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Why This Obsession With The Fender Headstock?

#41
It's just a copy of this anyway.

copy.jpg
 
#44
I admit that I love the fender headstock. Just on fenders, not on other basses though.

To me the fender headstock combined to a jazz bass body is one of the all time greats of industrial design. Kind of like the original coca cola bottle. Curvy, sexy and balanced. And to combine a jazz bass body with other style of headstock usually does clash with my aesthetic sense. It's most apparent when looking at some brilliant boutique super J's as many of them instantly catch my eye for just missing something from the total package even if I love the instrument itself.

I also admit that I'm more drawn to shapes that appeal me compared to finish of the instrument.
 
#45
Joey3313 said:
I'm not even particularly crazy about the Fender headstock, but spiky/pointy ones like the new SXs just look dumb to me, IMO.

Dean, Peavey, BC Rich (clearly not the vintage ones, which had a nice looking headstock) and all the rest with jagged headstocks just look off to me, regardless of body shape.
Click to expand...

B.C.RICH+WARLOCK+TETE+WIDOW+SERIE+BRONZE.jpg


So you're saying this should have a round headstock? :hmm:


Not sure how you could call the new SX HS 'spiky/pointy' either...

You on acid bro?

:D I kid, I kid!
 
#49
farbeyondwillie said:
I've heard Leo stole it from Paul B. (Not that I agree with that). For all I know they came up with it at the exact same time on the same day of the same month.

Link Removed

If you go to that link there will be a pic of bigsby's.
Click to expand...

Bigsby did do that shape a little bit before before Leo, according to most guitar historians, but C.F.Martin, the founding father of Martin guitars, did a few guitars with a similar style headstock design back in the 19th century. It seems that nothing is really original if you dig back far enough.
 
#53
Kwesi said:
I gotta disagree with you there man. The look of a bass is an extremely important feature to me and the headstock is a huge part of the look. The headstock is often a bass company's most prominent feature simply because it is usually the easiest way to recognize that company. A company may have loads of body shapes but you rarely see any with more than two headstock designs. Even without the logo I can tell you pretty loads of different companies bassed on shape alone. The headstock makes a very strong aesthetic statement and can truly be a make or break feature for certain people, me included. There are plenty of basses that I refuse to own because their headstock designs just look awful to me (Sukop, Linc Luthier, The Low End, among others).



To the OP, perhaps it is because Fender did it first, but their headstock design is easily the single most iconic visual feature of their basses because it's on every single one and it's looks damn good! I think the "flow" between a headstock and body is important. They have to look like they make sense and for Fender basses (and a whole lot of others) that headstock shape makes a whole lot of sense! My current favorite headstock?

IMG_2158.gif
Click to expand...

+1
 
#54
IMHO a headstock needs to look right with the body otherwise it looks like a mere appendage or just an afterthought instead of an integral part of the whole design.

What it boils down to is personal preferences and choices. Some people are very concerned with the headstock and how it looks just like some people are concerned with other people's headstock preferences.
 
#57
The newer SX headstock has no shape or design creativity at all and looks like something from a middleschool woodshop. Previously their Jaguar type basses had neck dive problems with the old headstock, so what did they do? Added MORE wood to the headstock rather than less, and made it a design that wasn't near as conducive to altering the headstock design.

So... no more SX bass projects for me.


.
 
#60
1st Place Winner:

"LEAST IMAGINATIVE DESIGN" Award for the most BLAH variation on a Fender Headstock.


While their basses are excellent, I wouldn't even consider buying one because of this awful headstock. It demeans the rest of the instrument.

A-C should strongly consider a redesign.

:rolleyes:
 

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