BIG or small Headstock?

[fuel]

What's your preference?
Personally I prefer small headstock. I believe alot of blackmore and malmsteen fans would think otherwise.

[Cohiba]

In this case as well, size do matter. Although here smaller is better

[1959burst]

small for me!

[Bluester]

I prefer the small headstock, but an Olympic White maple-cap with big head isn't exactly an ugly guitar! ;)

[OLIE J]

Small.

[Troy T. Blues]

I have 2 Strats with BIG headstocks (70's) and 3 small. I don't have a preference, but I lean toward the big headstock, very cool.

[FatStrat]

i dig the big stocks...someday imma have a warmoth strat or custom job with white blond finish, unfinish birdseye maple neck and large head stock. Totoise shell pick gaurd ;)

[burst_king]

Small, then big. I like the vintage '50s look. The big look isn't bad though. No real preference. :bigal

[Electron]

Small.

[SlabBoard]

Small, with "spaghetti logo." Classic look.

[Ed Driscoll]

Small headstock, small type--I love that classic 1950s Fender look.

Ed

[Dave Paetow]

I like them both.

[John Catto]

Traditionally I've always preferred the small headstocks, but over the years I'm coming to the realization that it's the logo that I prefer. The large headstock is largely concurrent with Fender switching over to the ugly heavy black logo. Certainly one of the best looking headstocks that Fender ever did was the first version Jazzmaster with the large (probably best shape they did too) headstock with the stylish florid logo. I wonder if Fender had stayed as "the old Fender" they would have carried the design consideration played with on the Jazzmaster headstock over to the Strat, for some reason CBS didn't have the design flair to make it work properly. It is of course also more reminiscent of the Paul Bigsby headstock that undoubtedly influenced Fender's design. I do know that Bill Carson pushed all through the 50's for Fender to go to the larger "Bigsby" style head.

[nicholas]

I like them both, but I have never owned a large headstocked strat before so I am having one made in flame maple with a brazilian board. I happen to have a nos spaghetti logo laying around I am thinking about putting on her to see what it would look like.

[Tim C.]

I had a '66 Strat that had the large headstock with the old spaghetti logo. Very cool. I think they called that the transition logo.

I like both styles but am a bit partial to the large headstock before they dropped the words with syncronized tremolo on them.
I think partly because that is the era that I started playing in and always liked the look of those guitars on stage.

I recently thought about buying a '69 relic Strat but passed because the neck had some chips in it that I didn't like.

I see the prices on large headstocks are on the way up in Vintage Guitar mag.

Tim C. :)

[brianf]

Small for sure.

brianf

[OneL]

I was a fan of the small headstock until I picked up a malmsteen strat last year. After playing that strat awhile I now prefer the large headstock though I don't care for the 3-bolt neck that goes along with it.

I think John Catto brings up a good point about the logos also. The jazzmaster logo in the pic is one of my favs. I would like to see one of those logos on a strat with a large headstock and 4-bolt neck.

[changeling]

big. no bullet..and a big-ass neck to go wid it.
peace

[Tim C.]

I have the large headstock on my '68 Hendrix Tribute Strat and it is way cool looking at it upside down when playing.

Tim C. :)

[VoodooVox]

I have to agree, the big head stock looks great reversed.

[TBoneDeluxe]

Small for me. Size doesn't matter...that's my motto!

TBD

[ShawnRT]

Small for me, but I'd take a large headstock strat if you forced me to

[Tonefiend]

Big or Small they are all good!

[Jimi's Bolero]

john catto, is that jazzmaster headstock the same shape as the one in Davepaf's avatar? it's just the stickers that are different, correct?

me, I'm large headstock all the way, I used to have a small headstock strat, nothing wrong with it, but the large ones look FUNKY!!

will a jazzmaster neck fit on a strat body?

[John Catto]

Originally posted by Jimi's Bolero
...is that jazzmaster headstock the same shape as the one in Davepaf's avatar? it's just the stickers that are different, correct?

No the shape is very slightly different. To my mind a touch more thought out but it's close.

will a jazzmaster neck fit on a strat body?

Yes, but a Jaguar neck won't since it's slightly shorter scale.

[1959burst]

they enlarged the headstock to stop the necks from twisting.

[Gazza]

Small.

[Jimi's Bolero]

cool comparison pics, thx!

I think I like the strat shape better, the arc under the "fender" logo looks more natural....the script logo & flower stuff on the jazzmaster looks better though.

I don't understand how/why a large headstock would be less prone to twisting?

I guess as long as you stayed away from the "Chubby Checker" tunes you'd be ok.....:)

[burst_king]

Thanks, John, I like the crispness of the Jazzmaster logo as well. The late '60s-'70s headstock is just too rounded for me.

[Aaron Maxon]

I have no preferrance on looks alone, but for playability I find the larger headstock adds enough mass to improve sustain. It just seems to hold on a little longer to me.

[gitardude]

<rainman voice>Small, definitely small

[Henrik]

The big headstock is a small piece of art IMHO -- the curvy design and proportions are amazing. Almost impossible to recreate on paper with a pencil too. I like the small one too, but it's way more ordinary, and too common.

I also love the Tele headstock. As Jimi's Bolero said, the big one is funky, and the Tele headstock profile screams "rock n' roll"!

The logo and tuners are also important. The big black and bold text is the coolest for my taste, and the small Kluson/F tuning posts and ferrules. All-maple also looks cooler than rosewood on a big hs neck.

[moozak]

i have a small one... but it's not the size that counts... it's... oh.. you said headstock! it's small too.

[Heritage 80]

Some folks claim the larger headstock's greater mass = improved sustain. (?)

[Clapton Fan]

ive read somewhere that jimi hendrix liked the bigger headstock cause he liked the tone he got from it (it was somewhat more thin or trebly), i myself prefer the 50s style headstock.

take care
T

[Riscchip]

I don't really have a preference, cosmetically speaking. Hendrix played the big heads, which automatically makes them cool in my book. The pre-CBS strats tend to be the most desirable / collectable, which sort of adds to the appeal of the small headstock.

If the strat smokes, I don't care which headstock it has.

[Stanze]

I'll use either one...The Vintage headstocks are kinda wack, My '57 Reissue's broke after a simple fall off a guitar stand.:\ (knocked over by my doofus ex-drummer Grrr!!!)

Check it out:


After the intial heart attack, It was expertly repaired by a well known and respect Luthier in town.

[Jimi's Bolero]

that's true, it's pretty much a fact that more headstock mass increases sustain.

remember those metal plates everyone was bolting to the back of their headstocks way back when?

I wonder if there is a relation between the mass of the player and the guitars sustain?

lets see....leslie west, lots of sustain, thick sound.

randy bachman....lots of sustain, thick sound. ( american woman solo!! --->although I have heard that trapping a small, furry canadian mammal, called a "Herzog", in a live tube amplifier while playing, will approximate this effect...:) )

david gilmour late '80's....lots of sustain.

so maybe I should be eating more donuts??? screw the headstock....

[BluejazzMalmsteen]

I prefer Large headstocks only because I grew up with them. Hendrix and others played them at the time. Which means if you had a small headstock...you essentially had a "Beach Boy" guitar...and that just wasnt cool at the time. Funny how things change.