1965 Koontz Triple Neck

When it came to instrument design, Sam Koontz walked his own path. He constructed guitars with built-in effects like phase shifters and flangers; he designed a guitar with a built-in battery powered amp and speaker that also included a tape recorder so the guitarist could play along with pre-recorded tapes; and he built a guitar/organ/synth hybrid for Pat Martino. After all of that, a triple-neck guitar was probably a walk in the park. (Koontz also built a number of more conventional guitars and designed instruments for Harptone and Standel. George Harrison and David Bowie both played Koontz-designed acoustic 12-string Harptones.)This one-of-kind instrument has a 12-string neck, a standard six-string neck and a six-string bass. It was ordered in 1965 by Nelson Ferrer and it took two years to build at a cost of $900. Each neck has one pickup, each with a volume and tone control. There is a three way switch to choose which neck you want to play. As you might expect, this guitar weighs quite a bit. Altogether it clocks in a 19.5 pounds and and it is currently priced at $18,500, which is less than a $1000 a pound. If you’d like to add this amazing guitar to your collection, the good folks at Fretted Americana will be happy to help you out.

David Bowie playing his Sam Koontz-designed Harptone 12-string.