Music

Two Heads Are Better Than One: Your Guide To Double Neck Guitars

Jimmy Page playing a double-necked guitar at Madison Square Garden

At one point or another every guitarist has secretly fantasized about having allege propped on a monitor as he or she busts out a killer solo on a double-necked guitar. Admittedly in practice these two-headed monsters can be a pain to lug around but they also afford you the opportunity to play two separate guitars during one song, which can be a valuable tool. Additionally it’s pretty much scientifically impossible not to look cool while rocking one of these; just don’t get all Cheap Trick and start playing a seven-neck guitar. Only Rick Nielsen can pull that off.

Dean Dave Mustaine VMNT

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Dave Mustaine is known for writing some of the most evil riffs of all-time with Megadeth, so this guitar is twice as evil. Sporting both a 12-string and six-string guitar in one body (half the tuning pegs for the former are on the opposite end of the guitar), this beast will allow you to shred 18-strings of blistering power. Plus it comes with a case, which is good because we can’t imagine finding one that would fit this at your local store.

Gibson EDS1275

Jimmy Page is undeniably the most famous double-neck player of all-time largely due to the fact that he utilized this batboy for a little song called “Stairway To Heaven,” which makes the Gibson Double Neck the holy grail of two-headed axes. Also featuring a six and and 12-string necks, this guitar’s SG shaped body is far less awkward than most of its competitors. You just may need to mortgage your house in order to afford it, but it’s worth it.

B.C. Rich Bich

The B.C. Rich isn’t for everyone but if you want a double neck guitar that’s made for shredding and squealing, look no further. This mahogany monster has the classic B.C. Rich body shape as well as a baritone filter knob, coil tap switches and reverse phase switch, meaning that you can manipulate your tone with infinite possibilities regardless of which neck you’re tearing up. Just be careful as this thing has a lot of pointy edges.

Gretsch Jet

If you like sparkles, boy have we got a guitar for you. Brian Setzer himself couldn’t have designed a doubleneck classier than the Gretsch G5566. In fact while most of the axes featured here are composed of 12 and six-string guitars, this double neck combines a standard guitar and baritone axe in one handy unit which will allow you to hit a broad spectrum of notes. In fact your only limitations are the fact that you have two hands; trust us, you’ll wish you had an extra one to add some extra twang to your playing via this Bigsby vibrato.

Celebrity CSE225-8TY

For us the Celebrity double neck guitar will always be associated with Richie Sambora playing “Wanted Dead Or Alive,” but if you’re looking for an acoustic guitar that feels like an electric this is the guitar for you. Sporting a killer EQ , a super shallow bowl shape and eighteen strings of acoustic power this guitar allows you to effortlessly shift between 6 and 12-string necks—and although it’s got built in pick-ups, the soundhole is so resonant that chances are you won’t need it.

Jonah Bayer has forgotten more about double neck guitars than you’ll ever know. Follow him on Twitter – @mynameisjonah