Senior Apple exec taps like Eddie Van Halen on monstrous triple-neck guitar in new Apple Keynote
Is an Apple-branded triple neck electric guitar in the works? No. But you might be surprised to see Craig Federighi’s impressive chops.
Credit: Apple
This week has played host to Apple’s 2023 WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference), and it’s been a chance for the tech giant to show off some of its latest and greatest developments.
And while most of the announcements have been typically Apple – the world’s thinnest 15-inch MacBook Air, and all-new Adaptive Audio for its AirPods, for example – the event has also shone a spotlight on the formidable guitar chops of the company’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi.
There we were, patiently watching the two-hour Keynote video for the event on YouTube, curious to see the company’s latest developments, and up pops Federighi, donning, unlike a typical Silicon Valley executive, a badge-adorned leather jacket, and wielding a triple-neck electric guitar you’d, quite frankly, need a licence for.
During this section of the video, Federighi showcases what’s new for the company in the realm of audio and home. But before he does, he offers us a closer look at his impressive lead playing ability, doing his best to channel the late, great Eddie Van Halen with some rapid-fire two-handed tapping, before finishing the phrase with a gloriously executed divebomb.
And after introducing his colleague, Ron Huang, Vice President of Sensing and Connectivity, Federighi concludes his brief-but-killer guitar spot by playing the legendary main riff of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid.
The Marshall stack Federighi stands in front of is impressive enough, but let’s face it, the real star of the show in this segment is not the amp – it’s not even Federighi – it’s that monolith of an instrument.
It’s unclear who conceived and built it, but we can see its got two regular six-string necks – with headstocks similar to those of Jackson and Ibanez guitars, respectively – and a 12-string neck at the top. Each neck has a HSH pickup configuration, and the white guitar is finished with a rainbow decal on its lower bout.
Of course, it’s highly unlikely this guitar is anything other than a one-of-a-kind prop for Apple’s latest Keynote, but we can marvel at it nonetheless.
While the idea that a senior Apple executive can be a highly proficient guitarist might be a tough one to absorb for many, keen tech nerds and Apple aficionados might have seen Federighi’s noteworthy guitar skills before. Below, you can see him shredding a PRS on John Gruber’s The Talk Show.
Craig just killing it on the guitar at @gruber’s Talk Show is the energy I’m here for pic.twitter.com/sgVdtLHjb9
— Adam Bell (@b3ll) June 8, 2023
To learn more about WWDC23, head to Apple.