Quint Neck Guitar

Last updated
Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick)'s 1981 Hamer Custom Five-Neck Guitar - Play It Loud. MET (2019-05-13 19.33.34 by Eden, Janine and Jim).jpg
Rick Nielsen's Hamer Custom Five-Neck Guitar(1981), exhibited on Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll, The MET.

The Quint Neck Guitar (also known as a five-neck guitar) consists of five guitar necks with accompanying hardware and pick-ups in one oversized body, used by Rick Nielsen from the rock band Cheap Trick.

History

The guitar's birth was first conceived on ruled note book paper by Nielsen during one of his frequent scribble sessions. He brought the idea to his manufacturer (Hamer Guitars) to build. The original design sought by Nielsen was a circular guitar allowing him to spin the guitar from neck to neck. This design was scrapped by Hamer due to weight and logistical issues.

Nielsen and Bobby Demonic both have employed several five-necks over the years. Nielsen's original "orange Quint neck" with dovetail-jointed necks was retired in the mid-1990s after the top neck snapped off. It was replaced by a black and white with 1/2-inch checkers (Nielsen's unofficial trademark). Nielsen had a third five-neck guitar made in 2006 that saw almost no use. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bass guitar</span> Electric plucked string instrument

The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and scale length. The bass guitar most commonly has four strings, though five- and six-stringed models are also relatively popular, and bass guitars with even more strings or courses have been built. Since the mid-1950s, the bass guitar has largely come to replace the double bass in popular music due to its lighter weight, the inclusion of frets in most models, and, most importantly, its design for electric amplification. This is also because the double bass is acoustically compromised for its range in that it is scaled down from the optimal size that would be appropriate for those low notes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric guitar</span> Electrical string musical instrument

An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickups to convert the vibration of its strings into electrical signals, which ultimately are reproduced as sound by loudspeakers. The sound is sometimes shaped or electronically altered to achieve different timbres or tonal qualities from that of an acoustic guitar via amplifier settings or knobs on the guitar. Often, this is done through the use of effects such as reverb, distortion and "overdrive"; the latter is considered to be a key element of electric blues guitar music and jazz, rock and heavy-metal guitar-playing. Designs also exist combining attributes of the electric and acoustic guitars: the semi-acoustic and acoustic-electric guitars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guitar</span> Fretted string instrument

The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted and typically has six or twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strings against frets with the fingers of the opposite hand. A guitar pick may also be used to strike the strings. The sound of the guitar is projected either acoustically, by means of a resonant hollow chamber on the guitar, or amplified by an electronic pickup and an amplifier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rickenbacker</span> Guitar manufacturer based in California

Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. Rickenbacker is the first known maker of electric guitars, with a steel guitar in 1932, and produces a range of electric guitars and basses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Petersson</span> American musician

Thomas John Peterson, better known as Tom Petersson, is an American musician who is best known as the bass guitar player for the rock band Cheap Trick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Nielsen</span> American guitarist (born 1948)

Richard Alan Nielsen is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist, primary songwriter, and leader of the rock band Cheap Trick. He is well-known for his numerous custom-made guitars from Hamer Guitars, including his famous five-neck guitar.

<i>Next Position Please</i> 1983 studio album by Cheap Trick

Next Position Please is the seventh studio album by American rock band Cheap Trick, produced by Todd Rundgren and released in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Single coil guitar pickup</span>

A single coil pickup is a type of magnetic transducer, or pickup, for the electric guitar and the electric bass. It electromagnetically converts the vibration of the strings to an electric signal. Single coil pickups are one of the two most popular designs, along with dual-coil or "humbucking" pickups.

<i>Heaven Tonight</i> 1978 studio album by Cheap Trick

Heaven Tonight is the third studio album by American rock band Cheap Trick. It was produced by Tom Werman and released on April 24, 1978. The album was remastered and released with bonus tracks on Sony's Epic/Legacy imprint in 1998. The album cover features lead singer Robin Zander and bassist Tom Petersson on the front, with guitarist Rick Nielsen and drummer Bun E. Carlos on the back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superstrat</span> Electric guitar design

Superstrat is a name for an electric guitar design that resembles a Fender Stratocaster but with differences that clearly distinguish it from a standard Stratocaster, usually to cater to a different playing style. Differences typically include more pointed, aggressive-looking body and neck shapes with increased cutaways to facilitate access to the higher frets, an increased number of frets on the fingerboard, a contoured heel at the neck joint facilitating easier higher fret access, the usage of humbucking pickups, and locking vibrato systems, most commonly the Floyd Rose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alembic Inc</span> American audio equipment manufacturer

Alembic is an American manufacturer of high-end electric basses, guitars and preamps. Founded in 1969, the company began manufacturing pre-amps before building complete instruments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson Explorer</span> Electric guitar model by Gibson Brands, Inc

The Gibson Explorer is a type of electric guitar model by Gibson guitars, released in 1958. The Explorer offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its siblings: the Flying V, which was released the same year, and the Moderne, which was designed in 1957 but not released until 1982. The Explorer was the final development of a prototype design that, years later, Gibson marketed under the name Futura.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamer Guitars</span> Electric guitar manufacturer

Hamer Guitars was an American electric guitar manufacturer founded in 1973, in Wilmette, Illinois, by vintage guitar shop owners Paul Hamer and Jol Dantzig. The company's early instruments featured guitar designs based on the Gibson Explorer and Gibson Flying V (Vector), before adding more traditional Gibson-inspired designs such as the Sunburst. Hamer Guitars is generally considered the first "boutique" vintage-style electric guitar brand that specifically catered to professional musicians, and was the first guitar manufacturer to produce a 12 string bass guitar.

Jolyon C. Dantzig is an American artist, songwriter, designer, guitarist, luthier, author and one of the founders of Hamer Guitars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multi-neck guitar</span> Guitar that has multiple fingerboard necks

A multi-neck guitar is a guitar that has multiple fingerboard necks. They exist in both electric and acoustic versions. Examples of multi-neck guitars and lutes go back at least to the Renaissance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guitar showmanship</span>

Guitar showmanship involves gimmicks, jumps, or other stunts with a guitar. Some examples of guitar showmanship became trademarks of musicians such as Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore, Yngwie Malmsteen, Eddie Van Halen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ace Frehley, and Angus Young.

Mark Durante is an American musician and songwriter who is based in Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twelve-string bass</span>

The 12-string bass is an electric bass with four courses of three strings each, though they occasionally have six courses of two strings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylor Guitars</span> American guitar manufacturer

Taylor Guitars is an American guitar manufacturer based in El Cajon, California. The company was founded in 1974 by Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug and specializes in acoustic guitars and semi-hollow electric guitars. It is one of the largest manufacturers of acoustic guitars in the United States and sells guitars in 65 countries around the world.

The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele, is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it was the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful solid-body electric guitar. Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music. Many prominent rock musicians have been associated with the Telecaster for use in studio recording and live performances, most notably Bruce Springsteen, Luis Alberto Spinetta, Keith Richards and George Harrison.

References

Hamer News

  1. "Rick's third five neck" . Retrieved 6 August 2024.