The best known users of double neck basses

[Blazer]

I guess when one says "Double neck guitar" everybody goes "Jimmy Page" because his use of a Gibson Double neck has created this iconic look. But when it comes to double neck instruments of which either both necks are basses or one of the necks is a bass and the other a guitar, nobody seems to know anybody.

So let's bring forwards the guys who play bass on their double neck instruments.

I'll start off with Genesis' Michael Rutherford

Rutherford's double necks were always one-offs and they usually combined a bass neck with a twelve string guitar neck. Allthough he also owned instruments that combined a twelve string guitar with a six string Bass. Rutherford's earliest double neck was built for him by Sam Lee, who'd saw up a Rickenbacker 4001 bass and a 360/12 guitar and glue them together. Rutherford used this one on the "Foxtrot" and "Selling England" tours, most notably on songs like "Supper's ready" where he had to change from playing guitar to playing bass within the song a couple of times.

After "The Lamb lies down on broadway" was recorded Rutherford commisioned another double neck off Sam Lee combining a Microfrets sixstring bass with a Rickenbacker 360/12. He used that one on the "Lamb" tour and on the "trick of the tail" tour as his backup. Because by then he'd gotten a Custom double neck built for him by a German fan with a very ornate flamed maple body and rear-facing machineheads on the necks.


But he didn't use that one that much because by the next tour he'd also commisioned a new double neck to be built, this time it would become his most famous.

Mike's Shergold Double neck was both his most used and his most unusual double neck, in the sense that you could take the body apart and use both halves as seperate instruments with their own sets of controls. Rutherford used this one well into the eighties.

The last doubleneck that Rutherford employed before abandoning the double neck in favor of having a roadie handing him another instrument if a change of instrument was needed, was a Status headless double neck, again combinding a Twelve string guitar with a four string bass. He used this one on the ABACAP tour.

On the reunion tour Rutherford decided to pick up on the double neck idea again and commisioned one from Chandler. As with Sam lee in the seventies, this double neck would be consisting of two sawn up instruments put together.

The Chandler built double neck combindes a Gibson twelve string solid with one of Rutherford's Yamaha TRB 4P basses that he has been using as his main bass for many years.

Okay then who else should be in this list?

[Max Soren]

Rinus Gerritsen from Golden Earring.

[Chris P.]

Can't find a picture, but of course:

Derek Smalls!!

[hieronymous]

Geddy Lee - too obvious?

Chris Squire had that Wal triple-neck...

[chromium]

Here's a nice close-up of Rutherford's Shergold:





I've seen Allen Woody playing doublenecks:







...and Sheehan, while on tour with Vai:

[Chris P.]

Wow, the two Allen Woodies are something for Uwe's köllektiön!

[TBird1958]

Can't find a pic of it, but Tony Stevens from Foghat played one in the early 70's.....