CudBucket Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 This weekend I made templates of my headstock so that I could plot out strings and place my turners. I want a straight from nut to post. I made the templates from 1/2" ply and then used a 3/8" bit to drill the holes where I marked them. The problem is that due to the shape of my headstock, the tuners aren't equi-distant from the headstock edge. The result is that the appearance is a little askew. To me anyway. Should I care about this as long as the position allows for a straight string path? You can see pics of my headstock on www.downinfrontht.com. I'm thinking of using Sternberger Headless tuners so that you won't see pegs at all. Either that or doing major surgery on the head to add stock to it and start over. Anyway, just looking for opinions. Thanks. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren wilson Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 Ideally, you should have worked out your string and tuner placement while you were designing your headstock, so you could get a headstock shape that works with the tuner placement required for straight string pull from the nut to the tuners. Now you have to make the function follow the form. The Steinberger tuners are definitely a good option, since they don't have to follow the edge of the headstock the way regular tuners do. You can now get them in chrome and gold as well as black, so they won't look too out of place with your (satin) chrome bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted February 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 Thanks for the reply Darren. You're right. I overlooked that at the design stage. I can't remember why I did that but I guess I figured the headstock was not that unusual. I know now that it's not exactly centered and the curves on each side are of different radii. I simply went with a design that was visually pleasing to me. Something to keep in mind with the next ones. Thanks again. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted February 22, 2005 Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 Headstocks are really tuff for me to design. I am never really happy with the way they look. Could you post up your headstock drawing? I am assuming it is CAD, or you could scan it as a pic. I can't make out the headstock really clearly. I hope I can offer a suggestion if I can see exactly what you are working with. Peace, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted February 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 Thanks Rich. I don't have a cad design but I suppose I could outline it and take a pic of it. Thanks. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted February 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 Here are some pics to help illustrate what I'm describing. The two pics on the bottom are of a plywood template with the holes and tuners installed. I didn't drill the indexing pin so they are sitting high on the template. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 (edited) Looks darn close. The strings won't line up straight (thru the nut) if you tried to drill with the side contours of the headstock? G tuner looks too far in but I realize if you moved it out you might wind up with the string on an angle after the nut. I'd still rethink it. There MUST be some way to satisfy both worlds, ie. strings straight and symmetrical, evenly spaced tuner arrangement. Good luck. Edited February 23, 2005 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 Mr. Bucket It looks to me like the G and B posts are centered on the strings not aligned with the side of the post. If you moved them out I think it would help your problem and actually keep the strings straight. If there is to be a bit of angle to the strings do it on the tuners closest to the end of the neck. The greater the distance from the nut to the tuner the less string angle you would have to deal with. I may be way off base here but IMO the small angle that you would have doesn't seem to be a problem. It will be a huge pain in the butt to turn those keys if they are too close to the headstock. P.S. When you made your headstock template. Did you draw it with a front view perspective? It looks like it is short. When viewed from the front or top view, the headstock appears shorter. When I draw my headstocks in CAD I make sure to establish the length from the nut based an its angle and redraw it accordingly for my headstock templates. Best of luck to ya man. I do like the staggered angles. I am sure you will get it worked out, a little tight but looks workable. See Ya, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren wilson Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 With a slight re-contouring of the headstock, you could have something that still looks good and fits with the body. Also, for what it's worth, i think it makes the headstock look cleaner if the tuners are angled so the buttons are in a flowing line that's parallel to the edge of the headstock, rather than "stairstep" style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 Looks to me like the G tuner is a bit too high (too close to the top of the headstock) and that's getting in the way of the D tuner sitting on its line. On the front of the headstock, you could do a bit more contouring of the treble side to get that G tuner peg to look right (it doesn't stick out far enough in comparison with the B and E tuners). Have a look at the Samick Greg Bennett headstocks, they're similar in idea to yours. You also think about different tuners--maybe vintage style Klusons with the longer tuner pegs? Or Grover Minis, which will give more room between pegs. You can get locking versions of those too. Save the Sperzels for a different project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted February 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 Thanks all! Yeah, I can see the problem with the G. That was obvious to me too. I've considered re-shaping the headstock like you suggest Darren. I think that's actually one of the easiest solutions. I may also just align the posts to the edge of the existing design. I won't get straight paths to the tuners but the angle won't be great because the headstock is so small. I'm also considering, in addition to the changes above, using Steinberger headless tuners and saving the Sperzels for my next one. You guys are great! I really appreciate you all taking the time to respond. I'll have my solution implemented today and share with you all. Thanks a ton! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted February 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 Ok, so I retraced my string layout on graph paper and then centered my headstock template over that and traced it's outline. Then I layed out my tuners closer to the edges of the headstock and ended up with a nice layout that will have a very slight splay (angle) to the strings. What do you think of it now? Thanks again fellas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibanezrocker61 Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 Looks good! I'm lovin those tuners, what kind are those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 Ok, so I retraced my string layout on graph paper and then centered my headstock template over that and traced it's outline. Then I layed out my tuners closer to the edges of the headstock and ended up with a nice layout that will have a very slight splay (angle) to the strings. What do you think of it now? ← I looked at my 3x3 guitars and they all have a slight angle, especially on the D and G strings, so I don't see any problem there (in fact, I think it adds to the overall look of this kind of headstock). Speaking of looks...while I like locking tuners a lot, I don't the ones you chose (they're Sperzels?) ...they just don't seem to work with the rounded lines of the headstock... Yeah, it's a nitpicking thing, but I got this weird things with machine heads, they just have to look 'right' to me, otherwise the whole guitar doesn't look right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted February 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 Yep, they're Sperzels and idch, I'm with you. I think rounded or oval tuners would look better. I've been thinking about making my own from some scrap birdseye maple. Thanks! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.