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Posts: 429
Joined: Jan. 7 2005
From: Iasi, Romania
RE: Are peg heads for dead heads? (in reply to Thomas Whiteley)
I dont understand this topic .Personally I dont like pegheads (never had a guitar without machines) precisely because of the look .I've seen very very beautiful machines.I thought that the machines are the place for all the flowers and the art.When I look into a GSI catalog I always admire the expensive machines they sell. I could be wrong ,but teach me ...I want a picture of a beautiful peghead guitar.
RE: Are peg heads for dead heads? (in reply to sorin popovici)
Sorin
I will post a picture within this week. I'm finishing two pegheads at the moment, a Blanca and a Braz negra.
But, if you don't like the looks of pegs..... What can we do I'm an ex violinist, so I just LOVE pegs. And Sean is right.... there's something about wood
....the look is quite real (from 2' away, I doubt one could tell they are not all wood) , the price is acceptable, tuning is faster, easier, more precise (especially under pressure). There is a slight bit more weight than an ebony peg, yes (more 'sustain', as Anders spoke of??).
They are working on gears at 16/1, but at the moment, 4/1 is what they have, and they use the 'knob' or 'button' from a set of pegs (ebony) that you send.
If I have a peghead that is a pain, I would convert. If I ordered a new guitar that was not terribly high in price, yes. If I had one that is a more 'collector' guitar, I would not. I am speaking of re-setting our 'everyday' or play/fun/beach guitars for ease and not a lot of $$.
Again...We ALL have different experiences and likes. Sadly, the peghead site has never been updated, which is a shame, but there is a builder here in San Diego who has also done 2 or 3 (one for a 'player' on his new DeVoe blanca with pegs!), and he LOVES it. The builder is building 2 more flamencos with the pegheds (notice the spelling?), as he feel it's a very good way to go....
In the end, [you] decide. I saw a guitar with the Carlos pegs. $200 and they are a silver/pewter color....Not what one would call authentic looking.
I've noticed an upswing in peg head flamencos again, and I think that once this system gets seen more, people will choose them over machines, simply because they are, yet retain a beautiful, original Spanish look and feel.
I will try to get shots later of these installed, but I put them next to a set of rosewood pegs I removed and used ebony (before the pegheds arrived!)
If I took a pic with ebony pegs, it would be hard to tell the difference (except by the shape, which is inside the headstock when installed), so the rosewood gives a little bit of contrast in the pictures.
The 'buttons' on the peghed system (left) are ebony from a set I sent...
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RE: Are peg heads for dead heads? (in reply to Thomas Whiteley)
quote:
1. Peg heads were developed as an inexpensive way to tune a guitar. Gitano’s did not have much money and Peg’s were popular. That is a historic fact and in most cases is not true today.
My understanding is that this is also the reason we have blancas. Gitano's were looking for cheap wood for guitars and cypress was cheaper then the rest. It so happened that cypress had good acoustic characteristics but it was chosen as standard building material not because of acoustics but because of price.
Thus the fact pegheads were chosen because of price doesn't mean they don't have an effect on the sound.