Double neck guitars are great for bringing the sound of the studio to live performances.  The option that a double neck guitar presents is that you can not only change the sound of what you are playing but create a completely different source for that sound.  There are times when a guitarist will put down one guitar and pick up another while the rhythm is being sustained by the bass and drums during a song but this takes a few seconds to do.  However, this can be an instant switch in something you would only other wise be able to accomplish with a dubbed recording.  Although getting the full use of a guitar like this will take practice and an understanding of how and where to make it effective

The popularity of a double neck guitar was established by Jimmy Page during his historical years with Led Zepplin.  He would maximize the potential of this beautiful instrument on stage with songs like “The Song Remains the Same”, “Stairway to Heaven”, and the “The Rain Song”. Other guitarists like Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush, and John Lodge of the Moody Blues have also used this in the same fashion but the origin of its most practical use would certainly belong to the guitar god of Led Zepplin.

Combining two guitars in one is genius because many artists wish to capture what is done in the studio in front of an audience.  This defines what a great band or artist is.  A double neck guitar helps bring a little bit of the studio magic to a live performance that would not be possible any other way.  There are many combinations that are popular now in present time.  A 6 string and 12 string combination is the most common you will see although the options are unlimited.  Another obvious and popular option is to have your double neck guitar tuned to different keys to make easy access to multiple levels of octaves, pitch, and tone.  This is tremendously helpful because tuning a guitar to a different key while in the middle of a song can difficult to say the least.

This being said, you can even find a bass double neck guitar that will sometimes be a combination of a 4string and 5 string bass.  The use of this type of bass is primarily for the monstrously talented.  Playing bass is difficult enough, especially if you sing as well and adding another bass to the mix is much more complicated than basic 6 string and 12 string double neck guitars.

This of course has led to multiple neck guitars that are used by some of the modern day guitar legends however these are extremely uncommon and are often custom made for the musician in question.  The function of a double neck guitar should not be something that is needed by a novice guitar player.  They are pretty and a lot of fun to play, but taking full advantage of a double or multiple neck guitar can only be maximized by a more experienced player.