Leo Fender did it best....

He didn't quit, either, until the very end he was making improvements.

 

A couple of notes...
1) The Stratocaster shape was derived from the original Precision body. The original P-basses had the double horn body but in a "slab" body shape - no arm or belly contouring. As a kid, I remember being somewhat bothered by the strat's blobby, asymmetrical shape. To my eye, symmetrical guitars like the SG and ES-335 look much better, but a stratocaster is much more comfortable to actually hold and play.

2) The "Fender" headstock shape was actually copied from another guitar, machinist Paul Bigsby made a "one off" solid body electric for country guitarist Merle Travis.

 

Both are just variations on the silhouette of the head of an upright or violin turned to the side. Someone with modest Photoshop skills could do an overlay of the Fender head and a violin or URB head to show you. I don't think Fender copied the earlier guitar. I think they both copied the violin/URB head in different ways.

 

the Fender headstock looks more like a "standup" bass headstock and makes more sense if Leo was truly designing an electric Precision bass. so suffice to say that both guys copied that headstock.

 

dammit, @two fingers!

 

To quote someone from an earlier Off Topic thread I started "Great minds think alike, and so do we."

 

See the guitar on the left. Late 18th century.

 

Very true. However, a considerable number of players prefer his previous work, just like Corvette enthusiasts prefer the older models, even though they may be evolutionary not up to speed....

 

Different basses will feel best to different people. I think Mike Tobias made some improvements to the basic Fender design. But, yes, Leo got an amazing amount of it right.

 

With Corvettes, I have to agree.

 

And a Ford model T offers the most comfortable transportation experience

Fender did great, but so many basses have surpassed them in terms of comfort. They have that iconic look, like Les Paul, Rick, hofner, etc, and that cannot be taken!

Ever hold/play an NS/Spector? Comfort....to me at least, ymmv.

Never held a Ritter, but the word is his standard models are amongst the most ergonomic basses made. Form and function, fender does a great compromise though.

 

(Well intentioned) People keep trying to do something different. But, it is pretty amazing how enduring Leo's initial P shape has become for electric bass guitars; especially considering there were VERY few precedents at the time. Folks keep looking for something different; but, most successful templates end up being variations on a theme.

 

I think part of it is it's just the shape(s) we are most used to seeing.
You expose yourself to anything enough you start to develop a taste for it.

 

Ps & Strats have nice shapes but I've never been a fan of the Jazz Bass shape.

 

While we are tossing opinions out there.... I can't stand the pick guards. Just a cosmetic to cover up poor routing and it can hide good wood. Truss rod adjustments screw still being located under the pick guard on some models, ***. 3 bolt necks with a tilt screw, I'm not buying that either. I'm not saying they're junk, I'm just saying. Modern G&L's are my first choice for a bass that Leo had anything to do with.

 

The headstock on the Bigsby appears on stringed instruments from 100's of years ago on some Croatian instruments.

Sorry but very little is new.

Leo was working on new things until the end though.

 

I tend to agree aesthetically, however I haven't played many other shapes as a lefty. But I can't get around how right P's, J's, Strat's, and Tele's look to me. I love some of the cool stuff I see, transparent finishes, etc, but I don't think I could ever buy one with Daphne blue as an option on a classic body shape (going custom to get Daphne, of course).