Double Neck Bass Guitar
The double neck guitar, an innovative invention, has been in use since the 60s and 70s era by the rock, jazz and blues guitarists for a number of classic recordings. This was when numerous guitarists were experimenting with odd guitar designs, new effects pedals and other innovative ideas.
The double neck bass guitar is a guitar with two necks, having either or both necks on the same side of the guitar or on top of each other or with one neck on either side of the instrument.
This concept of double neck guitar was a novel one as similar instruments had been in use since a few centuries, but today they are western-style electric instruments with most common having 12 strings on top neck and 6 strings on the bottom neck and these strings differ from instrument to instrument.
Though double neck guitars are the normal electric instruments, the double neck bass guitar has gained huge popularity since many years. This one is differently tuned expanding the player's range to play smoothly and there are bass guitars with some basses having three or more necks made but produced on order only.
Since this type of bass guitar can also be used for multiple tuning, there are several variations in which the multiple-necked guitars can be customized so one can find a range of different models based on the number of strings on neck, tuning set on each neck, or the use of frets, etc.
However, in double neck bass guitars, an unusual approach the guitarists follow is to have a double neck instrument with one neck as a standard electric guitar and the other one set up as a bass guitar. And with this combination, some of the most famous guitarists configure the first neck with 6 strings or 12 strings and configure the other neck of bass guitar with 4 strings, and the 'Genesis' fame Mike Rutherford usually followed this type of combination in his shows.
The Gibson Guitar Corporation and the Rickenbacker International Corporation had also produced models based on these combinations earlier. Rutherford would alternate between guitar and bass on live shows on tours.
A double neck bass guitar is similar in construction and appearance to a normal electric double neck guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and scale length. Similar to the double neck electric guitar, it is also plugged into an amplifier and speaker for live performances, and has successfully replaced the electric double neck guitars.
Since the bass lines types' performance by the bass guitarists differ from one style of music to another, but the bass guitarists successfully achieve the main target of anchoring the harmonic framework and laying down the beat. A double neck bass guitar is normally used in many music styles of rock, pop, country, metal, blues, jazz, fusion or funk, etc.
Its body is typically made of wood although other material like graphite has also been used, but the most common type of wood used for its body is alder, for neck it is maple and for the fret board it is rosewood. Other types of wood like mahogany, ash, maple, ebony are also used in the overall construction of these amazing musical instruments.