Two times the trouble, two times the practice, and two times the arm strength. Double-neck guitars are a long-forgotten art form that musicians today need to heave back into the music industry with full force in order to preserve the magnificent sound of double-trouble steel strings. The creation of music is supposed to be a multifaceted and rigorously freeing response to our human artistic abilities. Artists like Don Felder, Neil Murray, and Joe Maphis have proven their flexibility within their talents and our generation of musicians needs to step it up.

A song that can distribute an experience of twelve electric steel strings is one that will never be forgotten and will stick to the inside of the human brain until the end of time. The song “Hotel California” features the double-neck Gibson EDS-1275, played by none other than Don Felder. This historic song will continue its reign on the chords D and F sharp seven and anyone with a 12-string guitar will never be able to resist the temptation of this beginner, and master level, classic. Though any conversation about the band may be starting to fade, for the band Cheap Trick, there is an evergreen memory of Rick Nielsen’s five-neck guitar. Critics described him as absolutely crazy in the best way. Songs like “Surrender,” and “Hello There” both share the effects of a double-neck and five-neck guitar.

Musicians today cannot just dream of the opportunities that lie within a double-neck guitar, but they can also physically do it themselves. Artists cannot be afraid to step out of their comfort zone. The double-neck guitar not only helps show off the skills and technique that one can obtain with practice, but it also provides more passion to the music being emitted. Music has taken a hideously large step back when it comes to instruments and musical abilities. Most artists on the radio don’t write their own music, nor do they play any instruments, they eventually just become a voice and a back-up track. The fact of the matter is that a guitar is an instrument that was destined to evolve. If music doesn’t evolve with it, it will be left behind by bass lines and beats.

Double-neck guitars are more than just an instrument, they send a message as well. Led Zepplin is another prime example, and a well-known name, of a band that was told they were never going to get anywhere with their look or their sound. Jimmy Page not only was the founder and lead guitarist of this band, but he was also a double-neck guitar player himself. Once their band had proven they could soar and make something of their music, learning the double-neck guitar was not only an art form but it was a statement of the possibilities that can be found if an artist just keeps going despite the people who claim the supposed “inevitable.”

It’s becoming more and more common for artists to simply scoot along to the top charts just by recycling some beats and repeating a couple of lines. Instruments are becoming less and less common to a point that an artist will hire a guitarist to play behind a curtain while they bust a move to some autotune. Music is art, guitars are art, and double-neck guitars are passion and rigor. We need to rediscover that value of woodwork and steel in order to say that we have reached any form of potential for the future of music and for the future of musical opportunity.