There are few visuals that sum up the essence of rock guitar better than an image of the legendary Jimmy Page aiming the headstocks of his doubleneck Gibson EDS-1275 skyward. It's just badass cool. Imagine how much more entertaining your extended Stairway to Heaven tribute would be, though, if you could snap off the lower part of the weighty doubleneck hanging from your shoulders, perform some 12-string magic with just the top half and then pop it back on for the solo. That's essentially what the Flux Guitar will allow players to do, though there's no requirement to learn Led Zeppelin's back catalog to use it.
The body of the 12-string upper part of the Flux Guitar has a chambered body with a cherry back and maple top. The lower "mini" guitar's body is not chambered. Each section can be played independently, but inventor Scott Gorsuch says that when the mini is connected to the main body using a patent-pending neodymium magnetic mechanism to form a doubleneck guitar, the signal automatically feeds through to the upper guitar's output path.
Both guitar sections feature a 22 fret Gibson scale bolt-on neck fashioned from reclaimed old growth Port Oxford cedar and topped by rosewood, a Gotoh hardtail bridge and Gotoh tuners. The main guitar sports P90-type pickups from Brandon Wound Pickups, selected via a 3-way pickup, while the lower mini guitar packs a humbucking pickup. The instrument will come in a choice of red, yellow, blue, burst or natural finishes, and models with a 6-string main guitar and a 12-string mini will also be made available.
To get what's described as a "first class, hand-built, tour ready machine" into the hands of players, Flux Guitars has launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. Various perks for stand-alone standard and mini guitars are available for pledges ranging from US$699 to $1,249, but backers wanting to plump for the Magnetic Double Neck will have to stump up at least $1,999.
If all goes to plan with the flexible funding campaign (which means that Flux Guitars will receive the campaign funds even if the target goal of $30,000 is not met) and production, shipping is estimated to start in December.
Gorsuch shows his Flux Guitar Magnetic Double Neck in action in the video below.
Sources: Flux Guitars, Indiegogo
