Video: Cream's "Crossroads" Played on an Eight-Necked Guitar

Quick: What has eight necks, 51 strings and weighs 40 pounds?

Give up? It's the "Rock Ock."

The Rock Ock is an eight-necked stringed instrument comprised of a ukulele, six-string guitar, seven-string guitar, fretless bass, standard bass, 12-string guitar and baritone guitar.

The brainchild of the National Guitar Museum, the Rock Ock is actually playable — provided you have seven friends willing to lend a hand or two.

"There are dozens of 'art guitars' with multiple necks that can't be played. They're really just sculptures," said NGM director HP Newquist. "So, we at the National Guitar Museum decided to go one better and create a guitar with eight necks ... that can actually be played. Our thinking was that if you're going to create something like this, it should be real. And this one is."

Still skeptical? Check out the video below of eight dudes playing "Crossroads" on the Rock Ock.

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Josh Hart

Josh Hart is a former web producer and staff writer for Guitar World and Guitar Aficionado magazines (2010–2012). He has since pursued writing fiction under various pseudonyms while exploring the technical underpinnings of journalism, now serving as a senior software engineer for The Seattle Times.