Or Gotoh Res-O-Lite GB350's. They are even lighter than Hipshots and cheaper!
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Headstock reshape effect on tone?
- Thread starter Belcanto
- Start date
I modded this bass and it sounds even better!
1. If you don't notice dead spots, do NOT go looking for them. Ignorance really is bliss in this regard.
2. Reshaping the headstock will have zero practical effect on tone.
3. You'll get much more improvement in neck dive by replacing the tuners with ultra light models.
I'm a little bit like that, you one shot at life, make the best of it. I will get back here when it's done. It might take a while since I have more mods comming to the bronco first. Plan is having one to play while modding the other.
Absolutely! But I was never a businessman so I always regard myself as the end user.
In some cases there is great fear. Some fear mods and any talk of mods brings out the "don't, you're scaring me" crowd and the "don't, sell it and buy something else".
And then you do a mod and post about it and folks are all like "wow, that is cool" and "great job OP".
Sigh, TB.
Plan is to get smaller/lighter tuners, though neckdive is only a part of why I want to do it. Yes people always want others to do the same as they do, konfirmation.
IMHO yes, but I would expect changes to typically be subtle if not imperceptible. But in some instances, the change may be fairly noticeable.
Cutting down the headstock changes the vibrating mass of the neck and bass overall. This will impact various resonances and how resistant to vibration the end of the neck is.
Here's an example of a product that clamps to the headstock (adds mass):
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Comments suggest the Fatfinger has an impact, but it's unpredictable whether it will be an improvement or degradation of the tone. IMHO the results from shaving down your headstock will also be unpredictable. Perhaps the bass will sound better...but it's also possible it could sound worse.
I experimented with adding mass to the headstock of my first bass and felt it improved the tone slightly. However the bass had a bit of neck dive, so it wasn't really practical to leave the added mass attached.
To solve the neck dive, I eventually installed a heavy bridge (original 2-Tek). Definitely changed the tone, response, and decay characteristics of the bass.
Every time that video is posted, another old grey-haired Luthier shakes his head sadly, turns out the shop lights, and walks away. And hopes that some small group of Musicians will survive who understand and appreciate the sound of stringed instruments.
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Cut a piece of maple to the same shape as what you're proposing to cut off, and weigh it. You'lll be surprised just how little it weighs. For that matter, take the piece of maple and Scotch tape it to the headstock and see if you can even notice any increase in neck-dive.
Light tuners and adjustments to strap mounting points will, I believe, give you a lot more room for improvement.
Light tuners and adjustments to strap mounting points will, I believe, give you a lot more room for improvement.
I don't think anyone mentioned that you might try experimenting with more weight to see if your ear can tell the difference (if you add a headstock tuner or something).
I'm no deadspot expert, but it seems highly unlikely to me that suddenly there would develop a gigantic problem where everything was perfect before. I'd expect that either a workable deadspot could get slightly worse, or a perception of "no" deadspots could become a subtle one. If it turns out that the problem is only weight, you could just later find a way to put in a screw or glue in some small recessed weights to rebalance.
But if you're worried about a change in the character of tone, then I think experiments with more weight on the headstock before surgery will help you understand the parameter space of how much those changes tend to impact the system (even though the surgery would be removing weight instead of adding).
I'm no deadspot expert, but it seems highly unlikely to me that suddenly there would develop a gigantic problem where everything was perfect before. I'd expect that either a workable deadspot could get slightly worse, or a perception of "no" deadspots could become a subtle one. If it turns out that the problem is only weight, you could just later find a way to put in a screw or glue in some small recessed weights to rebalance.
But if you're worried about a change in the character of tone, then I think experiments with more weight on the headstock before surgery will help you understand the parameter space of how much those changes tend to impact the system (even though the surgery would be removing weight instead of adding).
Yes...
But this video was central to me starting to build my first bass. It took away my fear of the evil tonewood.
Of course, the sound depends on much more than just the pickups and the strings. Anyone who has ever dared to build an instrument realizes that. But there is also often a lot of voodoo and marketing behind things. With this in mind, I think the video is very good. And anyone who holds a well-built instrument in their hands will certainly appreciate the work behind it and the quality (hopefully...).
You're probably right, and I'm sorry for that, but prejudices and illusions can only be fought with the harsh truth.
There usually will not be much difference in tone or resonance. All your other reasons are 100% valid. I also do not jive with the Sire headstock, but love (mostly) everything else about their basses.
Do the mods, lighten the load, enjoy your bass!
If there’s even a slight possibility I’m selling the instrument in the future, I wouldn’t bother to modify the head by cutting wood off the headstock.
I was just thinking about this. I am thinking about taking inline 4 tuners, changing to a 2 by 2. Could not figure how to calculate the difference in torque generated between the two setups. The length would be 2" shorter. That would move two tuners to a shorter lever but leave two where they are.
Yes, the total weight of the neck would not change, only the twisting downward motion (neck dive)
Would it feel different if you moved 2 tuners? Just the caclulation has me curious.
