Does Headstock Appearance Matter To You?

[Iridescentone]

I'm pretty sure I can live without...whatever these were supposed to be.

 

[Mike Whitfield]

I'm pretty sure I can live without...whatever these were supposed to be.

View attachment 3655592

They were supposed to be hockey sticks, but something went horribly wrong.

 

[quickervicar]

It took awhile for me to get over the headstock on my first G&L. I found it difficult to look at when sitting on a stand and I worried about poking children's eyes out with that pointy bit. I turned a blind eye when I bought my second. I now have 4 in my rotation and never give them a second thought anymore.

I have seen some funky headstocks in my day. It all comes down to what one considers normal. EBMM is a very funky design but it is accepted by the market. The Fender circular end is touted by the masses as being normal, but if you step back and look at it objectively it doesn't make much sense when compared to something like a Sadowsky. (Yes, I realize one pre-dates and inspired the other)

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find some Nomex to wear for the impending flame show.

 

[Mike Whitfield]

It took awhile for me to get over the headstock on my first G&L. I found it difficult to look at when sitting on a stand and I worried about poking children's eyes out with that pointy bit. I turned a blind eye when I bought my second. I now have 4 in my rotation and never give them a second thought anymore.

I have seen some funky headstocks in my day. It all comes down to what one considers normal. EBMM is a very funky design but it is accepted by the market. The Fender circular end is touted by the masses as being normal, but if you step back and look at it objectively it doesn't make much sense when compared to something like a Sadowsky. (Yes, I realize one pre-dates and inspired the other)

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find some Nomex to wear for the impending flame show.

Well said. Had Leo chosen a headstock like a double bass, that would look normal and we'd judge deviations using that as normal. Maybe we'd be arguing over whether those new flat headstocks are smart or hideous abominations. For me it's also situational normal; I love those kitschy 60's Japanese basses with their usually tacky headstocks, but if the 2020 Fender Jazz Bass had the head of a '68 Noble complete with big 3D plastic emblem I'd be mildly horrified. I also make a huge exception for function as form; if a headstock is minimalist and has straight string pulls without string trees, I usually like it. (With notable exceptions like Parkers and Bongos - but again recognizing that had the original Fender electric bass used one of those headstocks, it would be normal.)

I think by the time someone reaches a certain age, say 9 or 10, it becomes pretty apparent that people have different tastes and priorities. Except for bass players...bass players take way longer to realize it. Some of them never do. They are incredulous that, for the incredible variety of gear of all kinds that's out there and being used all over the world, that anyone could ever dislike something they like or vice versa. Coincidentally, they are often the same people who throw out that old, tired, wish-it-were-banned phrase, "The audience can't tell."

So we end up with, "Why don't you like what I like? Why do you prioritize something I don't care about? The audience can't tell." To which my replies are, "If the audience can't tell, then how come what I think about what I use matters so much to you? And why are you even up on a stage? If the audience can't tell, you might as well go home."

Strange lot, bass players.

Also well said. Long live differences, they are what make life interesting. But I don't think it's especially true just of bass players or even just of musicians. I think it's just passion. I've found that the more passionate a person is about anything, the less tolerant they tend to be about deviations from their own preferences.

 

[el murdoque]

Just curious where people stand on this one, and feel free to post pics of your favorite common or not so common headstock.

There are many, likely amazing instruments I have passed up because of aesthetic personal preference, even my Custom Roscoe LG3005 headstock looks a little funky to me, but have kept it because there is nothing that sounds or plays better (IMHO).

I tend to like controlled rounded lines, like my current instruments minus the Roscoe, which include a Stingray 5 and Fender Jazz Deluxe 5 (pictured).

What you got?

It seems we're polar opposites when it comes to that. I like the Roscoe headstock you pictured, while I think the Fender one is plain ugly and the MM headstock was, indeed, the reason I passed on more than one Stingray in the past.

 

[Yellow Bang66]

Never looked twice at a headstock. Just doesn't matter to me at all. Flip side: I wouldn't be caught dead with a Music Man style bass simply because of the pick guard. Can't stand the looks of them. Just different tastes.

Exactly!, kinda off topic but I always thought the MM pickguard made the bass look like a toilet seat!! It Totally shut down my gas for one!! unfortunately its all I see now whenever i see a MM especially the bongo can't help but laugh out loud when i see them.

 

[Yellow Bang66]

Well said. Had Leo chosen a headstock like a double bass, that would look normal and we'd judge deviations using that as normal. Maybe we'd be arguing over whether those new flat headstocks are smart or hideous abominations. For me it's also situational normal; I love those kitschy 60's Japanese basses with their usually tacky headstocks, but if the 2020 Fender Jazz Bass had the head of a '68 Noble complete with big 3D plastic emblem I'd be mildly horrified. I also make a huge exception for function as form; if a headstock is minimalist and has straight string pulls without string trees, I usually like it. (With notable exceptions like Parkers and Bongos - but again recognizing that had the original Fender electric bass used one of those headstocks, it would be normal.)


Also well said. Long live differences, they are what make life interesting. But I don't think it's especially true just of bass players or even just of musicians. I think it's just passion. I've found that the more passionate a person is about anything, the less tolerant they tend to be about deviations from their own preferences.

Okay back on topic, I used to think the 80's pointy head stocks looked cool, used to think that they were a modern evolution of the bulky looking fender strat style HS(streamlined &dangerous)weapon looking.I also, like gibsons take on the inline HS, the thunderbird HS, not pointy, kinda sleek & elegant,not bulky or bulbous.

 

[Bobhmcs]

Exactly!, kinda off topic but I always thought the MM pickguard made the bass look like a toilet seat!! It Totally shut down my gas for one!! unfortunately its all I see now whenever i see a MM especially the bongo can't help but laugh out loud when i see them.

I agree with you and that is why I posted mine because it was so Blah. They could have put a MM arced and that would have been better than,,,, Nothing. The other side to that coin is that it is a pretty darn good neck. Plays well, feels decent, installs easily, and fits perfect in the neck joint. But aesthetically pleasing, not so much. It is almost like a half finished manufacturers neck. I am taking it, believe it or not, to a local tattoo shop for ideas of what to fill the blank area with. None of the decals or tansfer's are very appealing to me.
Bob

 

[Mike Whitfield]

I agree with you and that is why I posted mine because it was so Blah. They could have put a MM arced and that would have been better than,,,, Nothing. The other side to that coin is that it is a pretty darn good neck. Plays well, feels decent, installs easily, and fits perfect in the neck joint. But aesthetically pleasing, not so much. It is almost like a half finished manufacturers neck. I am taking it, believe it or not, to a local tattoo shop for ideas of what to fill the blank area with. None of the decals or tansfer's are very appealing to me.
Bob

I’d like to get a quote on a tramp stamp for my bass, please.

Okay back on topic, I used to think the 80's pointy head stocks looked cool, used to think that they were a modern evolution of the bulky looking fender strat style HS(streamlined &dangerous)weapon looking.I also, like gibsons take on the inline HS, the thunderbird HS, not pointy, kinda sleek & elegant,not bulky or bulbous.
View attachment 3657730

Love that headstock.

 

[Relayer71]

View attachment 3644229

I love this headstock, because it's signed by one of my bass luthier heroes.

It's also classy, subtle. No sharp edges or points or crazy asymmetry and the tuners aren't sharply angled like on some other similar headstocks/basses

 

[Relayer71]

Looks matter. I love how Ibanez plays/feels/sounds but I can’t get over the looks. Fender headstocks look great and squareish 2x2s like Wal.

I like Ibanez, but I merely tolerate the headstock on the SRs. I do love the old Musician shape, though.

 

[Relayer71]

I find these results amazing. As I write this, nearly 2 out of 3 bass players consider the appearance of their headstock important. I challenge you two-thirds (you know who you are) to put your bass away at the end of a gig and then ask anyone who heard you to describe your headstock, or even name its color. I guarantee you that even the bassists in your audience won't be able to tell you.

And what does that have to do with how we personally feel about OUR instruments?

Does tone matter to you? I challenge you to ask anyone at the end of a gig to describe your individual tone.

 

[BobDeRosa]

And what does that have to do with how we personally feel about OUR instruments?

Does tone matter to you? I challenge you to ask anyone at the end of a gig to describe your individual tone.

I feel exactly the same about our obsession with tone (and of course you're right about nobody being able to describe it, mostly because nobody cares). We worry way too much about all the wrong sh*t. Just play the damn music the best you can and don't worry about the color, the shape, the pick guard, the headstock, or anything else. It's the playing and how you complement the band that counts.

 

[Bobhmcs]

I’d like to get a quote on a tramp stamp for my bass, please.


Love that headstock.

What is so funny about your response is that's exactly what I said! ;[) They replied "We only do tramp stamps on the lower back". I take it in tomorrow.
Bob

 

[ejaggers]

... We worry way too much about all the wrong sh*t. Just play the damn music the best you can and don't worry about the color, the shape, the pick guard, the headstock, or anything else. It's the playing and how you complement the band that counts.

Now Bob, you know life doesn’t work like that.
If it did, we shouldn’t WORRY about buying a car.
We should all take the bus, because getting to work on time is the only thing that counts.

057912

 

[Daddy-R]

Not the appearance but I like inline tuners

 

[7615]

 

[La Faro]