John Denver's 18 String Gibson

[Hornisse]

My wife and I saw John Denver on October 4, 1997 at the Bass Concert Hall here in Austin.  8 days later he was gone.  I bought my wife a songbook shortly thereafter and there was a photo of what looked like a Gibson 18 string acoustic.  Finally found a cool website that discusses his guitars and there were some cool photo's of this rare beast!  The website is http://www.jdgrs.com/.  Here is the Gibson.

[Basvarken]

That must have been a mighty neckdiver!

[Dave W]

I wonder how it sounded. The neck would be heavy, but that much string tension would require some hefty construction at the box too. It would take an expert to build it strong enough and still have it sound good.

[leftybass]

I wonder how it sounded. The neck would be heavy, but that much string tension would require some hefty construction at the box too. It would take an expert to build it strong enough and still have it sound good.

I've heard where some acoustic 12-string players tune down a whole step and capo at the 2nd fret to keep the neck tension down. Hmm...

[Dave W]

Maybe this could have been designed for lower tuning.

[Highlander]

Good Grief...!

[gearHed289]

What about this? Built for Tom Petersson, later owned by Allen Woody.

[Dave W]

That's a different animal. Building an 18 string acoustic guitar with a soundbox that's light enough to vibrate and yet strong enough to withstand string tension is quite a feat. Not that an 18 string bass isn't a nifty feat, but when you're working with a solid body and a carbon fiber neck, it's much less of a challenge.

[Highlander]

Just who jumped the shark, and why were they silly enough to do so in the first place...?

(shades of "mine's bigger than yours..."  )


yes, there are more pointless examples of extravagance for extravagance's sake, but this is the best known...

[uwe]

I wonder how it sounded. The neck would be heavy, but that much string tension would require some hefty construction at the box too. It would take an expert to build it strong enough and still have it sound good.

Chimey. As a good 12 string should. Nothing like strumming a few simple chords on a 12 string and hearing them ring out.

[Hornisse]

Happy Birthday to John Denver who would have been 66 today.

[Denis]

Happy Birthday to John Denver who would have been 66 today.

His guest appearance on "The Muppet Show" was one of the best episodes ever!