"Tennessee Brand" Instrument Combines 12-String Guitar and Six-String Bass on One Neck — Video
Over the weekend, someone asked me about Tennessee guitars and basses—something I'd never heard of. Apparently, the company creates—or created—an 18-string instrument that combines a 12-string guitar with a six-string bass, all on one neck.
Let's just say that, while our research is still ongoing (We don't want to trust and publish everything that turns up in a random Google search), we did track a video or two, plus a link to a 10-string "Tennessee brand" bass that was sold online several years ago—so you can get a look at these things.
The instrument in the video below is the more interesting of the "Tennessee brand" instruments we've turned up online. As stated above, it has 18 strings, combining a 12-string guitar and a six-string bass, all on one very wide neck.
The clip is just under 1.5 minutes long. Enjoy—and let us know what you think of it in the comments or on Facebook. I'm betting these things aren't made in Tennessee! Thoughts?
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Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
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