Is The Fender Headstock The Wrong Way Round?

[cytania]

So I was putting away my Steve Miller CD when I noticed the band picture looked weird. Or rather Gerald Johnson's bass. So I googled him up and saw this

[url="http://www.myspace.com/geraldjohnson101/photos"]http://www.myspace.com/geraldjohnson101/photos[/url]

A left-handed body with a right hander's neck bolted on?! Clearly his bass of choice not a pawn shop find.

What can you see as the advantages or drawbacks of this arrangement?

Did Leo get it wrong?

Edited September 13, 2011 by cytania

[thisnameistaken]

I imagine it makes the machines more difficult to use, but aesthetically I think a reversed Fender-style headstock looks better, it almost creates an extra line of symmetry with the body, with the angle between the two cutaways and the 'offset body' on a Jazz.

I've been meaning to stick a lefty neck on my Squier Jazz but I never get around to it.

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='cytania' post='1372522' date='Sep 13 2011, 09:04 PM']....What can you see as the advantages or drawbacks of this arrangement?

Did Leo get it wrong? [/quote]
I'm currently building a right hander with a lefty neck which will be strung BEAD to test the theories of string tension and scale.

[Spike Vincent]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1372552' date='Sep 13 2011, 09:24 PM']I'm currently building a right hander with a lefty neck which will be strung BEAD to test the theories of string tension and scale.[/quote]


Can I have the neck when you've finished the test? They're not that common....I believe there is a difference in string tension although I can't say I noticed any appreciable difference when I had a right handed neck on a lefty.

[Mickeyboro]

In 1982 I was at the SMB soundcheck at the Hammy Odeon when Gerald failed to show (I was interviewing the drummer). I was cheekilyvgoing to suggest I stood in until I realised I couldn't play left-handed...

Interviewed Miller years later and he recalled GJ had been stuck in traffic. He played bass on the soundcheck in the end

[Lfalex v1.1]

Tim Commerford of Rage against the machine has at least 1 Jazz with a lefty neck. Don't know about tunings - At least drop "D" judging by "Evil Empire"
He cites string tension as the reason. Apparently he (over)winds his own pick-ups, too.

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='Spike Vincent' post='1372558' date='Sep 13 2011, 09:27 PM']Can I have the neck when you've finished the test? They're not that common....I believe there is a difference in string tension although I can't say I noticed any appreciable difference when I had a right handed neck on a lefty.[/quote]
You wouldn't want it mate... there's going to be some weird modification for something happening at the other end of the bass which will make it a real one-off.

[cytania]

Ou7shined - I'm now imagining your place to be like Q's lab in a Bond movie, but for basses.

"Careful with that 007, it may look like a P bass but it has a laser and tear gas built in for difficult gigs."

[charic]

A flame thrower would be more fun

[Graham]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='1372569' date='Sep 13 2011, 09:36 PM']Tim Commerford of Rage against the machine has at least 1 Jazz with a lefty neck. Don't know about tunings - At least drop "D" judging by "Evil Empire"
He cites string tension as the reason. Apparently he (over)winds his own pick-ups, too.[/quote]
In Audioslave he played B-E-A-D, might be why

[mike257]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='1372569' date='Sep 13 2011, 09:36 PM']Tim Commerford of Rage against the machine has at least 1 Jazz with a lefty neck. Don't know about tunings - At least drop "D" judging by "Evil Empire"
He cites string tension as the reason. Apparently he (over)winds his own pick-ups, too.[/quote]


[quote name='Graham' post='1372800' date='Sep 14 2011, 08:27 AM']In Audioslave he played B-E-A-D, might be why[/quote]

^^^^ This - used them for his low tuned basses in Audioslave. He's always buggering about with his gear - think he had Fender put them together for him. Back on right-handed necks (and also seen rocking Laklands) on the more recent RATM appearances.

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='cytania' post='1372775' date='Sep 14 2011, 08:00 AM']Ou7shined - I'm now imagining your place to be like Q's lab in a Bond movie, but for basses.

"Careful with that 007, it may look like a P bass but it has a laser and tear gas built in for difficult gigs."[/quote]
[quote name='charic' post='1372782' date='Sep 14 2011, 08:09 AM']A flame thrower would be more fun [/quote]
Ooh you guys are giving me evil thoughts.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1372552' date='Sep 13 2011, 09:24 PM']I'm currently building a right hander with a lefty neck which will be strung BEAD to test the theories of string tension and scale.[/quote]

[quote name='Spike Vincent' post='1372558' date='Sep 13 2011, 09:27 PM']I believe there is a difference in string tension although I can't say I noticed any appreciable difference when I had a right handed neck on a lefty.[/quote]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='1372569' date='Sep 13 2011, 09:36 PM']He cites string tension as the reason. Apparently he (over)winds his own pick-ups, too.[/quote]
There will be no difference in tension. Tension is dependant on the speaking length of the string, the unit mass of the string and the note produced. Extra string length beyond the nut and the the saddles is irrelevant.

However there may be a difference in compliance (and therefore feel of the string) which is affected by this extra string length.

[uncle psychosis]

[quote name='charic' post='1372782' date='Sep 14 2011, 08:09 AM']A flame thrower would be more fun [/quote]

...think Rammstein have already done that!

[Dave Vader]

Glenn Cornick of Jethro Tull famously played a Jazz bass with a lefty P-neck on it.
Sadly it was just because it was the only P-neck he could find, and because he didn't like Jazz width. Coolest bass ever though, I'd like one just like it.

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1372929' date='Sep 14 2011, 10:19 AM']There will be no difference in tension. Tension is dependant on the speaking length of the string, the unit mass of the string and the note produced. Extra string length beyond the nut and the the saddles is irrelevant.

However there may be a difference in compliance (and therefore feel of the string) which is affected by this extra string length.[/quote]
Ah, I see my stock response to threads like this is not required. Very good, that man. Carry on.

[Mog]

Didnt Washburn do this with the Nuno signature? Looks the part IMO.

[Paul S]

Not sure how relevant it is (6 string and all) but the [url="http://www.chapmanguitars.co.uk/guitars/standard/ml1/"]Chapman ML-1[/url] guitar was designed by customers, and they chose a reverse telecaster headstock, so maybe the symmetry is better that way around?

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='cytania' post='1372522' date='Sep 13 2011, 09:04 PM']What can you see as the advantages or drawbacks of this arrangement?

Did Leo get it wrong? [/quote]

After owning a couple fo basses that have had tuners on the underside of the headstock, and finding myself hitting them on various surfaces, and going out of tune, im glad Leo decided to put them on the top side of the headstock, where they have a bit more protection.

[BasH]

But for guitars it makes more sense.

Strings are less likely to go out of tune due to string bends, when the length after the nut is as short as possible (or the longer it is, the bigger the chance that the string will get out of tune).

Since you are mostly bending your GBE strings on a guitar, a reversed headstock is better in that respect.

[chris_b]

Players have always been swapping Fender parts. I saw Vic Briggs in Marshall's Hanwell shop taking the neck of one Strat, the body of another and the electrics and pickups of a third.

[Ghost_Bass]

From the pics i get the feeling he plays with reverse strings so the neck is also upside down because of it. In some string sets your E string isn't long enough to wrap around the farest machinehead! I don't know how old this gentleman is but i suspect there weren't any left-handed basses when he started out therefore he's used to play with a "normal" bass strung in the "normal" way but rotated due to him being lefty.
Try not to think of his bass as a left-handed model with a weird neck but more of a right-handed bass with a left-handed body!

Just out of curiosity, having a bass set up like his you'll get the E and A strings pickup closer to the bridge than the D and G strings pickup, [i]a la[/i] Sandberg! I'm very curious as to the sound of this particular bass...

edit: in this pick you can see what i'm saying:
[url="http://www.myspace.com/geraldjohnson101/photos/11059381/tagged#%7B%22ImageId%22%3A11059381%7D"]http://www.myspace.com/geraldjohnson101/ph...2%3A11059381%7D[/url]

Edited September 14, 2011 by Ghost_Bass

[Spike Vincent]

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' post='1373299' date='Sep 14 2011, 02:55 PM']Just out of curiosity, having a bass set up like his you'll get the E and A strings pickup closer to the bridge than the D and G strings pickup, [i]a la[/i] Sandberg! I'm very curious as to the sound of this particular bass...[/quote]


Yamaha used to do this pickup arrangement.It didn't catch on,though - ahem - in theory it should give a more balanced tone.JJ Burnel used one on The Raven.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='Johnston' post='1373494' date='Sep 14 2011, 06:17 PM']With guitars I always reckon it's just a hark back to the 80's pointy Jacksons and such.

Love to know why no one did a upside down headstocked gibbo les paul[/quote]
On the 80s pointy guitars the headstock orientation was purely aesthetic since the locking nut negated any compliance effect from having the lower notes with longer "dead string" lengths

As for the reversed Les Paul headstock... *grin*

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='Spike Vincent' post='1373324' date='Sep 14 2011, 03:24 PM']Yamaha used to do this pickup arrangement.It didn't catch on,though - ahem - in theory it should give a more balanced tone.JJ Burnel used one on The Raven.[/quote]

warwick, sandburg..... used a fair bit, i think it's something to do with how it interacts with a bridge pup