Peg Head

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Peg Head

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sean65

Posts: 414
Joined: Jan. 4 2010
From: London

Peg Head

Do the peg head designs have any advantages/disadvantages over regular heads or is it just an aesthetic.

Better tuning stability, easier string changes, tone etc...?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 2 2010 2:17:03

Escribano

Posts: 6416
Joined: Jul. 6 2003
From: England, living in Italy

RE: Peg Head (in reply to sean65)

quote:

Do the peg head designs have any advantages/disadvantages over regular heads or is it just an aesthetic.

Better tuning stability, easier string changes, tone etc...?

I enclose a relevant transcript from my documentary about Anders:

What's the difference, apart from the obvious difference, between pegs and the mechanical tuners?

Two things. Aesthetics and sound

Aesthetics? Well this is obvious

I personally think they are very beautiful

Pegheads. I used to play the violin so I've got this thing with pegs.

And soundwise, especially on blancas

They give a drier, faster responding guitar

They're lighter, you've got the...

The string tension is going directly into the headstock and not passing through some wormed gear

So they make the guitar sound brighter?

I wouldn't call it brighter. I would just call it drier... there's less weight, less sustain

There's less weight in the headstock. Weight in the headstock means sustain

Everything up here which weighs, means sustain

Because it vibrates from the strings

and when a mass or something heavy vibrates

it makes the string vibrate for a longer time

So it [less weight] gives less sustain

I think a lot of people choose pegs for their looks

Me as well

Some people, they choose it because when you sit in the traditional flamenco position

The guitar is lighter

And it just feels right

Because in all the pictures of Niño Ricardo and Sabicas and stuff like that

They were always playing pegheads

They obviously were first in construction?

Yes, yes, of course but you continued using pegs for a long time on flamenco guitars

Because of money. Because the machine tuners, they were expensive at first

I guess you could repair pegs as well?

Of course

You can just simply throw them out and put some new ones in... and what I do now

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 2 2010 3:52:46

sean65

Posts: 414
Joined: Jan. 4 2010
From: London

RE: Peg Head (in reply to sean65)

Fantastic. Couldn't have hoped for a better reply than that.

Only been using the forum for a month a I'm starting to feel like I've got an O Level in Flamenco Guitar already.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 2 2010 6:02:20