This mod is a little different—and definitely not as affordable as the ones we’ve been
talking about up to this point. When players think about modifications that involve
tuning machines, the subject revolves
around tuning stability. That’s all well and
good, but I’ve rarely encountered a quality
machine that slips—because the mechanical
torque required to turn the tuner’s capstan
is pretty stout. Problems of pitch are usually
more related to capstan wobble or a bad
nut-slotting job.
However, there’s another aspect of
machine-head selection that I contemplate
when building a custom guitar: weight. But
this is more about sustain and tone than a
question of neck-heaviness.
I’ve written in previous issues of Premier
Guitar about how the size and shape of a
guitar’s headstock affect its sustain and tone.
Clearly, the mass of the tuning machines is
a factor in this, as well. Having overseen the
building of tens of thousands of custom guitars over the course of my career has given me
cause to consider machine-head weight as a
This mod revolves around the concept
that adding mass to the headstock lowers
its resonant frequency, while reducing
mass will raise that frequency.
fine-tuning tool in and of itself. This kind of
mod is more complex than the others I’ve presented here because it is harder to predict, and
obviously more costly to dabble in because
it involves replacing the existing tuners.
Nevertheless, I put it out there for those of
you who are willing to go to the limit of sanity in the search for a responsive instrument.
This mod revolves around the concept
that adding mass to the headstock low-
ers its resonant frequency, while reducing
mass will raise that frequency. The theory
at work here is that vibration is absorbed
or reflected back into the strings and body
based upon this frequency. Depending
upon the harmonic makeup of your
particular instrument, changing this can
enhance or degrade sustain and accentuate
or attenuate certain harmonics. All of this
is dependent not only on your guitar’s con-
struction, but also on how large your head-
stock is to begin with. If all of this seems
a bit hazy, that’s because it is. I don’t have
a handy-dandy answer like “more mass
equals more sustain” because it isn’t always
true. Suffice it to say that you can make
a difference in a guitar’s character by fol-
lowing this path. I usually go through this
exercise with my builds because I have the
luxury of time and the resources at hand.
It’s like fine tuning a race car’s suspension
settings to your liking.
to this...
Switch from this...
...with this!
True acoustic tone at the flick of a switch!
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