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UNPLANNED DOWNTIME: 12th Oct 23:45

Martin Headstock Question

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BigLicks67BigLicks67 Frets: 763
in Acoustics
While i've been looking for a D28 I've noticed that at the rear of some standard series headstocks there are 2 lighter strips either side of the tuners, (see pic 4 on eBay link below). Is this a finish issue or some dodgy woodwork?

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  • JalapenoJalapeno Frets: 6284
    Dodgy construction/finish IMHO
    Imagine something sharp and witty here ......

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  • eSullyeSully Frets: 977
    edited January 2016
    I always thought Martins had a one piece headstock. Gibson headstocks are like that I believe, with 3 pieces of mahogany. The center piece being the same width as the heel.
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  • BigLicks67BigLicks67 Frets: 763
    eSully said:
    I always thought Martins had a one piece headstock. Gibson headstocks are like that I believe, with 3 pieces of mahogony. The center piece being the same width as the heel.
    Yep, my OM is a one piece headstock, which is why I was wondering.
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  • LewyLewy Frets: 3795
    It's not uncommon to see post-2000 mahogany necks on Martins with these "wings".

    As I understand it it's driven by the increasing scarcity of the quality of mahogany Martin use. As an aside, you'll notice from a lot of Martin's spec sheets that necks are described as "Select Hardwood". That means that they will either be mahogany or spanish cedar, depending on what Martin can get hold of. Spanish Cedar is less scarce and less likely to use headstock wings.

    I believe - but don't quote me - that the width of the neck block also has a bearing on whether the headstock will have wings or not - the wider the neck block, the less likely the headstock will be to have them because it is going to have to be a wider piece of wood anyway so you wouldn't be saving any wood.

    They have no effect on tone whatsoever and are only visible from the back so if I liked everything else about the guitar it wouldn't bother me. I wouldn't call it dodgy manufacture per se - it's to get more guitars out of less wood which I'm ok with (although I probably draw the line at stacked neck heels...)
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  • SambostarSambostar Frets: 8733
    edited January 2016
    But technically Cedar is a conifer, a softwood, similar to x leylandii but it's leaves smell of apples.
    Backdoor Children Of The Sock
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  • LewyLewy Frets: 3795
    Sambostar said:
    But technically Cedar is a conifer, a softwood, similar to x leylandii but it's leaves smell of apples.
    Spanish Cedar is angiosperm and therefore hardwood.
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