Headstock comparison survey

[Simon Langley]

Most everyone here is familiar with the basses that these headstocks are attached to. They are all high end, boutique jazz basses. I have used these boutique jazz basses as examples since there may be very little difference in electronics, wood and workmanship, I am curious to see what affect headstock shape has on a person's purchase decision. My questions are:

*How much does headstock shape affect the choice you make in which bass to purchase?
*What do yo like about the shapes?
*What do you dislike?
*Any boutique jazz bass headstock shapes that I haven't Considered that should be?
*Let me and the rest of us know what you think.

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[Meyatch]

Fender

 

[Jeremy Crockett]

Leo got it right.

 

[Nino Valenti]

Valenti.

 

[K-Frog]

All other things being assumed equal, headstock shape ranks right up there with body shapes in general as far as consideration of overall aesthetics. i won't accept an ugly body no matter how it plays or sounds and won't consider a hideous headstock either. That said there are great looking headstocks and varying degrees of not-as-great looking headstocks.

Of the ones pictured;

The Lakland is too big fora 4 string but looks fine on a 5
The Nordie is OK, but it's the first i've ever seen, a little out of balance with a hump thing going on the upper side.
I like the Sadowsky at all times
The Lull is pretty good but borders on being a bit thin (almost pointy?)
The Avella looks like an oar, a real no-go
The Valenti, I might can get over the elephant trunk look since it's otherwise proportional and balanced.

Ranked in order of my preference.

1. Sadowsky
2. Lakland
3. Lull
4. Nordie
5. Valenti
99. Avella

I basially prefer all variants of the Musicman, Sadowsky, Lakland, SX shapes. All very similar, simple, classic looks without looking like the Fender.

 

[ClassicJazz]

FENDER

 

[ibanezcollector]

I like the Nordy cause its different..


But my favorite headstock of all time is Yamaha's Like the TRB series or Foderas its a close tie.

 

[spideyjg]

Leo got it right.

Which time? He made more than just Fenders ya know.

Jim

 

[robert43]

Fender

+1

 

[*smb]

Harder to compare since you've put a mix of four and fives but I like the Lakland and Nord best out of those.

 

[king_biscuit]

Fender by a mile

 

[FL Knifemaker]

Out of that group, I like the Valenti headstock best. The AC headstock reminds me of Bullwinkles nose

 

[MyUsernameHere]

Out of the ones mentioned, the Lull.

I think I like Tobias' best though.

 

[DanielleMuscato]

I love the Fender headstock ('54 Strat, the "normal" one, you know what I mean) for guitars and 4-string basses. I think it looks a little funny when it's 4+1 for 5-string basses, although I like the 5-in-line Fenders.

I also like MTD headstocks.

Sorry Nino, but I *hate* Valenti headstocks!

 

[JoshD]

Fender or Jackson.

 

[funkasaurus]

I gotta say that headstock shape is pretty darn low on the list of factors I consider when buying a bass.

Of the ones listed, I like the Lakland, Lull, Nordy, and Sadowsky the best. I'm neutral on the Valenti, and slightly dislike the AC.

That being said, I would love to own both a Valenti and an AC someday!

 

[incognito89x]

Valenti, followed by Nordstrand.

 

[capnsandwich]

Out of the group mentioned, I chose Lakland. I love the Lakland headstocks. I was just admiring mine earlier this evening when it was leaning up on the stand. It's huge and makes the bass look mean.

Out of all the headstocks in the world though, I love the Jerzy Drozd and the Ken Lawrence the best.

 

[Figjam]

Im strange but I really like alleva coppolo.


Sadowsky is okay, I dont like the way the logo fits on it though. Wish there was a little more space between the name and the edge of the headstock.

 

[jwsamuel]

None of the above

or

Fender