“The guitar that should never have been made”: Spinal Tap’s monstrous six-neck behemoth, The Beast, is headed to auction again – and it probably won’t go for as much as you think

The absurd six-neck guitar that was once played by musical comedian Bill Bailey and Spinal Tap is set to be sold at auction this month, offering a very literal piece of heavy rock history.

Dubbed The Beast for obvious reasons, the mythical and very silly Gary Hutchins-designed electric guitar is set to be sold at auction for the second time in four years by UK auctioneer Gardiner Houlgate.

Its creation was inspired by the five-neck model wielded by Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, and has been described as “the guitar that should never have been made”. It has previously spent several years at the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Museum of Comedy in London, and was reportedly once even played by the King of England (the artist formerly known as Prince Charles).

The Beast is expected to fetch up to £3,000 (approx. $3,860) when it is sold during a four-day event that will also include the sales of two Hutchins five-neck builds and guitars previously owned by Jeff Beck and Thin Lizzy’s Scott Gorham.

The six necks offer a twelve-string, six-string with tremolo, five-string bass, four-string bass, a seven-string with tremolo, and a six-string hardtail guitar, meaning practically every nuance is always within arm’s reach... if your arms are three meters long. Each neck is bolted into place and capped with a rosewood fingerboard.

It has been given a Metallic Red finish, while the electronics have been kept to a minimum via two three-way pickup switches and two Volume and Tone knobs.

Shipping is likely to be problematic considering its circa 17kg weight, while its five-neck siblings don't fare much better; 15.8kg is a fair amount to sling over your shoulder. However, for budding guitar strap makers, these monster guitars could be viable product testers. Maybe.

Speaking to Guitarist back in 2008, Hutchins admitted that The Beast is “not something that will be appearing around someone’s neck at Wembley anytime soon,” admitting that he “originally built it more as a talking piece than anything else”.

Musing on the multi-neck guitars ahead of their sales, auctioneer Luke Hobbs says: “You need to be in pretty good physical shape to play one of these instruments – and a sturdy guitar strap. They’re very rare on the open market. I think they make great stage props or the perfect gift for the guitarist who’s got everything.”

The auction takes place 11-14 March and boasts over 1,300 lots.

Check out Gardiner Houlgate for more.