Can Anyone Identify This Triple-Neck Played by Jimmy Page?

[Petrus]

This is Jimmy Page doing "The Battle of Evermore" during his MTV Unplugged tour with Robert Plant in 1994. It produced the album/DVD No Quarter, which is pretty excellent -- filled with interpretations of old LZ material with a Middle Eastern flavor.

Looks like a triple-neck with mando, 12 string guitar, and 6 string guitar. (He was known for his 12 string / 6 string doublenecks, but this is the first time I've seen one with a third neck.)

[sgrexa]

Not 100% sure, but most likely Andy Manson:

http://www.andymanson.com/mandolin_family/

Sean

[Timbofood]

Multi-necked instruments worry me a little, that much string load on a huge top like that seems like trouble waiting to happen. It just makes me think "Just because you CAN, does not mean you should." I may just be under informed or under appreciative. I don't know.
Perfectly willing to get a little education here though!

[jmp]

I think John Paul Jones does a concert with a similar triple neck. Does seam like a gimmick to me.

[JH Murray]

JPJ does have one. Discussed in this thread . Definitely a LedZep kinda thing.

[jefflester]

Page's triple neck is definitely an Andy Manson, as is John Paul Jones' triple neck (6/12/mando) he used with Zep in 1977 and the triple neck mandolin he has used more recently.

http://www.andymanson.com/well_known_clients/

[Petrus]

Good call on the Manson triple-neck, there. Makes sense, being British and all.

As for the gimmick thing: Yep, I tend to feel the same way; then again, an element of showmanship is always needed when you're, well, puttin' on a show.

I read a biography of Jimmy Page recently and found it quite revelatory; it's made me reconsider my previously dismissive attitude towards LZ. Apparently he made his name as a session player long before LZ, and was really the brains behind the outfit (so to speak), often producing and arranging as well as playing the 6 and 12 string guitar. I'm finding myself listening to some of LZ's softer, more acoustic-oriented material (yes, it does exist, it just doesn't get much airplay.)

Page justifies his use of the double-necked guitar (and presumably the triple-necked mando-6-12) on the basis of simple stage practicality; he says that he often changes between 6 and 12 string guitar in the midst of a song (or between two songs played one right after the other with no break in between) and that switching guitars on stage frequently can be cumbersome and awkward (not to mention taking up precious time and breaking the momentum.) Thus the double-neck, or the triple-neck in this case. (He didn't use a guitar/bass double neck, obviously, because they already had a bassist, John Paul Jones.)

Naturally, changing strings and tuning aren't an issue ... that's what paid techies are for.

[Petrus]

Here's John Paul Jones on slide guitar. You can make out the Manson logo on the strap.

[Paul Kotapish]

Here's a nice interview with Andy Manson with plenty of photos and back stories on his various creations for rock heroes and others. Manson also built the first "Blarge" for Donal Lunney.

I saw Al Stewart do a solo acoustic show back in the mid '70s sometime, and he was playing an acoustic triple neck of some sort, too. I remember that it looked pretty cool but sounded really thin, and I think it was a short-term gimmick for him.

[Petrus]

By the way, is that a hurdy-gurdy being played by the guy on the far left? It looks like it's got a keyboard like an accordion and he's cranking it with his right hand.

Edit: Some screen caps.

[Richard.g.hampton]

I think John Paul Jones does a concert with a similar triple neck. Does seam like a gimmick to me.

I think it's a little bit harsh to describe it as a "gimmick" both Page and Jones use these double/triple necked instruments in specific contexts - when they need the multiple instruments. When JPJ just needs a mandolin - that's what he uses, for example on his recent tour with The David Rawlings Machine. I get the impression that these professional musicians asked another craftsman to make what they needed for what they wanted to achieve - just as Hugh Manson made JPJ a bass slide guitar, I assume for a specific effect Jones wanted to get.reason

[Martin Jonas]

By the way, is that a hurdy-gurdy being played by the guy on the far left? It looks like it's got a keyboard like an accordion and he's cranking it with his right hand.

Yes, that's a hurdy-gurdy.

Not sure the triple-neck is needed here, as Page plays mandolin throughout the song. However, I thought the female vocalist did a pretty good job singing Sandy Denny's original vocal part from the studio version. Of course, nobody quite sounds like Sandy, but I liked her.

Martin

[stevedenver]

FWIW, hurdy gurdys ....are cool....and as expensive as a good mando, and apparently far more temperamental.

....quashed any impulsive HG-AS I had after watching the LZ video. Unique sound, but , well lets just say, I would have think a bit about how to integrate it into a lot of music.

I am a huge fan of Page and LZ.

having hoisted a double necked guitar, a JP SG/12 string, as well as a fender tele /mando clone ,
I am pretty sure one does this out of convenience rather than desire....

they make a les paul feel like a lei by comparision...

[Verne Andru]

I have a dano double. It's hollow construction makes it lighter than my les paul. I have mine set up as a 12/bass VI [sometimes baritone] with a Roland GK pickup on the 12 running into a GR-33 synth so I can produce a huge range of tones on the fly. I still need a looper that lets me switch between 2 [pref 3] loops and has MIDI to drive a drum machine.

Multi-neck's have their place. I never liked Page's SG, but the one above is very nice. In fact, all the stuff on Andy's site look's great.

[Petrus]

Since I can't think of any other place to post this, this is as good a thread as any. This is the liner photo from Robert Plant's 2007 album, Raising Sand, a rootsy album done with Alison Krauss. Cf. http://www.allmusic.com/album/raising-sand-mw0000748589. Note producer T-Bone Burnett and BG legend Norman Blake with his Gibson A-type mando.

[Tim2723]

Multi-necked instruments worry me a little, that much string load on a huge top like that seems like trouble waiting to happen. It just makes me think "Just because you CAN, does not mean you should." I may just be under informed or under appreciative. I don't know.
Perfectly willing to get a little education here though!

I agree. Multi-necks, certainly acoustic ones, are far more about showmanship than musicality. In this case it's to look exotic. There are undoubtedly people in the audience very impressed by it even though the sound would be better on a plain mandolin. But the same is probably true of the hurdy gurdy, the bodhran, and the African percussion. They add to the exotic nature of it all. It's just a mish-mash of world instruments that don't have much relationship with each other.