Double neck guitar

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Jimmy Page playing a Gibson EDS-1275

A double neck guitar is a guitar that has two necks. The most common type has 12 strings on the top neck, while the bottom neck has the normal six. Combination six-string and 4-string are also used. Sometimes, people may combine a fretless guitar with a regular guitar, or any other combination of guitar neck styles. This allows the guitarist to switch quickly and easily between the two necks without taking the time to change guitars. A popular double neck guitar model is the Gibson EDS-1275. This guitar was made famous by guitarist Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin as he used it during live performances of the song Stairway to Heaven.

Other notable double neck guitar users include:

Michael Angelo Batio
Takeshi of Boris
Steve Vai
Salman Ahmed, Junoon
Junior Brown ("guit-steel")
Jeff Cook of Alabama
Deke Dickerson
Rik Emmett of Triumph
Don Felder of The Eagles
Joe Walsh of the James Gang and The Eagles
Danny Gatton
Earl Hooker
Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar
Tom Keifer of Cinderella
Denny Laine of Wings
Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee of Rush
Joe Maphis
John McLaughlin of The Mahavishnu Orchestra
Dave Mustaine of Megadeth
John Otway
Steve Clark
John Petrucci of Dream Theater
Mike Rutherford of Genesis
Steve Howe of Yes
Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi
Claudio Sanchez of Coheed and Cambria
Karl Sanders of Nile
Slash of Guns N' Roses (presently in Velvet Revolver)
Pete Townshend of The Who
Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine
Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick
Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society
Joe Perry of Aerosmith
Øystein Greni of BigBang
Robbie Robertson of The Band

Because of its unusual or seemingly superfluous structure, plus its particular association with hard rock, the double neck guitar is often a curiosity to those who do not play guitar. For example, in a Simpsons episode, “Who Shot Mr. Burns Part One”, heavy metal enthusiast and schoolbus driver Otto ineloquently asked Principal Skinner to buy one using the elementary school's expanded budget, saying "You know those guitars that are like, double guitars, you know?"

Triple-, quadruple- and quintuple-necked guitars also exist. Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen uses a custom five-neck Hamer guitar, and John Paul Jones sometimes made use of a 3-neck guitar, which added a mandolin neck and strings. Steve Vai owns a custom 3-neck Ibanez JEM, most frequently used when he needs a fretless guitar (such as on the G3: Live in Denver DVD). Mike Rutherford's puppet is seen playing a quadruple-necked guitar in the Genesis music video Land of Confusion for comedic value. Quite possibly the most complex guitar ever created was the "Pikasso" guitar, an acoustic guitar designed for Pat Metheny by Linda Manzer, with a record total of 42 strings.