Reverse headstocks; are there actual benefits?

Actual benefit - reversed inline headstocks do not aggravate my left hand Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (normal ones do). That's enough for me (looks cooler as an extra bonus).

 

I'm curious as to how it's helpful with CTS. My brain is not giving me an answer.

 

i have no clue!

i haven't heard any "claims," except yours and bholder 's about the tuning thing, and i get that...makes sense to me to limit extension and to 'reach' more easily. and bholder's "looks cool" POV has merit for those who embrace that aesthetic.

TBH: i've always assumed that axes that are factory-built with reverse headstocks = looks (to make a statement, protest the commonplace, get attention, etc.).

i'm looking forward to hearing about any other benefits: i'd like to know before i go and order a half-dozen left-handed, fretless necks!

 

Having the tuners "on top" in the normal position requires me to put my left wrist in an awkward and pinched position to reach the tuners, so much that actually turning a stubborn tuner has a good chance of causing me a "CTS twinge" rendering my hand useless for a few seconds (almost like hitting the "funny bone" but in the wrist, feels like it vibrates like a tuning fork or a rung bell).
TL;DR Tuners on top bad.

 

They look cool

 

I like them and they are easier to tune.

Sometimes I use hybrid model headstocks, half regular half reverse. Very rare... very specialized...

 

If there was, they would be marketing them like hot cakes. They remind me of '80s metal bands to be honest.

 

I find it less convenient to tune when they are reversed. IME, It's easier to bang them and I find no benefits.

 

There seem to be some people believing that "a longer string is tighter" is true even beyond the nut.
I think this is discussed to death and beyond here on TB because of the Fodera Extended B Headstock.
For people believing in this thesis, a reversed headstock must be pure bliss.

 

Come to think of it, I do a lot of restringing across all of my different instruments, and I've taken to always using a winder of some sort (preferably the battery auto-winder if it' handy) to avoid the likelihood of "top tuner wrist twinge" - I think it's not just CTS, but the repetitive stress of turning an upper tuner manually for a whole bunch of turns (like in restringing) definitely risks a twinge. I've taken to holding the instruments upright facing me between my feet and knees and tune with a winder, completely avoids it. I don't pick up the instrument and tune in the normal position until I'm maybe a half turn low, just do the last tweaks that way.

 

If you can convince people to buy multiscale basses, you can convince them to buy anything.

 

I’m not touching this thread with a 10 foot pole.

 

Please leave the occasional left handed neck that shows up on EBay alone. Don’t you righties already have enough stuff?

 

Perhaps, but nothing world-changing.

 

Advantage: You don't have to twist your arm into an awkward position when tuning

Disadvantage: I can't simply swap out the E-string tuner with a Hipshot Xtender without a bunch of finagling. And since I need the ability to click in and out of drop-D (sometimes mid-song), the reverse headstock doesn't work for me.

 

I'm interested in this question too. I found this ad while searching out a Warmoth SS (32") neck.

Medium 32" Scale P Style Bass, Warmoth, Dimarzio, BadAss | eBay

The seller's claims about the headstock flip are pretty dramatic and in all his ad seems credible. IMO he built a nice bass and I was pretty close to buying it. That got me to consider RHS on my Warmoth 32" build. I am in the homework stages because I think aesthetics and ergonomics are not for me. I look forward to the knowledgeable replies to this thread.

 

Because multiscale basses have clear and demonstrable benefits, while reverse headstocks don't? I don't get it.

 

I have reversed headtocks on a couple of 5'ers. Reversed here means that it's not a 3 +2, but a 2+3. It's not obvious from this picture, but....doing it this way means the B string tuner is a bit further out from the nut, which means I can use certain string sets without winding any of the fat part of the B string around the post.

So, sometimes there is a logical reason to reverse a headstock, even if it is a nitpicky one.

 

From what I've read there is a lot of pseudo-science out there that supports such claims. "Actual" science? Not so much.

...which doesn't mean none, nor even that I am a confirmed skeptic; just that I haven't come across any genuine "science" that supports the purported advantages of longer path lengths behind the nut for thicker/lower strings and vice-versa.