Alden Holloway Double-Necks

[pglasse]

I ran across a few photos of the late Alden Holloway holding a couple of interesting looking double-neck instruments. They appear to be mandolin-guitar hybrids -- custom, I assume.





I hadn't been aware of Holloway until yesterday. There's a nice write-up about him here...

I thought someone else might get a kick out of this. I wonder where the instruments ended up.

[Eddie Sheehy]

Double-neck... double-chin... double trouble...

[Charlieshafer]

Interesting. It would be a fun, but probably pointless project, to see how many of the hot pickers in that arc swinging from Texas to Southern California played doublenecks. There's Alden here, Paul Buskirk, and two others I'm now blanking on. It'd make a fun compilation cd. I can't figure out who made the instrument. It looks like the same in both photos, with the top picture having some added decoration. Not a Harvey or Thomas, looks almost Fender-like, but clearly that's not the case. There were so many builders on So. Cal around then. Gotta find an L.A. dealer to identify that, probably.

[mandopete]

Found this photo of Grady Martin. I'm curious if anyone has ever seen an acoustic version of a guitar-mandolin double-neck?

[mandopete]

Here's another cool photo....

[Jim Garber]

Stephen Sedgewick

[Soundfarmer Pete]

Pete reckons this doubleneck was made around 1970....Californian possibly - anyone see anything familiar?

[mandopete]

Coolness, found this video. Thanks for the heads up Jim!

[mandopete]

....okay, now I think I really need one of these!

[Daniel Nestlerode]

Looks like the Fender has recycled parts designs from the FM-988. The pickup and neck look verrry familiar.



Daniel

[mrmando]

Here's Joe Maphis:

The shorter neck on his Mosrite has six strings, so it's not a mandolin neck. But he does play a mandolin in this clip, possibly an Epiphone.

[Pasha Alden]

Very interesting. Also the name Alden. We are Aldens so I would have been interested to meet Alden Holloway. The short neck interesting.

[pglasse]

Many years ago primo-luthier Michael Stevens designed a double-neck with both 5-string and an 8-string necks. It's a really beautiful design on the blueprints. Sadly, it's never been built but if anyone reading this wants a really amazing double-neck I'm sure Michael could fix you up.

In the trivia department: back in the 1980s Michael built the double neck "Fender" guitar (6 and 12 string) that Christopher Cross made famous. That one (like the Junior Brown guitsteels, which he also built) was made from harvested Fender parts.

[Karl Hoyt]

I hate videos like that ... it makes me get my sketchbook and calipers out and start designing something similar! add this to the bucket list of projects to build.!

a mando/guitar combo would be fun to build. would sure get some double takes at festivals etc.....

[mrmando]

Many years ago primo-luthier Michael Stevens designed a double-neck with both 5-string and an 8-string necks. It's a really beautiful design on the blueprints. Sadly, it's never been built but if anyone reading this wants a really amazing double-neck I'm sure Michael could fix you up.

Joel Eckhaus and John Knutson have both actually built at least one of those.

[Jim Nollman]

great thread. Watching the Alden Holloway video, I clicked the youtube button in order to email the original page to a friend. The video started sounding like an orchestra. Then i realized I had two iterations of the video playing together, and the tune was modal enough that it worked musically. So I made a third iteration, to make it sound like a 12 string/mandolin orchestra.

[Charlieshafer]

great thread. Watching the Alden Holloway video, I clicked the youtube button in order to email the original page to a friend. The video started sounding like an orchestra. Then i realized I had two iterations of the video playing together, and the tune was modal enough that it worked musically. So I made a third iteration, to make it sound like a 12 string/mandolin orchestra.

That's hysterical. Then again, it makes you wonder why more modern composers don't write for Mandolin/Guitar Double Neck Orchestras. There's a niche waiting to be filled.

[Elliot Luber]

There's also this famous double neck.

[SternART]

Pretty good Band there!

[mandopete]

The Robbie Robertson double-neck is in the rock n roll hall of fame I believe.

Here's another one I had never seen before. I couldn't find too much info on it, but I think it might be a mandolin on top and tenor guitar below.

[Jim Garber]

Here's Joe Maphis:

Martin: what is that mandolin he plays (rather poorly IMHO)? Customized Martin 2-15?

[mrmando]

Martin: what is that mandolin he plays (rather poorly IMHO)? Customized Martin 2-15?

I'll have to look again. That could be it, or it might be an Epiphone, methought.

[Joel Glassman]

Then there's The Corries, a Scottish folk duo and their
custom instruments...


wwyoutube.w.com/watch?v=TKINebr-p2w

[Treblemaker]

Greg Schochet from the Boulder, CO based Band called Halden Wofford & the Hi Beams plays a nice 4&6 doubleneck:
I have yet to find a clear vid where he plays the mandolin part of this but you can see the axe upclose in these two vids:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3_Q3c6Q7TA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHhPw0GX3kw

[delsbrother]

If you're looking at the SoCal angle, don't forget Carvin. They made a bunch of double neck mando-guitars in this vein. They even sold parts so you could build most of it yourself, though I'm not sure they ever sold a doubleneck body on its own.