A question about Fender headstocks...

Nice to see another Memphian on here!

I've generally found that most are roughly the same size, but I have seen some of the overseas models that had smaller headstocks. Out of the 4 Fenders I currently own, all of them generally have the same size headstock......the '76 P might be a little larger but hardly noticable unless you are specifically looking for it.

The different fonts often reflect the years that it was assembled and/or the location it was assembled...........US, Japan, etc.

 

just sent you a PM

 

Fender's American Deluxes have smaller headstocks.

EDIT: As for the logos, P's from 1950 till now mostly have the spaghetti (thin) logo, besides Mexicans (standards) which have the silver transition (fat) logo. Jazz basses from 60-~70 had the transition logo, followed by the black (TV, same as transition but black) logo. Nowadays they come with spaghetti logos (American, American Deluxe, Mexican Deluxe, etc) or fat logos.

 

P basses had the thick black 'TV' Logos, too, from '68 to the mid '70s.

 

1976 Precision

2005 Precision

2000 Jazz

 

Back to the first poster's question regarding headstock size:

The original P bass had the "tele" head from 1954-56. In 57 the "common" headstock we now know was introduced to reduce dead spots. While the decal has changed the basic headstock has remained consistant (the shape is even patented which is why now knock-offs can be identical in all ways but they have a different headstock).

The exception on size was in the early 90s, the headstock on the Jazz was reduced to give it a more "modern" look. Fender's marketshare was being erroded and they tried little style changes to attract younger players (hence the dreaded PJ 90). They finally came to their senses and returned to the classic styling that had served them so well. Probably motivated by people shunning new basses in favor of vintage instruments.

I have seen the smaller headstock on a couple of recent releases such as several "deluxe" models but pretty much all the new Fenders have the '57 headstock.

 

I'm not sure if I'd qualify my JP90 as "dreaded" but yes it does have a slightly smaller overall headstock size, but remains proportional. Truth is I only noticed the headstock size discrepancy a couple of weeks ago despite owning it and my MIA for a few years now. It's easy to spot if they're side by side but if you keep them in separate rooms you may never notice.

 

Sorry, man. Didn't mean to dis your axe.

The most dramatic examples of what I'm talking about were the "Plus" models (they made a P and a J) from 90-94. I couldn't find any pics online but I'm looking at "the Fender Bass: an Illustrated History", Black and Molinaro.

 

You got me. I have a 73 J with that very logo and I just didn't think about it at the time of my post.

 

I love those TV logos, as much as the earlier ones.

 

I thought the small ones were called Strats.

 

Squier's are different again. Anyone noticed the Vintage Modified headstock? The E tuner is miles away from the nut and I guess the machine head spacing is different. Example:



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