Anyone know where the Fender headstock design came from?
- SPudnik
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Anyone know where the Fender headstock design came from?
I beleive I know, but I'll let it simmer a while...
BTW, this very topic got zapped in less than an hour in another forum.
(edit: Thanks Jay, for the move.)
BTW, this very topic got zapped in less than an hour in another forum.
(edit: Thanks Jay, for the move.)
Last edited by SPudnik on Mon Oct 09, 2006 8:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Anyone know where the Fender headstock design came from?
was it this....??
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Re: Anyone know where the Fender headstock design came from?
Isn't it essentially a violin-style scroll headstock viewed from the side? There's some old variants here.
(deep-linking from that site:)
I'm pretty sure uncle Leo nicked the Bigsby design though, yeah.
(deep-linking from that site:)
I'm pretty sure uncle Leo nicked the Bigsby design though, yeah.
Last edited by Orang Goreng on Tue Oct 10, 2006 1:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Anyone know where the Fender headstock design came from?
that's a great question, guys, i'd never thought about that before. good answers too.
now here's food for thought: what if back in the day, Leo had had a totally different design aesthetic, and given us a headstock shaped like, mmm, a BC Rich? would history have happened in reverse: metalheads caressing supple, Jazzmaster-like curves, and we off-setters trying not to impale ourselves?
(shudders at thought)
now here's food for thought: what if back in the day, Leo had had a totally different design aesthetic, and given us a headstock shaped like, mmm, a BC Rich? would history have happened in reverse: metalheads caressing supple, Jazzmaster-like curves, and we off-setters trying not to impale ourselves?
(shudders at thought)
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Re: Anyone know where the Fender headstock design came from?
I've always heard the theory that it came from the Merle Travis Bigsby guitar (as nealescott said), but that theory is always qualified with a statement such as 'though no one knows for sure'.
Although it's speculation, I personally feel that it's very likely, as that design pre-dates the first Fender that used it.
Although it's speculation, I personally feel that it's very likely, as that design pre-dates the first Fender that used it.
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Re: Anyone know where the Fender headstock design came from?
and if you look at Leo's first design (the broadcaster) it is a very subdued version of the bigby headstock. The 6 inline tuners are there , but the shape is , shall we say, conservative.
The strat was next and it takes on a bit more shape. Then the JM and finally with the Jaguar we have almost the bigsby headstock
The strat was next and it takes on a bit more shape. Then the JM and finally with the Jaguar we have almost the bigsby headstock
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Re: Anyone know where the Fender headstock design came from?
Then CBS appear and all of a sudden the headstocks bloat up like Elvis did around the same time.
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Re: Anyone know where the Fender headstock design came from?
The pine-bodied proto Tele from the late 40s actually had a 3x3 headstock!
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Lol @ mecalhead...
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Re: Anyone know where the Fender headstock design came from?
dc wrote:
that's a great question, guys, i'd never thought about that before. good answers too.
now here's food for thought: what if back in the day, Leo had had a totally different design aesthetic, and given us a headstock shaped like, mmm, a BC Rich? would history have happened in reverse: metalheads caressing supple, Jazzmaster-like curves, and we off-setters trying not to impale ourselves?
(shudders at thought)
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Re: Anyone know where the Fender headstock design came from?
You mean this could have been an offset?dc wrote:
that's a great question, guys, i'd never thought about that before. good answers too.
now here's food for thought: what if back in the day, Leo had had a totally different design aesthetic, and given us a headstock shaped like, mmm, a BC Rich? would history have happened in reverse: metalheads caressing supple, Jazzmaster-like curves, and we off-setters trying not to impale ourselves?
(shudders at thought)
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Re: Anyone know where the Fender headstock design came from?
pullover wrote:
You mean this could have been an offset?
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Re: Anyone know where the Fender headstock design came from?
OK
Leo may have ripped it off from Bigsby but...
The "original" design came from old furniture!
Yes, it's true.
My parents had a rocking chair built in the 1800s, and the back edges were that very design - more like a Tele...
I doubt if it is coincidence as it was used a lot, and given Leo's & Bigsby's ages, he [they?] was [were] bound to have seen it.
Of course YMMV... Sorry, no pics.
Leo may have ripped it off from Bigsby but...
The "original" design came from old furniture!
Yes, it's true.
My parents had a rocking chair built in the 1800s, and the back edges were that very design - more like a Tele...
I doubt if it is coincidence as it was used a lot, and given Leo's & Bigsby's ages, he [they?] was [were] bound to have seen it.
Of course YMMV... Sorry, no pics.
Bass VI - A What?
Re: Anyone know where the Fender headstock design came from?
Man, but I love 70s Fender headstocks. The huge headstock was one of the reasons I fell in love with Jaguars in the first place.mezcalhead wrote: Then CBS appear and all of a sudden the headstocks bloat up like Elvis did around the same time.
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Re: Anyone know where the Fender headstock design came from?
Same here, a Jazzmaster headstock is as small as I am willing to go on a Fender. Stratocasters just don't look right until they get a big headstock.idiotbear wrote:Man, but I love 70s Fender headstocks. The huge headstock was one of the reasons I fell in love with Jaguars in the first place.mezcalhead wrote: Then CBS appear and all of a sudden the headstocks bloat up like Elvis did around the same time.
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Re: Anyone know where the Fender headstock design came from?
More mass in a headstock supposedly adds sustain and reduces dead spots.
The experts, (physics folks) claim that this makes more difference than adding a heavy bridge, hence the use of Fatfingers, etc.
As an experiment I tried attaching a large metal clamp to the Bass VI's headsock - made a noticeable difference... + Serious neck-dive.
The experts, (physics folks) claim that this makes more difference than adding a heavy bridge, hence the use of Fatfingers, etc.
As an experiment I tried attaching a large metal clamp to the Bass VI's headsock - made a noticeable difference... + Serious neck-dive.
Bass VI - A What?