Tooslowhand wrote:Just my opinion, but I don't like reverse headstocks. Makes me feel like someone should send it back because the factory made a mistake. Maybe I'm hallucinating, but I thought G&L basses had 6 neck attachment screws
I can understand that.
I have loved the aesthetic of a reverse headstock long before I ever understood the physics of string bending.
Two strings of different lengths can be tuned to the same note, but the longer string will have a higher tension. That is why it is easier to bend strings on a Les Paul than on a Strat. We say this is because a Les Paul has a smaller "scale length" (the distance between the nut and the bridge), but actually the tension is across the whole string unless the string is locked at the nut.
Flipping a strat/tele style neck means decreasing the tension on the thinner strings (which now have a decreased string length compared to the normal orientation of the headstock) , and increasing the tension on the thicker strings.
That means the strings you're more likely to bend are more easily bent, and the strings you're less likely to bend are harder to bend. We're talking about a difference of only about 11.4% (average) shift in tension, but it is a large enough difference to be noticeable on the thin strings - like the difference between playing on 9s vs. on 11s.
If, like SRV, you get fatter strings on your Strat, and tune down a half-step while playing on a reverse headstock neck... I am just saying that that alone would probably make it easier to play on thicker strings. And since thicker strings will have a larger effect on magnetic fields, you'd be able to suck more tone into the signal (because of the string thickness) such that you can have the benefit of more tone from the string thickness by mitigating the tension on thicker strings via the reduced string length. The purist in me wants to be able to effortlessly punch out 2.5 note bends on a set of 12s - but all efforts to do so end in me giving up long before said digital mightiness ensues.
None of that really changes the fact that I like the look of the reverse headstocks. I liked that a neck with a reversed headstock looked like the player playing it either couldn't afford a "proper" neck, because he was so ghetto, or maybe he was just anti-establishment - bucking the norm with an in-your-face "wrong-way" neck. There was a time when that was something I thought was real cool.
I still like the aesthetic - but now I want one for the bend-i-fits
too. I no longer feel energized by trying to emulate an image - rather I just like what I like and don't give a rat's about what anything thinks. In other words, I am over 50, and at peace with my persnickety self.
I don't do a lot of bending on my bass though. So it might not be as functional an option (for me at least) as it is an aesthetic - but that wouldn't stop me.
I smiled warmly when I read the bit about it looking like a factory mistake. It does look that way! I kinda like that.