Does anyone know the history of the large headstocks commencing from the fifties which were small, then I think they came back in the early sixties and seventies and then vanished until the eighties and are now back in the new millinium is this correct ?

The large headstock, huh?

It first appeared on the Stratocaster after the CBS Corporation's takeover of the Fender Company, ie, in 1965.

However, the Jazzmaster and later the Jaguar had headstocks that were larger than the headstock found on the '50s Stratocasters. For information and pictures see this web site. So when people think that the large Strat headstock shape was an invention of the hated CBS, they are wrong on two fronts: first, Leo was leaning towards getting larger as witnessed by his Jazzmaster and Jaguar designs; and second, Leo was still working for CBS in 1965!

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

They first appeared in 1966 (after CBS took over in 1965), and remained until 1980, I think. There might have been a few stragglers left at the beginning of the '80s, like the '81 International Colour Series. As far as I know, most '80s Fenders before the advent of the Dan Smith era were pretty much leftover '79s that CBS was trying to shift before they moved on. Most recent large-headstock models have been reissues of guitars from '66-'79, or guitars which are intended to evoke that period in some way. There may be a couple of artist models that feature large headstocks... someone with a more encyclopedic grasp of the subject will have to clarify!

[edit] oops...OK, it takes me a while to frame my thoughts sometimes... thanks, orvilleowner...

Ok thanks for that, so it was first launched in 1959 on the Jazzmaster. So why then has a poster here gone and paid a lot of money to a CS to make a relic CS 1960 strat and he has a large headstock. Wouldnt you think CS would tell him or know the difference, he has a nice guitar but if what you say is true its not a proper RI 1960 ?

I don't know the exact guitar you're referring to, but the CS has been known to produce "60s Relic" Strats, which are more like a compendium of players' favourite features from that decade. The 60s models would differ from a straight-out 1960 Time Machine model, in that they might have early-'60s pickups or ones voiced more like '65s, a rosewood slab board on a guitar that's otherwise pre-'62 in its appointments, or a late-'60s big headstock for those who like them. A 1960 (as opposed to '60s in general) model would be as close as it was possible to get to an actual 1960 guitar, down to the tooling marks and the nail holes left after the paint was applied.

Well mondo if thats how CS do it what a waste of money when you can source your own quality pieces and produce your own Custom for 2000k less,
what are we paying for a sticker logo that says CS, if all the parts you use are quality Fender parts that strat you build will be respected.

Mmmm... well... I'm not the greatest authority on these things. I think that the guitars I have in mind are more like the Dealer Select series, where the Custom Shop will make up a special run of instruments with requested features for a specific dealer. Plenty of people like the vintage feel combined with some of the more recent innovations... the CS Deluxe Players would be another example (or whatever the CS version of the Deluxe is these days!). Period authenticity is not always the goal, certainly not if it affects playability.

I know that I sure as hell won't ever be building a guitar of Custom Shop quality myself... heh... I know my limitations! You should go play one to see what the fuss is about. Actually, I'm always a bit timid myself, but you should go to one of the shops on Parramatta road in Annandale and just tell them you want to compare whatever CS guitar they have in there with its nearest vintage counterpart. Jackson's had a CS '54 and the real thing not long ago; they always say that anyone is free to go in and play their guitars -- I've just not put it to the test. Pretty stupid of me, considering I've bought a couple of (non-vintage) guitars from them.

vinny, there was no it. You seemed to have missed a subtle point in what I wrote and what is shown at the very informative web site I linked to. That point is this: compared to the Strat's small headstock of 1954-1965, there are many slightly different large headstocks.

The Jazzmaster had it's version of a "large" headstock, then the Jaguar had it's version of a "large" headstock, and then CBS introduced it's version of the large headstock in late 1965. Of course, the latter is what most people mean by "the large headstock" in regards discussions about the Stratocaster.

The bad news is that Lonely Boy has the CBS version of the Large Headstock, not that of the Jazzmaster or the Jaguar.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Its ok orvilleowner as I have now dated Lonely Boy on my add to read 62 - 68