Best headstock shape (except fender)?

[MoonBassAlpha]

Or the Parker one? Not a huge surprise, if it's not here 6 pages in....

[4000]

On 02/01/2021 at 17:30, Stub Mandrel said:

No love for the MM Bongo headstock?

That's a surprise...

Actually, I do quite like the Bongo headstock. 

[4000]

18 hours ago, MoonBassAlpha said:

Or the Parker one? Not a huge surprise, if it's not here 6 pages in....

Quite like that too. 

[Baloney Balderdash]

I prefer symmetric headstocks, aka 2+2, 3+2, 3+3, and actually quite like the one Ibanez uses for their current production bass models, though admittedly it works best for their 4 string basses, I could have wished that Ibanez would have expanded it slightly for my 6 string bass, as it somewhat gives me association to those shrunken heads that used to be popular among certain cannibalistic "primitive" tribes, and additionally, unlike the 4 strings, can't keep the strings in a perfect straight line to avoid pull on the nut.

 

Not from any of my 3 Ibanez basses, but here's a random modern Ibanez bass headstock from Google : 

  

 

 

My all time favorite head stock is the classic B.C Rich one though (even if it got even more of an issue of the strings being impossible to keep in straight line to avoid pull on the nut) :

 

Finally I also really like the ESP headstock, which seems to be somewhat of a middle ground between the Ibanez and the BC Rich ones :

 

But actually, the headstock on this sub-short 28 5/8" scale bass that was build out of Warmoth baritone parts and on which I designed the headstock myself, is by far my most favorite headstock design ever, even if it doesn't really suits this bass at all, and could do with a black finish and a slight down shrinking as well before it would be just perfect (but the basic design and shape is there, just needs to be slightly smaller, but while retaining the same relative proportions), it ought to be quite obvious that I clearly draw it with heavy inspiration from the B.C Rich headstocks, just with asymmetrical staggered horns and a few other minor differences that in my modest and honest opinion though makes it look both much cooler, and one might even say somewhat more artistic and classic, as far as I am concerned having a bit less kitschy/cartoonish edginess and a bit more class, compared to the B.C Rich one (unfortunately I was stupid enough to sell this bass at some point, really a shame cause it was quite unique and actually sounded really great as well) :

Edited January 4, 2021 by Baloney Balderdash

[LeftyJ]

7 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Not from any of my 3 Ibanez basses, but here's a random modern Ibanez bass headstock from Google : 

  

I also like the Soundgear headstock. It's simple, functional and aesthetically pleasing. I HATE the wonky string alignment though! With some slight alterations it would easily accommodate straight string pull. It also seems odd to me why they're sometimes 3+2 and sometimes 2+3. Also note the one below is slightly wider! It offers all the room needed to align the strings better, if they'd just moved the B-tuner closer to the nut. 

Edited January 4, 2021 by LeftyJ

[Stub Mandrel]

As basses don't (usually) have tremelo bridges, I think string pull angles are aesthetic rather than a real issue (in fact the geometry is such that a sideways pull can be used to make up for a low break angle. I always use a finger poke beyond the nut before being happy with my tuning anyway.

That said, parallel strings do look nicer, although it's not a killer issue for me.

I really, really struggle with droopy tuners though - I like them ideally all parallel to each other, or 90 degrees to the sides of the headstock. If a convex edge means they angle in, they can look a bit crowded, but better than a random angle with no relation to the other aesthetic elements.

[Woodinblack]

On 26/03/2020 at 15:54, Rich said:

Yep, shukers are my favourite

Surprised there isn't much love for the fender X12 'flacid' headstock, especially in its new Paranormal incarnation..

 

 

 

[Guest]

I presume the TRBX headstock takes the SR as its model (the neck specs are an almost exact copy, too)

[LeftyJ]

5 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

I presume the TRBX headstock takes the SR as its model (the neck specs are an almost exact copy, too)

Probably served as inspiration, yes 

The TRBX is the successor (and more or less a merge) of two earlier series, the TRB and the RBX (which copies a LOT from the Soundgear series). The headstock shape you pictured originates from the TRB series, which was introduced in 1997, 10 years after the first Soundgear. 

[Stub Mandrel]

33 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

Surprised there isn't much love for the fender X12 'flacid' headstock, especially in its new Paranormal incarnation..

 

Edited January 4, 2021 by Stub Mandrel

[AlexMUK]

Hiw about this one? 3+2, small headstock for balance and to avoid dead spots.. 

 

 

[bassmayhem]

I just had to...
The headstock of my Steinberger XL2...

[AndyTravis]

ESP/ltd Horizon/304 - elegant teardrop.

[Cosmo Valdemar]

40 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

ESP/ltd Horizon/304 - elegant teardrop.

I prefer the original with the upside down tuners.

 

 

Unfortunately it's prone to ham-fisted restringing, like the poor Bass Collections

 

[LeftyJ]

1 hour ago, AndyTravis said:

ESP/ltd Horizon/304 - elegant teardrop.

Commonly referred to as the ESP c*ckstock. I like the look though, had one on a ESP Horizon guitar. 

Edited January 4, 2021 by LeftyJ

[Ltsal]

I’ve got this to offer.
The graphite headstock of my Bogart Bass.