10 Degree headstock angle

[Gung]

Hi everyone,

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with a flatter 10-11 degree paddle headstock angle?

I used a scarf joint on my last guitar which had a qld maple neck and a 14 degree angle however this time I have a large 100 wide by 50 deep blackwood blank and the thought is going through my head about just cutting the headstock out of one piece.

My question is will it have enough downward pressure on the nut? The fretboard will be quite thick at about 6mm or so and i'm hoping that will increase the angle a little. This build is a 17" archtop and i'm wondering if maybe I can compensate with a steeper break angle at the bridge...

Any help would be great

[seeaxe]

Seeing no one more experienced has chipped in here's my view for what it's worth.

I use a 15 degree angle on my builds. It's fine for the classicals because the strings go down into the slots. With a steel string there's very little break angle by the time I have the tuner posts in place. If you do it at 10 degrees, I don't think you will have any break angle left. You should be able to draw this all up to check what's going to happen.

You could try a telecaster style peg head, that has no angle, it's just off set. There's not much string break angle, it has a clip to pull the longer strings down.

You may not have had any responses because no one does have any experience with a 10 degree headstock. That tells you something.

A scarf joint is if done well stronger than a one piece peg head. I suggest you go with the scarf joint.

Changing the break angle at the other end of the string won't compensate for lack at the nut.

There are a few arch top makers on here. Maybe one of them could give you some better advice??

Hope that helps
Cheers
Richard

[kiwigeo]

I've done a couple of steel string headstocks at 12 degrees with no issues but I wouldn't be comfortable with 10 degrees. +1 for Richards comment about strength of scarf joints.

[Ormsby Guitars]

We use nine degrees, as does PRS.

[demonx]

My older builds were all 12 degrees, one piece with no scarf joint. Never had a problem.

My newer builds are all 12 degrees with a scarf joint. Both acoustic and electric.

It seems the perfect angle. I see no reason to change.

[jeffhigh]

10 will work if
-you have an appropriate tuner layout
-you have a 1/4'' thickness fretboard (and a thin headstock overlay)
-you don't have excess tuner post protrusion

Only time I have seen a problem with a low angle headstock angle was on some Maton Mastersound electrics with their usual thin fretboards, where the tuner posts were so high you needed to wind most of the high E string onto the post to get a reasonable break angle.

Do a cross-sectional drawing with correct dimensions to check.

[rocket]

Hi Peter, you are obviously going to stack the heel so you might also consider stacking the headstock and veneer both sides and keep the steeper angle.
A steeper break angle at the bridge will not compensate you at the nut.in any case you'd have to redesign the entire instrument to change the bridge break angle away from the optimum of 14 deg,neck angle and the arch of the belly would have to increase .good luck.
Cheers
Rod.

[Gung]

Thanks for the advice guys!

I was leaning towards a scarf joint and the steeper angle so it's great to hear some examples from some people with some experience. I really do appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. Cheers!