in 1962 and had their first hit song in the UK with " Yesterday's Gone" (1963). That song became a hit in the United States in the following y ...

* Takeshi, bassist/guitarist/vocalist of Boris *

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townsh ...

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist f ...

* Eddie Van Halen of

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr ...

James Gang James Gang is an American rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966. The band went through a variety of line-up changes until they recorded their first album as a power trio consisting of Joe Walsh (guitars, lead vocals), Tom Kriss (bass), a ...

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

Brian "Head" Welch Brian Philip Welch (born June 19, 1970), also known by his stage name Head, is an American musician. He is one of the guitarists and founding member of the nu metal band Korn and his solo project Love and Death, where he also provides vocals. ...

of Korn * Bob Welch of Fleetwood Mac * Ricky West of

The Tremeloes The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, England. They initially found success in the British Invasion era with lead singer Brian Poole, scoring a UK chart-topper in 1963 with "Do You Love Me". After Poole's departure ...

John "Charlie" Whitney Richard John Whitney (born 24 June 1944), also known as John "Charlie" Whitney, John Whitney and Charlie Whitney, is an English rock guitarist and a founder member of the rock bands Family, Streetwalkers and Axis Point. Career Whitney wa ...

of Family/ Streetwalkers *

Zakk Wylde Zachary Phillip Wylde (born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt; January 14, 1967) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and as the founder, lead guitarist, lead singer, songwriter and producer of the heavy meta ...

Black Label Society Black Label Society is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1998 by guitarist/singer Zakk Wylde. To date, the band has released eleven studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, one EP, and three vid ...

References

External links

Multi-neck guitars, ancient and modern

Information on the EDS-1275 from 1958-1961

Another four-neck, the "ultimate bluegrass instrument"

Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick plays the five-neck Hamer guitar on 9/16/2006 at MusicFest2006 in Cranford, NJ.

Steve Puto's unique(?) five-neck instrument.

"The Beast," a six-neck guitar

Eye's "Severna," a seven neck guitar

{{Guitars Guitars