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Does Headstock Appearance Matter To You?
- Thread starter CoffeeLove
- Start date
The side mirrors can easily be replaced if it bothers you that much.
But the only way to replace a headstock is to replace the whole neck,
which may nullify the playability that you keep mentioning.
The body of a bass as a specific function as well.
It’s purpose is to hold the neck, bridge, pups, electronics, etc.,
but I wouldn’t buy a bass that had an ugly shaped body either.
I may be wrong but seems like you believe you cannot find a bass that looks
good and also has playability. I disagree.
Do you like this headstock? I heard it plays like butter!!!
057912
The most important to me is playability and sound....so its related with neck and total system...so no...i can live with all headstock shape as long its fits to my overall feeling
Absolutely! "HEADSTOCKS?!? We don' need no steenkin' HEADSTOCKS!"
I suppose that, if you feel the need for an excuse not to buy a bass? Then, "the headstock is butt-ugly" is a pretty good one. After all, it is one part of the bass that you can't easily mod/replace...
If you close your eyes and someone hands you a bass to play the only important thing is that it‘s comfortable (fits your body, not too heavy, well balanced), the neck feels good and it sounds good.
When you open your eyes you may find it’s a Sadowsky neck bolted to a rectangular chopping board for a body and a lampshade for a headstock.
It probably won’t sound as good once your eyes are open. We hear with our eyes as well as our ears.
If you open your eyes and it’s a Fodera it will now sound even better. We hear it as good if we believe it’s supposed to be good, especially if it’s expensive!
IMHO of course!
When you open your eyes you may find it’s a Sadowsky neck bolted to a rectangular chopping board for a body and a lampshade for a headstock.
It probably won’t sound as good once your eyes are open. We hear with our eyes as well as our ears.
If you open your eyes and it’s a Fodera it will now sound even better. We hear it as good if we believe it’s supposed to be good, especially if it’s expensive!
IMHO of course!
I may be wrong but seems like you believe you cannot find a bass that looks
good and also has playability. I disagree.
Do you like this headstock? I heard it plays like butter!!!
View attachment 3652404
057912[/QUOTE]
I think you missed what I was saying. Headstocks to me are as important as side mirrors. Can I use them and do they get the job done? If the answer is yes, then it's a glorious day. I play Spector Euro 5's which look, feel, and sound amazing to me. So life is good. And for everyone else who sells a bass because of the headstock, more power to you! All of us who buy used basses will always have something to choose from!
Unless I missed one after 15 pages..I'll offer this one up...somebody had to do it loll
I like that headstock. It's like it's saying "Yeah, I'm ugly. But I'm so COOL that I'm beautiful."
Loll Hi Mike..so true. I also love my Peavey DynaBass 5 headstock and my EB MM Stingray 5 headstock..I just own too many basses....so my wife told me loll
These are all headstocks on basses that I own. I like all of them. Be warned there are a couple here that are not liked on TalkBass.
Obviously I am a product of the 80's. I like me some droop snoot basses. The Jackson is probably my favorite bass to annoy purists with. The Hamer Impact is my Unicorn bass. The Dean is a phenomenal playing bass, and I always liked their headstocks since they came out in the 80's. The Aria is a medium scale and the Arbor is a short scale Star shaped bass. I also have a bunch of Fender basses as well along with my headless basses. Only time I don't like headstocks is when a bass neck dives. The Hamer twelve I put up with it's neck dive, there is about one pound of tuners on that one.
Cheers,
Mike
Obviously I am a product of the 80's. I like me some droop snoot basses. The Jackson is probably my favorite bass to annoy purists with. The Hamer Impact is my Unicorn bass. The Dean is a phenomenal playing bass, and I always liked their headstocks since they came out in the 80's. The Aria is a medium scale and the Arbor is a short scale Star shaped bass. I also have a bunch of Fender basses as well along with my headless basses. Only time I don't like headstocks is when a bass neck dives. The Hamer twelve I put up with it's neck dive, there is about one pound of tuners on that one.
Cheers,
Mike
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I forgot the ESP is a 84 or so first run Series bass. The Maple neck and the body are stained red, very cool bass to me.The Tele style headstock is my favorite Fender headstock.
Peace,
Mike
Peace,
Mike
I love Dean headstocks. They are tacky, sure, but who cares? And they are BIG, like bass heads should be. (Yeah I am looking at you Cort Curbow, with your tiny body and tiny 2+2 head) Only thing I dislike about Dean is that they do not make Cadillac in pink or light blue and a chrome pickguard, like a big ol' ElDorado
But my favourite headstock is B.C. Rich Widow. Cheesiest of the bunch but whatever, it is cool, and it is not just my inner high-school edgelord that gives me this impression.
I think you missed what I was saying. Headstocks to me are as important as side mirrors. Can I use them and do they get the job done? If the answer is yes, then it's a glorious day. I play Spector Euro 5's which look, feel, and sound amazing to me. So life is good. And for everyone else who sells a bass because of the headstock, more power to you! All of us who buy used basses will always have something to choose from!
The car analogy has alot of merit, but I think most folks would disagree with you on two points.
First, whether they'd admit it or not, most folks view, treat, and select their car as more than just a functional tool. Car's have all kinds of image, aesthetic, comfort, emotional, lifestyle, nostalgic, etc factors wound up in them. No surprise since we spend so much time in them and so much money on them. The F series, Silverado and Ram aren't the best selling vehicles in the USA because everyone still lives on farms or works in the trades.
Secondly, most would probably disagree that the headstock is just the "side mirrors". You're entitled to see it as you will, but from an aesthetic standpoint, most would probably equate the headstock with something more obvious such as the grill or the tail end. Not many folks would turn down a car for the mirrors, but lots would turn down a car for a hideous grill (I'm looking at you, bucktooth, slackjaw Lexus, but I digress...).
Both points holds true for instruments as well. They're more than tools, as evidenced perhaps by the fact that Talkbass exists.
The overarching reality that frames this is that there are so darn many good basses out there that unless someone has a very specific instrument requirement and/or a serious financial constraint, they can have an instrument that plays, feels and looks good to them at almost any price point.
Put another way, why settle for an ugly bass when there's no practical or financial reason to do so?
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The car analogy has alot of merit, but I think most folks would disagree with you on two points.
First, whether they'd admit it or not, most folks view, treat, and select their car as more than just a functional tool. Car's have all kinds of image, aesthetic, comfort, emotional, lifestyle, nostalgic, etc factors wound up in them. No surprise since we spend so much time in them and so much money on them. The F series, Silverado and Ram aren't the best selling vehicles in the USA because everyone still lives on farms or works in the trades.
Secondly, most would probably disagree that the headstock is just the "side mirrors". You're entitled to see it as you will, but from an aesthetic standpoint, most would probably equate the headstock with something more obvious such as the grill or the tail end. Not many folks would turn down a car for the mirrors, but lots would turn down a car for a hideous grill (I'm looking at you, bucktooth, slackjaw Lexus, but I digress...).
Both points holds true for instruments as well. They're more than tools, as evidenced perhaps by the fact that Talkbass exists.
The overarching reality that frames this is that there are so darn many good basses out there that unless someone has a very specific instrument requirement and/or a serious financial constraint, they can have an instrument that plays, feels and looks good to them at almost any price point.
Put another way, why settle for an ugly bass when there's no practical or financial reason to do so?
I couldn't agree more!!!
057912
It doesn't really bother me either way--it would have to be something extreme to make me give it a pass.
However if everything else was even between two basses that could be the deciding factor between the two.
However if everything else was even between two basses that could be the deciding factor between the two.
That might help explain why bass guitar is sometimes referred to as The Tool Of Ignorance among non-bass players.
