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Classic, jurassic and tragic headstock design
- Thread starter jimmyjammer
- Start date
I like the old oddly pointy charm of early G&L and pre-Gibson epiphones as well as Fender's head stock. That said, I prefer the original tele styled head stock.
I always liked the Tobias Headstocks.
The MTD's took awhile to grow on me (kinda like every Tool album after Ænema) Invalid Link Removed
I've never seen an Alembic headstock I thought looked good.
Link Removed
The MTD's took awhile to grow on me (kinda like every Tool album after Ænema) Invalid Link Removed
I've never seen an Alembic headstock I thought looked good.
Link Removed
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,016
- 1
- 31,730
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
I'm a "form follows function" guy. For that reason, I will always prefer an angled headstock to a straight one. Aesthetics do play a secondary role, however, which is why I much prefer the Tobias headstock over the Warwick.
Criteria for a good headstock:
- Angled design (none of that string tree nonsense)
- Straight (or nearly straight) string pull through the nut
- Symmetry near the nut (for aesthetics as well as hanging straight on the wall)
- Compact (saves weight)
- No obvious vulnerabilities (pointy bits)
- No all-inline tuners (purely an aesthetic choice)
- Compact and lightweight tuners
For this reason, the Tobias headstock is a thing of beauty.
The Warmoth house-style headstock is nice too, though the 4-string is not symmetrical near the nut.
The classic Gibson EB-0/Les Paul design, while pleasingly symmetrical, fails the "straight string pull" criterion in a big way, a shortcoming it shares with many high-end manufacturers.
The classic Fender designs, whether Jazz/Pre or Tele, fail on almost every count. The original Tele design is one of the ugliest things I've ever seen this side of a Wishbass.
Criteria for a good headstock:
- Angled design (none of that string tree nonsense)
- Straight (or nearly straight) string pull through the nut
- Symmetry near the nut (for aesthetics as well as hanging straight on the wall)
- Compact (saves weight)
- No obvious vulnerabilities (pointy bits)
- No all-inline tuners (purely an aesthetic choice)
- Compact and lightweight tuners
For this reason, the Tobias headstock is a thing of beauty.
The Warmoth house-style headstock is nice too, though the 4-string is not symmetrical near the nut.
The classic Gibson EB-0/Les Paul design, while pleasingly symmetrical, fails the "straight string pull" criterion in a big way, a shortcoming it shares with many high-end manufacturers.
The classic Fender designs, whether Jazz/Pre or Tele, fail on almost every count. The original Tele design is one of the ugliest things I've ever seen this side of a Wishbass.
Gibson Grabber/G-3. Win.
(Apologies to whoever posted this first for borrowing the image)
Ah thats my old Grabber, that would also be my favorite.
i have to disagree with this one.
it's based on a classic shape, but something about that fifth peg just throws it off for me.
it just seems like someone left their fender in the sun too long and it melted.
(IMO)
- Dec 21, 2007
- 15,233
- 45,119
- Disclosures
- Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
I'm glad someone mentioned the Tobias headstock. Mike just plain got it right with that.
Funny thing, he did (and does) that a lot with his basses - got it right.
Funny thing, he did (and does) that a lot with his basses - got it right.
Yeah they should have, that looks to be a copy of the headstock on a T-Bass. I'll ping Rob Green, who knows he may not know his design has been nicked.
For some reason that headstock shape always reminded me of a fudgsicle, I'm thinking I need to check the freezer now....
