Matching headstock?

[dave64o]

Unfortunately that is a 10 year old photo, and I no longer have any of these basses.

I guess "unfortunately" depends on what you replaced them with. But I do still love that particular collection.

 

[BioDriver]

I like natural headstocks if they match the fingerboard (maple/maple, wenge/wenge, etc), otherwise I say paint it!

 

[Mr.Ace]

With a Rosewood board I'd say matching headstock looks really good. If you have a maple neck and fingerboard I think a maple headstock looks good.

 

[big_fundamental]

???????? I don't even know to respond to such insanity.

Hounddog, did you not catch the sarcasm? It was intended as a poke at the first reply that stated "Yes, always". It is a purely cosmetic decision so stating an Internet Absolute either way is silly. That said, I personally still have never liked the matchy-matchy look on Fender-style basses or guitars. To each their own. Although my fretless does have a natural tru-oil finish on both the swamp ash body and maple headstock. They kind of match.

 

[Wfrance3]

for me sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. I had a warmoth build done in the late 90s. It was a swamp ash dinky PJ with trans blue and a birdseye maple neck. I got the headstock painted to match, but it really didn't. It really just bothered me and no one else because it was decently close, but if I had it to do over I would have just left it satin nitro like the rest of the neck. Maybe would have added a decal or something to jazz it up a bit (pun intended...)

 

[Fender_Bender]

I love a matching headstock, they look very classy. It kinda irks me that you rarely see them on Fenders, even on the expensive models, and yet you see them all the time on really low end Squiers . It is a fair bit of extra work to do it, so that business paradigm makes absolutely no sense.

 

[Whil57]

Three with match headstock.

 

[Big Hoss]

It's your instrument. Do with it as you please.

If it were mine, I wouldn't have ruined a nice burst finish, but to each their own... I haven't always been a fan but they've grown on me a lot....

With solid color finishes, a PTM headstock always looks best in my book.

 

[Bluesman88]

Kia ora bass whānau!

I am in the process of refinishing my Squire PJ. It was a 3TSB going to a baby blue. Question is should I paint the headstock to match? It's got a rosewood board.
Also, pics of your matching-headstock basses are encouraged!

Ngā mihi nui! View attachment 2827193

Paint that headstock!

 

[CGremlin]

Sometimes I think painted headstocks look good, others I prefer natural. I have a few painted headstocks, but on my SR4, I think it would be sacrilege to cover up that wood:

 

[electracoyote]

I always do a matching headstock with custom builds and refins.

 

[RedMoses]

Yes!

 

[fffreddy]

I agree with aah_scary, MojoPenguin and others: match a maple board with an naturally finished headstock. For a bass with a rosewood board, match the headstock with the body or go with black. The outlier would be a nice birdseye maple headstock which would be a shame to paint. Also, make sure to get the decals right. All that said, I must say that I do like the look of an authentically aged unfinished headstock even with a maple board--complete with cigarette stains, nicks and other storied blemishes, of course.

 

[FrenchBassQC]

When it's done with taste, not like this...

 

[sikamikanico]

Rosewood board = Yes
Maple board = No

This. It looks good only with dark fretboards such as rosewood. Pictures in this thread confirmed it for me

But it's optional. I wouldn't go out of my way to do it. But if you do do it - do it well!

 

[Lonnybass]

Here's a matching headstock / body dye job on a birdseye maple cap.

 

[giannispezza]

 

[B-Mac]

Just curious...........does this thread in any way, shape or form replace or augment this existing thread and (defunct) club? The Official Matching Headstock Club

 

[+6dB Dan]

I say yes, match 'em!

I agree with a number of folks on here: matching headstocks look best with darker fingerboards. But they can look nice with lighter fingerboards too.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Always. I prefer them so much, I sent my two Zons (which I purchased used) back to the shop to have matching wood headstocks added, which is quite a bit harder than just painting them.
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