Historically accurate J-35 headstock?

[dhanners623]

Am back in the USofA for our summer visit. Brought the J-35; I've got 10 gigs lined up in six weeks. (In Kuwait, I don't think I've played 10 gigs over the last three years....) My J-35 LOVES the Minnesota weather. It really sounds different. More authoritative. And it was no slouch in Kuwait.

 

Anyway, my mind was wandering one night, as it has wont to do, and I wondered: Have any of my fellow J-35 owners had their headstock altered to a) get rid of the banner and B) get the period-correct Gibson logo silkscreened in white? Purely cosmetic, I know, but for whatever reason, those old J-35 headstocks just seem to look cooler to me.

 

If I lived in the U.S., I'd probably give my repair guy a chance to talk me out of it. But since I live in Kuwait, Where Music Goes to Die -- and a country WITH NOT A SINGLE ACOUSTIC GUITAR REPAIRMAN -- it'll just be an idle thought.

[Lars68]

Hey, why not think of the guitar as a Banner J-50? Just remove the label!

 

http://www.bannergibsons.com/7117H-20J-50JC.html

 

Lars

[zombywoof]

Hey, why not think of the guitar as a Banner J-50? Just remove the label!

 

http://www.bannergibsons.com/7117H-20J-50JC.html

 

Lars

 

Blasphemer!

[MissouriPicker]

I know literally nothing about the science involved in regards to how sound is produced in a guitar. All I know is what I like......Would changing the headstock have any impact upon how the neck vibrates when the guitar is played? I've always understood that how the neck vibrates is part of the whole deal.

[dhanners623]

I know literally nothing about the science involved in regards to how sound is produced in a guitar. All I know is what I like......Would changing the headstock have any impact upon how the neck vibrates when the guitar is played? I've always understood that how the neck vibrates is part of the whole deal.

 

I felt I covered that by including the disclaimer, "Purely cosmetic, I know, but for whatever reason, those old J-35 headstocks just seem to look cooler to me."

 

The change would be tone/volume-neutral. But I was intrigued by this Dan Erlewine video:

https://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Trade_Secrets/Spraying_a_peghead_logo_using_a_vinyl_frisket.html

[zombywoof]

The reason I like old J-35 headstocks is they are attached to old J-35s.

 

I know the theory is headstocks with more mass will improve tone. Remember that Fender Fat Finger? You often hear that about slotheads. Thing with slotheads is they are more often as not found on 12 fret necks. As such the bridge is in a different location being more centered on the top. Just a wild guess but I would say this would account for a bigger difference in sound than the mass of the headstock.