CHEESY???!!?? No way!!!

ALL the players I've admired...Hendrix, Trower, Blackmore, Lowell George,Bolin......all had these large headstocked guitars. It gave them even MORE coolness..if that's possible. They wouldn't look the same playing anything less!

I, personally think it's GORGEOUS!!

I wouldn't have it ANY other way!!

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I refuse to have a battle of the wits with an unarmed man!

I have no preference--as long as the headstock is well made and does its job.

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It wasn't Willy-Nilly, it was at crows.

I've got no preference, but honestly don't understand why this is such an issue for so many.

If it's a good guitar and I like the way if plays and sounds I'm not fussy about details like the colour of the finish or the aesthetics of the headstock design.

But that's just me.

+1 Nothing screams Hendrix like a fat headstock.

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Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

Personally, I feel that the design of the original Stratocaster headstock was perfection in its self and I just don't see any point or reason in trying to alter it in any way.

The larger headstock is/was 'ok', but it just isn't the same, and it just seems to me that they were trying to change something for the sake of changing it, and Fender themselves obviously realised this, as they soon reverted back to the original design before too long (even though it is still used on various models today).

There have been many other companies that have tried to come up with various different designs for a single sided headstock (is that what they are called? All tuning keys on one side anyway...) but none of them have come close to anything that looks as perfect, simple and instantly recognisable as the original Stratocaster design.

I've actually designed (or tried to) a solid body electric guitar myself which one day I hope to get round to building, and I have to say, nothing was more troublesome than to come up with a good 'original' looking design for the single sided headstock. I just kept on ending up drawing a Stratocaster headstock(or something that too closely resembled one)! To my mind, it really is impossible to better that classic, iconic design (or even come close for that matter).

Anyway, that's my rant on the subject

Russ

Rosewood fretboard, 9 1/2 inch radius, medium jumbo frets, 21 frets (or 22, doesn't matter), small headstock.
But, I admit large headstocks do look meaner. They remind me of Ritchie Blackmore.

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"If you're on a path that's beaten, it's not your path." Joseph Campbell

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."

"All that is impossible remains to be achieved."
Jules Verne

www.stratcollector.com

The large 70’s style head stock is a thing of beauty for me.. the smaller ones look chinsy and too much like a telecaster to me. The tele neck looks like a twig just not visually attractive to me at all and in turn the small strat head stock has no flair. The strat body has most beautiful curves I think the head stock should have as well to keep the whole work of art in peroration ….if I wanted it to look like a broomstick I’ll play a broom…….

Cheers
Bill

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(80’s Hair Metal) = A snapshot in time before Grunge ruined Rock & Roll forever!!!!

definately small headstock. I don't like th over sized one - it looks clumsy to me and lacking in finesse

It's funny to read people's biases. People who prefer the original headstock refer to the CBS headstock as "oversized," "fat" and "clumsy," while fans of the CBS headstock call the original "chintzy" and "small."

I like them both, with possibly a slight preference for the CBS style. Would I be stirring the pot too much if I said I like the Jazzmaster headstock best of all? It's kind of the best of both:



Vive la différence!

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I really like all them "Aster" guitars. You know, like the Stratoc, Telec and Jazzm.

I have no preference. I like mine. If I had a different one, I'd like that too.

In the grand scheme of things... does it really matter?

Bigsby came close.

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Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

The 70's does look's MiM'ish as I own one. C pic.

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/ ... hp?t=33521

-1 Nothing screams wide neck ties and bell bottoms like a fat headstock. I lived through the era and would rather forget. Keep my headstock small!

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Custom Shop '59 Stratocaster
AV Hot Rod '52 Telecaster
AV '56 Stratocaster
'65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue

Owning 3 65 Fenders I have grown to love the 60s headstocks not only for size but for the Klusons with the slotted posts,it's so easy to change a set of strings with them,you just pull the string tight,wind it around the post once or twice and slip it into the slot and tune to pitch.That method takes less than half the time of regular tuners.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Love the big headstock!