OVATION VS PAUL REED SMITH: THE HEADSTOCK QUESTION

[Guitarplayer_PR]

For PRS fans, and they're a big bunch, one of their talking points about their guitars is the design of the headstock, which, for them, is the "perfect" design, as it doesn't allow their middle strings to have a wide angle which, in turn, can cause tuning problems. Given the fact that Ovation guitars headstocks are basically "the PRS" of acoustic headstocks, why PRS acoustics don't share the same style of headstock as their electric counterparts or Ovation (and others which may have a similar design) do?

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Still waiting

[colder]

[Monsoon1]

It's not much of a difference.
The electric middle strings aren't perfectly straight either.

[ManyMartinMan]

I guess people are fans of what they have spent their money on. I haven’t met a PRS Acoustic yet that I would take home. Additionally, I have no guitars with tuning problems. Even if the headstock tuning machines had some tangible benefit that wouldn’t be “the reason” to buy a guitar.

[D-utim]

Seagull headstocks use the the same school of thought.

[Tony Burns]

not sure what this tuning problem is your talking about.
The angle may give you a little gripping action but if thats wht your discussing
( not sure ) an old trick is to use a bit of powdered graphite in the nut grove -
if you can find that , sand a bit of a #2 pencil- same thing .

[merlin666]

Ovation headstocks look completely different.

[Sonics]

I’m not sure it’s much of an issue with acoustic guitars...unless you’re bending strings or you have a bigsby fitted. Under normal use there’s little in the way of string stretching or string movement in the nut.

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Originally Posted by colder

Never saw those models. I stand corrected