Re: double neck guitar and bass

[Tim Nelson <tcn62@ici.net>]

At 05:29 PM 1/26/01 EST, Aaroneous wrote:
>Anyway, I was wondering if anyone else had a Guit-bass or something
similar, what they prefer to have on top or bottom, what kinds they have,
and the like!  

I use a Carvin doubleneck on which the bottom (6 string guitar) half has
been left stock while the top half has been converted into an
extra-short-scale fretless bass. It's really a strange animal; the scale
length (only about 26 1/2") makes intonation very different from my
"regular" fretless Jazz Bass, and since I left the humbuckers in, it
distorts a lot like Jack Bruce. On the other hand, the short scale length
makes certain voicings that would be difficult or impossible on a
long-scale bass quite easy, and it sounds great pitchshifted/harmonized. It
has stereo outs, although I use it mono so both halves can go through my
pedalboard and switch between amps (a 1960 Gibson Ranger and either a 1969
Sunn 200S or a '71 Marshall [which isn't feeling too well right now]
through a 4x12") after the effects. I really wish the body was chambered,
though, because it's solid maple and weighs a ton.

The obvious advantage for looping with such an instrument is that you can
lay down a part on one neck and immediately play over the loop on the other
one. The disadvantage is that it's a bit unwieldy and is very heavy. I
still end up switching between "regular" guitars and basses due to the
sheer weight of the Carvin, and usually end up listing to port by the end
of the session anyway. At least it's not as neck-heavy as it was with the
12 string neck...

I made the conversion fully reversable since this was really a prototype
for something I'd like to do involving my Steinberger Spirit and a Kramer
Duke. I put a Fender bass bridge on using the same screw holes that the
Carvin 12's tailpiece mounted on, so any time I want to put the 12 string
neck, bridge and tailpiece back on, it'll be pretty simple.

Oh, and as for the way the Steiny looks; yeah, it's dorky alright, but
there's a decided advantage for loopers who also play keyboards or spend
any time with both hands tweaking knobs; a small, compact, headless guitar
is much less likely to wipe out your mic stand or smash into the keyboard
when your hands are off it. :-)

Tim

ps: Danelectro makes a 6 string/baritone doubleneck that's pretty
affordable; have any of you tried it?