Benefits to a Slotted headstock? - Page 3

Rudy4 · #31 01-14-2021, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colins

Plus one on Tim's comment, particularly when you want to use strings Newtones that can't be pre-cut.

And you can't put a nice inlay on a slot head headstock!

There's a little room for inlay.

I've had several slot head guitars and banjos and string changes are about the same "difficulty" on either vertical or horizontal string post. If someone considers themselves a hopeless klutz then it might be more difficult, but changing strings is probably going to be the least of their worries in life.

I really appreciate the ergonomics of button position. It's not a big thing, but if it makes playing more enjoyable, why not?

BrunoBlack · #32 01-14-2021, 07:46 AM

I never hated string changes with slotted headstocks, but never loved them. After speaking with several builders I was convinced they do not provide any benefit. As a result, I’ve purged my collection of slotted headstocks. If I happened to come across a guitar I was crazy about, the slotted headstock wouldn’t stop me from buying it. But I would not look for one.

Earl49 · #33 01-14-2021, 09:44 AM

I avoided slot heads for a long time, but still ended up with a couple of them. It is a PITA to change those strings, so they stay on well past their prime. When I do change them I use Elixir or other coated strings to maximize the time before it is necessary to suffer again. I don't see any benefit except for the two examples that stood out and were bought despite the slotted head stock.

fjblair · #34 01-14-2021, 09:57 AM

I despise them on steel string guitars.

Rick101 · #35 01-14-2021, 10:52 AM

Everyone has their preference I, personally, care more about how the guitar sounds and plays.

joeld · #36 01-14-2021, 12:32 PM

Slot heads are about as much harder to re-string as they affect tone. Not very much different in either case, I think. Slotted headstock looks really great on an old-timey style 000 or 00 12fret though. That in itself is worth the upcharge!

zmf · #37 01-14-2021, 12:48 PM

One advantage of a slotted headstock is an increased appreciation of the sound of old strings.
When I think it might be time to change strings, I stare at the headstock for a while and decide that the strings don't sound so bad after all.

Ken Carr · #38 01-14-2021, 01:40 PM

I used to have a Taylor DDSM. The design of the headstock is such that it facilitates bending the B-string up by pushing down on the string behind the nut in order to raise the pitch up a whole step (of course the string is tuned down a whole step to A). This is one of Doyle's signature licks. I love the way slotted headstocks look, but I would not recommend attempting the b-bender trick with a slotted headstock unless your first name is Chuck and your last name is Norris.

Brucebubs · #39 01-14-2021, 02:21 PM

They do look cool ...

bmw2002 · #40 01-14-2021, 02:30 PM

Is it significantly different changing strings on a slotted headstock steel string guitar than it is on a traditional nylon string classical? Perhaps because the strings are harder to bend around the posts? Genuinely curious because I will likely end up buying a nice acoustic without the opportunity to closely inspect string windings (or, obviously, attempting a string change). I have lots of experience changing classical guitar strings ... curious how nylon vs steel differs in this respect.

Rudy4 · #41 01-14-2021, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmw2002

Is it significantly different changing strings on a slotted headstock steel string guitar than it is on a traditional nylon string classical? Perhaps because the strings are harder to bend around the posts? Genuinely curious because I will likely end up buying a nice acoustic without the opportunity to closely inspect string windings (or, obviously, attempting a string change). I have lots of experience changing classical guitar strings ... curious how nylon vs steel differs in this respect.

Classical strings have the additional string slippage issue to contend with, steel strings don't have that problem.

AGF's own "Silly Moustache" has a nice slot head re-stringing video he has graciously made available to us:

Silly Moustache · #42 01-14-2021, 03:56 PM

ll my flat tops are 12 fretters, All but two are slotheads.

It wasn't the headstocks that attracted me, it was the fretboard width.

Changing strings is not more difficult that on slab heads, it is mrerely a little different.

Last Monday, I decided that whilst I had hardly touched my three 12 fret dreads since March and took them al into my workshop which was REALLY cold!

Including a wipe down and polish - all three done in 20 minutes !

The BIG advantage is that when on stage (remember then?) tuning adjustments are made with no wrist contorsions. There they are - right there!

Easy peasey.

Merak · #43 01-14-2021, 04:12 PM

Paddle head without inlay is uninteresting to look at. Slotheads makes a cheap guitar look more expensive, and works better for mixing large batches of pancake batter.

Robin, Wales · #44 01-14-2021, 04:24 PM

At one point in my life I was fitting more than 600 Newtone strings a year to slotted headstocks..........

I still have PTSD

ChrisSimpkins · #45 01-14-2021, 08:02 PM

As a resonator guitar player who has owned several slotted headstocks as well as a few slotted headstock flat-tops, including a Martin Ditson 111, I am glad I finally traded out of my last slotted headstock instrument. I think they look absolutely fantastic, but as a musician who played a lot of live sets prior to the Wuhan Scourge, if you break a string during a live set, better have another guitar as a backup or plan to sit out the next few songs! LOL...all jokes aside, they look great but I will never own another slotted headstock instrument I plan to take to a live set. (No offense to those who live and breathe slotted headstock instruments.)