Double neck guitars! Two necks in one!

Now here's a marriage of convenience! Double neck guitars. Two for the price of one. Six string on the bottom and twelve on the top. Easy right? Well let's check this out for a moment.

Two-neck guitars have been around for centuries. Manufacturers flirted with the design on steel guitars back in the thirties. Mosrite made double neck guitars back in the 1950's most notably for Joe Maphis.

Gibson got on the bandwagon around 1958 with the EDS-1275 model. This guitar incorporated a dual- cutaway, double-hollow body structure. In 1962, Gibson changed the EDS-1275 to a solid body model fashioned after the SG with a cherry-red finish which became super popular due to Jimmy Page's use in Led Zeppelin. Page used the double neck on "Stairway to Heaven" among other songs.

The guitar was discontinued in 1968 and again revived in 1977 with production continuing to this day. This started a craze amongst rock guitarists. Rik Emmett, Don Felder, Steve Howe, Alex Lifeson, Rick Niesen, Joe Perry, and Pete Townsend are some of the famous names who have used the double neck guitar on occasion.

Double neck guitars are great in some situations and not so great in others. Let's do the pros and cons.

• They are great for instantly switching sounds during a live gig. At least you can capture the studio sounds in front of a live audience without changing guitars (unpractible during a set).
• I don't see the practicality for everyday use in a practice setting. It's hard enough handling an 11 pound Les Paul let alone one of these that range around 12 pounds!
• With the dual necks, the unbalanced guitar will point floor ward if the neck is let go.
• Also string changes (should I change one or both sets?) are a pain, eighteen strings, like stringing up three guitars!
• Tuning and overall handling of the guitar seems difficult and unwieldy.
• But I have to admit they are cool looking! The classic SG shape, Pearloid split parallelogram inlays and a cream binding. Truly classy!