A six-neck guitar once played by Spinal Tap is being auctioned.
As spotted by Guitar World, UK auctioneers Gardiner Houlgate are selling the six-neck behemoth “The Beast”, designed by Gary Hutchins. It’s estimated to sell for between £2,000 and £3,000, and bids are currently being taken.
Hutchins masterminded the six-neck model in response to a five-neck guitar played by veteran rock band Cheap Trick. Described by its own creator as the guitar that “should never have been made”, it’s been displayed at the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Comedy Museum Of London. As well as Spinal Tap, it has reportedly been played by comedian Bill Bailey and the reigning King Of England, Charles III.
Each neck on The Beast has a different function, with the monstrous instrument combining a 12-string guitar, a six-string guitar with tremolo, a five-string bass, a four-string bass, a seven-string guitar and a six-string hardtail guitar. It comes with a metallic red finish, plus two three-way switches and three knobs.
On the back of the instrument is a signed message from Hutchins, reading: “This guitar was exhibited at the V&A museum.”
Spinal Tap, the legendary comedy rock trio, started as a fictional group in the Rob Reiner-directed mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap (1984). However, the band – portrayed by comic actors Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer – have made several live appearances and released a handful of real-life albums over the years.
The band will return in a This Is Spinal Tap sequel, again directed by Reiner. Talking to Empire last year, Reiner revealed what has happened to the outfit in the 40-plus years since the original film.
“Nigel [Tufnell, played by Guest] has been running a cheese and guitar shop in Berwick-upon-Tweed,” he explained. “He’s also been performing with a local folk band in the village that play penny whistle and mandolin, and he plays electric guitar with them. We show a little clip of that.
“David St Hubbins [McKean] has been living in Morro Bay in California, and he’s been writing music for podcasts, particularly this one true-crime podcast called The Trouble With Murder. He also writes the music that you hear when you’re on hold on the phone.
“And then we have Derek [Smalls, Shearer]. Derek is living in London and is now the curator of the New Museum Of Glue. He’s curated glue from every country in the world, the whole history of glue, and he shows me around. He’s also been performing with a philharmonic orchestra, and he’s written this kind of symphony about the fact that the devil wears a bad hair piece. It’s called Hell Toupée.”
As well as the returning cast members, Spinal Tap 2 will feature musicians Paul McCartney, Elton John and Lars Ulrich (Metallica).
