Frickenfracker - Leo Fender’s late 1960s R&D monster ...

From CLF Research facebook page:

Frickenfracker - Leo Fender’s late 1960s R&D monster that allows A/B testing of various pickups and positions.
Sanded-off headstock tips of dual-rod mystery meat sporting Kluson tuners. Needs work, obviously.

I am surprised there are not any comments on this post yet.

I picked up an Ibanez 2402 double neck (Gibson SG look-alike) back in the early nineties because I was (still am) a Led Zeppelin fan. At that time I was only playing chords and only knew the pentatonic minor scale - not how to apply it. I was still in my first band - two guitarists and a drummer. Our first gig was a massive house party at the house of a friend whose father was a philosophy professor admired by many of us University students. We pasted the university full of photocopied "hell and back on 48 cents" posters to promote the gig, and the turn out was crazy. The house was so full, it was difficult to pass through it without spilling your drink.

I pulled out the double-neck to play "when the levee breaks", since I had the lower six tuned to an open chord, and used a 40 oz. bottle of vodka (filled with water which I was drinking) as my slide. For a chap with few guitar skills at the time, I was able to squeeze way more coolness than my actual talent should have allowed. That gig is still one of my most favorite memories, probably because there were a few young ladies there who were both pleasing to the eye, and easily impressed by what amounted to a lot of showmanship, and very little talent.

All of which is only incidental information to my post.

I eventually sold that double-neck without any regrets. It was difficult to play, heavy, and pretty much a one-trick pony. It made sense for Jimmy Page to have a 12 string guitar tied to a 6 string guitar, and pull it out to play both the intro to Stairway to heaven, and the solo. But for guys like me - playing the double-neck was all about looking cool (or at least telling yourself you looked cool). I just didn't didn't have any functional reason to ever play something so heavy and awkward.

Notwithstanding, every time I see a double neck, I feel that old nostalgia, and feel like I should maybe pick up another one (till I see the price at least).

Looking at this one here, with the electronics behind the bridge, I wonder if that was a thoughtful innovation or just convenient for a prototype. I recall that having the controls beneath the lower neck meant adding a few inches to reach them, which was somewhat awkward at the time. Yet having the knobs behind the bridge just looks so unconventional (being a break from convention) that I don't know if I would like it. Also, I wonder if having a big cavity right there might be troublesome over time. I know it is a prototype, so my assumption is that it was put there because that was easy, and the focus of the prototype was not on where the controls would end up, but on other aspects.

I wonder what other think.

This guitar was never meant to be 'played' ala a conventional guitar. It was a test bed for A-B testing as I understand the post. The controls and open bays definitely would work well for that purpose.

This guitar was never meant to be 'played' ala a conventional guitar. It was a test bed for A-B testing as I understand the post. The controls and open bays definitely would work well for that purpose.

Thanks, I missed the a/b testing comment, having snagged my eyes already on the images. Still makes me nostalgic.

This was made by Leo?

This was made by Leo?

Dave did not say. Next time I see him, I'll ask if Leo built it.