Large Headstock, Whose Idea was that??
The true story (as said by Leo Fender and Freddie))
By SCOTT ZIMMERMAN·THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2020·
Bruce Gombelli: I didn’t want to lose this. You know how it is on internet posted information so I saved it for my antiquity.
To document a part of Fender history in response to another mindless case of “ making shit up “ and posting it on the internet
The subject, Fenders switch from the original Stratocaster 1954 head stock shape to the large head starting in 1965. I will relate the facts exactly as I learned them.As I’ve posted here before during my years as sole Fender R and D Master builder, my immediate ultimate superior was none other than Freddie Tavares. He became so close that he insisted on myself and two others to treat him as our second father. He would often come over to my house after work or on weekends just to hang out and talk, or play music for us. Quite humbling. About six months after I started working in R and D Freddie came to me and asked “ are you busy for lunch today “ ?. I said no, and he said, “ you three are obviously going to be in this business for many years, and I think its very important that you get to know somebody. “ That somebody was Leo Fender. We got in the habit of a number of times every year to have lunch with Leo, Freddie, ourselves and sometimes George Fullerton and sometimes Dan Smith at a small restaurant close to the Fender factories. It was during these relaxed lunch times that I learned so many UNTOLD FACTS about the history of Fender Musical Instruments from the two men who created the legendary brand. I would sit there like a sponge soaking up the details as Freddie and Leo talked about the old days. It was during one of these lunch times that the subject of the large head Stratocaster came up. Here are the FACTS according to the two guys responsible, unimpeachable FACT. The idea of enlarging the headstock was a JOINT idea, shared by Freddie AND LEO. They both told me personally that they were the total reason the idea was brought forward. They based their theory on sound well grounded engineering at the time that said increasing mass, increased sustain. They BOTH thought, YES this is good, this we can do. They agreed the headstock was the logical place to add this mass. Some basic drawings were made by Freddie. This would have been 1964… And we all know what happened next. By late 1964 the wheels were turning for CBS to buy Fender guitars, and by early 1965 it happened. But also as we all know Freddie continued working in his capacity in product development, and as per the contract, Leo was kept on as a consultant. So as far as product development, nothing changed, Leo and Freddie were in charge… with CBS controlling whether any decision of the two would become reality or not.Both Leo and Freddie felt strongly about the merits of the large head, and convinced the bean counters of the merits, and likely the merit of a changed head ushering in the“ new “ Fender with CBS at the helm was not a topic missed in the discussions. The project was a GO. Freddie and Leo got the design change in the system quickly. I don’t know the details of the new Fender logo, but Im sure it was a CBS dreamed up change. The IMPORTANT point is THE LARGE HEADSTOCK came FIRST, the logo change came AFTER CBS took control. This is not up for debate. The move to change the head stock came first, before CBS was even in the picture, and a logo change is something Leo never considered in any way.The rest is history. However the way the discussion ended that day at lunch was something I will never forget. After enjoying lunch, listening to the two discuss details of the large head, its development etc, Answering our questions etc, Freddie looked at Leo and said “That’s without a doubt the stupidest idea we ever came up with together, wasn’t it “ ?. There was a second or two of silence around the table, then both Leo and Freddie broke into the most hilarious bout of barely controlled laughter. Both freely acknowledging that the large head IN NO WAY improved or affected the sustain of the instruments.There you have it, from the two Gentle Giants of the music industry.