Did the headstock change because it give a better tone or sound or was it just an aesthetic quality?

Interesting question.

Im not sure, but I'd bet capos to plectrums its for aesthetic reasons. Everything was bigger in the 70s, hair, pant legs... ummm... well hair and pant legs for a start.

I still cant decide if I prefer the small or the large headstock but that's a whole other can of worms.

Seems to me I remember reading they changed it to balance the look out more and of course later on the logo changed so "It Could be Seen Clearer on TV"

I have also heard some even said to "Fix" warping...now I don't know about that but I have never seen a pre cbs headstock that was warped

I don't think we will ever truely know why, but I like the small one better, but then again it is the look of the seventies strat.

FWIW

T2

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What time is it? It's Fender Time.

Added mass on the neck to increase sustain. Supposedly
Load of old twaddle.

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No no and no

The enlarged headstock was introduced with the 1966 model year. The Jaguar and Mustang used it from their initial introduction a couple of years previously so it wasn't much of a leap for the company to apply it to all instruments in the line (excepting the Telecaster). The larger headstock decal showed up around mid-year 1968.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Purely so the BIGGER logo could stand out more! LOL If there is a tone or sustain enhancement, it was purely an accidental result. I personally can't tell a difference between the small and large headstocks, sustain or tone-wise.

I've never been able to hear a difference. However I do prefer the smaller headstock, I think the big one looks almost comical, out of proportion and cheap.

Just my personal preference.

They didn't (as Arjay explained).

One thing most people tend to forget is that the large headstock was Leo Fender's idea, not the work of the evil CBS corporation. Leo still worked for the company after the sale to CBS.

The Jazzmaster was the first Fender to get the bigger headstock ... it was to spread throughout the model line ...

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

exactly Orville,but to most people the large headstock will always represent CBS....just like they don't realize that Blackface amps were made longer under CBS than Pre-CBS.

I read somewhere it was easier and cheaper to manufacture the larger headstocks.

Add this to Arjay's comment and I think we most probably have the answer.

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Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

-Standardization. Most of their other guitars had big headstocks (and large font, see below) at the time. From a production (and yes, cost) standpoint, it made sense to standardize.

-Branding. The Stratocaster (and it's small headstock) had no huge cache (yet) then. It was the FENDER® brand that was most important in the guitar-boom 60's and the headstock shape defined this from distance, so why not make it larger like other models. Plus, it gave more room to use the more-modern, much more-readable Bold Italic font, which helped branding also (and was easier to produce, see above).

–Oh, and Leo must have been on board. Note the shape of his G&L guitars.

All good points. Of course Leo was on board; he designed those headstocks for the Jazzmaster, Jaguar, and Mustang. CBS just decided to streamline production by moving almost all the guitars to that headstock early in their ownership of the company. Actually the early Jazzmasters don't have as large a headstock as the original Jaguars and Mustangs; it was this later-style headstock that was standardized.

Leo did use larger headstocks on the original Music Man guitars and the early G&L guitars. He also came up with the 3-bolt/microtilt neck attachment and used it on his Music Man and G&L guitars. The difference is that Fender's production schedule caused the neck pockets to be cut sloppily, allowing them to move around more. The Music Mans and the G&Ls have deeper neck pockets cut to tighter tolerations.

Note: The current Ernie Ball/Music Man guitars are completely different designs created after Ernie Ball purchased the bankrupt MM company in 1984. They do still make the original Sting Ray bass and they did produce the Sabre bass for a number of years after acquiring the company.

Because they wanted to make them look dorkey.

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I remember when we were free!

I asked this question back when it happened. The answer I received: To immediately differentiate between CBS and Pre-CBS instruments and for enabling a larger, more eye catching logo.

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You dig?