Headstock Bias

[2F/2F]

Extremely. Looks matter. There are enough perfectly fine basses out there with headstocks that I find attractive, that I don't need to compromise looks for performance.

Every Leo Fender company has good looking headstocks. The man's companies had a real knack for aesthetic design.

 

[2112]

Craftsmanship is everything to me. Here are some of my favorite headstocks:

 

[LowActionHero]

I voted yes, but I only really care if it's extra ugly.
I really like 2+2s though I've never owned one.
I prefer matching color headstocks, but not a deal breaker.
I actually like the G&L headstocks, it's like a traditional Fender shape but a little different, and I like anything that's a little different.

 

[jimmydean]

While the tone of the bass is everything , I would not buy a bass with a ugly headstock . As good as a MusicMan Bongo sounds ...can't deal with that headstock . SX makes really nice basses , but after they went to that paddle/wedge thing......NO WAY!

 

[lancimouspitt]

For me aesthetics is a huge factor and i think the G & L headstock is just mehhhh
BUT
I'll put all that aside if if plays and sounds killer

 

[James Collins]

Am i the only one that thinks Fender style headstocks are ugly because of the side profile? In line or not, they really need an angle on the side profile or they look kind of dumb.

 

[Frank77]

Looks matter to me when picking an instrument, and as such there are some headstock shapes that I like and others I don't, but how it compares to Fender's has absolutely nothing to do with it - I've never owned one and it's not the "gold standard" in my mind. My electric basses are 2 x G&Ls and a headless.

If it's pointy or looks like a hockey stick, I'm out. For everything else, it depends how it blends with the rest of the bass.

 

[40Hz]

If I can live with things like Fender's dead spot prone inline headstock; or the TBird's pointlessly oversized and breakage prone design, I can tolerate almost anything.

Almost…

But you have to draw the line somewhere. Because there are some truly ugly and functionally impaired headstock shapes out there. And I'm not an angst ridden preteen who goes around wearing Metallica or Megadeath t-shirts either

I think a small back angled headstock that's reinforced with a volute, a fairly symmetrical tuner layout (2x2,3x2, etc.), and as close as possible to a straight-line string pull is ideal. Aria got it close to 100% right with this one IMO.

And a zero fret isn't a bad idea either since we're on the subject design.

 

[GwenOnBass]

The Nordstrand headstock works for me.

 

[Durham52]

I've always thought the G&L headstock was a little awkward looking, stretched a bit too long, with an ill defined weak curve on the rounded end makes it look a little droopy and that odd little hook, presumably added to make it look a bit less Fender. (I have to confess to having gone to art school and studied design, so I get a bit OCD over proportion, spatial relationships and other such BS.)

Even after all the years the design has been around, I still can't get comfortable with it, but it wouldn't stop me buying a G&L if I wanted one. (But I might go to work on the headstock.... )

Still, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as the old saying goes.

 

[Tom Kinter]

Regarding G&L: I don't get the bottle-opener tag. I wonder if it originated in 7ender's PR offices. I've got an old SB-2 (that plays like a dream). Looking at it right now. Aesthetically, The headstock & particularly the point (of contention) work really well with all of the curving asymmetries of the bass. The perfect detail. In musical terms, it's like a #11th for the eye that completes the chord of the design in a refreshing way. The headstock design IMHO is above all musical - redolent of a Clef. & also irreverent and distinctive (like its designer). what more could one ask? That said, if you hate it, you hate it... and several folks who do were sure to say they are great basses anyway. Aesthetically, I feel the same way about Rics... wonderful bass with an inexcusably ugly pickguard that looks as if it is screwed on as an afterthought in the wrong place, and with that right angle cut like a framing square fighting all those subtle curves... but that's just my designer's eye revolting. the fact is that ric design kind of goes to the point (!) of function over form that Bass Guitars have always championed.
On the other other hand, my beloved 65 Hagstrom Coronado has always been just plain ugly!

 

[burgerdj]

If design didn't matter, there would be only one style of bass and that would be zero fun. I have my preferences for sure - the only thing that drives me nuts is a complete lack of style or cohesion with the instrument as a whole.

 

[Ketbass]

Maybe not so much the headstock shape but the writing. Hate, Hate, Hate (did I mention) the Ibanez SD Gear logo. I really like their basses and the way they play, but can't get past that. Like a bad smell in a room. Just sets me off. Sorry Ibanez players...

 

[vinlander]

Coming from the guitar playing point of view, we have the very same issues regarding headstock.
Heritage paddle like headstock for instance vs the more universally preferred Gibson open book debate gets very ugly on some guitar forum sometimes...
I love Godin instruments, had a Seagull acoustic for a while but never liked its narrow shaped headstock...
I have to admit I voted yes as aesthetics, after playability and tone, plays a huge role in binding with an instrument for me

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Aesthetics are important to me, a bass I like the look of visually is more likely to get picked up and played. Some people who trot out the "its just a tool" argument wouldn't be caught dead driving a beater car or ratty clothes, or just styles that dont appeal to them. Beyond basic function, its all just fashion. Some.designs, like the strat and Rickenbacker bass headstock are just really hard to improve on, though the strat headstock is just a toned down version of the Bigsby Merle Travis. Nothing new under the sun.

 

[gpTron]

The only bass headstock that bothers me are the Ibanez basses that use the Ibanez guitar style headstock - which is weird because it's my favorite guitar headstock by far.

 

[Lowbrow]

Dislike the G&L hook, but REALLY dislike Music Man 3+1 and other non symmetrical styles. Lucky for me that 5-string doesn't figure into my reality.

 

[31HZ]

It depends.

 

[FunkHead]

My 3 favorites are Brubaker, Spector (4 string) and Warwick.
I like the newer G&L's just fine too. There are some I don't like but I don't want to insult anyone's basses.

 

[Wolfenstein666]

I like Rickenbacker headstocks so I probably shouldn't be allowed an opinion