Slotted Head Stock?

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by murrmac123

Slotted headstocks look great ... on 12 fret guitars.

When I see them on 14 fret guitars (which is fortunately rarely) I just shake my head and think "what were they thinking about ?"

It's an aesthetic thing ... can't be explained ... either you get it or you don't.

Of course, what looks even more out of place than a 14 fret slothead is a solid headstock on a 12 fret guitar.

i love my 12 fret flattops and I do agree .... generally.
slotted headstocks are an essential part of the design of Martin (and other makes) of 12 fret guitars as they are "evolutions" of the European classical and we are accustomed to that design concept. (Well I certainly am).

When Martin change guitars to 14 fret rhythm style necks they incorporated the slab heads and that , also, has become a design standard.

All my flat-tops are 12 fretters but two are slabheads - my Waterloo WL-12 and my Santa Cruz "RS" (Roy Smeck), and both are based on, essentially, Gibson designs.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by RAD3

I don't currently own a slothead guitar but when I had my old Harmony 12 string it was a nightmare to re-string. I also had an Eastman OM 6 string with a slotted stock and that was a lot easier then the Harmony but I still had trouble getting the wraps on the tuner posts as nice looking as I wanted.

I've read that a slotted headstock guitar sounds better to some players because of the sharper break angle of the strings over the nut but I've never been able to hear a difference.

haha ! I still have a Harmony H1270, and I love it, and donlt usually have difficulty re-stringing my guitars ...but it has just taken me an hour do restring this beast !

[wezzywest]

I love the look of slotted headstocks on 12 fret guitars. I have two 12 fretters, a Brook with a slotted headstock and a Fairbanks Roy Smeck, with a solid. If the Fairbanks had a slotted, it would be even better looking but it wouldn’t sound any better.

[pjroberts]

I don’t think they’re harder to change. But I do think most string change instructions and videos assume regular headstock and so the ‘student’ has to translate. Look for slothead instructions. Taylor’s version includes a section on this, look about half way down the page:

https://www.taylorguitars.com/suppor...-steel-strings

[jonbee]

After owning and changing strings on many guitars w/o slots, I bought my first with slots, a Taylor 812E 12 fret.
Today I changed the strings for the first time.
I watched the Martin video on youtube and followed along. I would say it is not much more work, allowing for my newness to the process.
That said, I don't care for open gear tuners.
They just don't feel as positive as my Gotoh or Grovers, and the lack of lubrication troubles me some.
I'd appreciate any suggestions for more "accurate" tuners.

[jgmaute]

I bought my first good guitar when I was in high school. It was a new '62, Martin 00-21NY. It is a slot head and I've added two more, a '98 Martin 00-16DBR (Women and Music Series) and a 2014 Blueridge BR-371. Since I've been changing strings on slot heads since the 60s, it's not a problem for me but as mentioned before, it really seems to be what you are or get used to. I initially was drawn to the slot head because of the looks. However, according to Diane Ponzio, one of the designers of the Women and Music Series Martin guitars,

...The slotted headstock, because of its increased downward pressure on the nut, gives an even bigger sound that the scalloped braces and Dreadnought braces insure...

[nickv6]

Originally Posted by ruby50

How to install strings on a slothead guitar using the advanced method:

1) Cut string to length
2) Insert end through hole
3) Turn the tuning knob

Finished!

You forgot

4) Apply Bandaid

You forgot
5) Make a video of you doing it

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by nickv6

You forgot
5) Make a video of you doing it

I did done that didn't I - see above.

[lar]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

haha ! I still have a Harmony H1270, and I love it, and donlt usually have difficulty re-stringing my guitars ...but it has just taken me an hour do restring this beast !

I have a nylon with a slotted head and I never liked the fact that some strings touch (rub on) the headstock between the peghead and the nut. Seems like they would scrape the wood and damage the headstock eventually (especially on the wound strings as the string gets tuned over a period of time). I thought this occurred on my guitar because of the way the slots were designed by the manufacturer, or maybe just my stringing technique, but it looks like there are multiple strings that touch the headstock on your photo too (?). Probably hard not to do this considering 12 strings instead of just 6. Seems like a disadvantage of a slotted headstock. Anyway, I generally can avoid this issue but doing so takes a bit more time and is annoying (because I don't have to deal with this on a solid headstock).

[Tony Burns]

Originally Posted by DrJamie

I have heard about the break angle advantage.

i think this is correct , have heard this before many times and believe it .
i like 12 fret slotheads alot -but they are a pita to do string changes on - but thats life , take the good with the bad and get on with it !
( my favorite 12 fretter is my Colby Horton )

[guitar george]

Originally Posted by lar

I have a nylon with a slotted head and I never liked the fact that some strings touch (rub on) the headstock between the peghead and the nut. Seems like they would scrape the wood and damage the headstock eventually (especially on the wound strings as the string gets tuned over a period of time). I thought this occurred on my guitar because of the way the slots were designed by the manufacturer, or maybe just my stringing technique, but it looks like there are multiple strings that touch the headstock on your photo too (?). Probably hard not to do this considering 12 strings instead of just 6. Seems like a disadvantage of a slotted headstock. Anyway, I generally can avoid this issue but doing so takes a bit more time and is annoying (because I don't have to deal with this on a solid headstock).

Collings solves this problem with wider slots. Might not be as nice looking as some other slotted headstocks with narrower slots IMHO.

TWELVE STRING.jpg

[jonbee]

Originally Posted by lar

I have a nylon with a slotted head and I never liked the fact that some strings touch (rub on) the headstock between the peghead and the nut. Seems like they would scrape the wood and damage the headstock eventually (especially on the wound strings as the string gets tuned over a period of time). I thought this occurred on my guitar because of the way the slots were designed by the manufacturer, or maybe just my stringing technique, but it looks like there are multiple strings that touch the headstock on your photo too (?). Probably hard not to do this considering 12 strings instead of just 6. Seems like a disadvantage of a slotted headstock. Anyway, I generally can avoid this issue but doing so takes a bit more time and is annoying (because I don't have to deal with this on a solid headstock).

Check out the Martin Youtube video on slotted string changing. He has a little trick to minimize this, which I used.

[steve223]

I love the look of slotted head stocks and don't find them much harder to change strings on

[Jabberwocky]

Carry over from the classical guitar making tradition. Slotted heads do give better string break angles over the nut. In contrast, flamenco guitars were seen as the poor man's instrument and they came with solid headstocks and wooden non-geared pegheads.

In modern times, the class distincition is rendered moot. But 12-fret to the body guitars are still paired with slotted heads, and 14-fret to the body guitars have solid pegheads.

It is just tradition.

ruby50, do not cut the string to length if you are stringing up round-core strings. The winds will unravel and the strings will go dead. There is really no need to trim any string to length before stringing it up. Look up Alice Artzt classical stringing method on Youtube; works just as well for flat top guitar steel strings.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by ruby50

How to install strings on a slothead guitar using the advanced method:

1) Cut string to length
2) Insert end through hole
3) Turn the tuning knob

Finished!

You forgot

4) Apply Bandaid

????

I stick the pre-bent end through the hole and wind. The only way I can poke my finger is by holding the cut off end of the string and pushing it into my finger. (But I try not to hold my hand behind the drill bit when I drill a hole, too.)