People wonder where designs come from. Fin shapes and color schemes are usually inspired by something seen before.
I read about this one online and had to try it for myself.
The "F" holes on violins are an interesting shape.
There are some who think the shape came from a carefully peeled orange skin.
The Fender guitar head stock design was suggested by Merle Travis, the great fingerstyle player and composer of "Sixteen Tons".
The silhouette is roughly based on a side view of a violin headstock.Why bring this up?
Rocket design ideas are all around you. You just have to keep yourself open to unconventional shapes.
Actually, Leo Fender said in an interview that his headstock was inspired by Croatian folk instruments, in particular, the tamburica or tamburitza:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.worldfrets.com/Kontra_Tamburitza.jpg
But where the Croatians got the idea is up to speculation :^)
Hi Lonnie,
DeleteThere were interviews from both sides of the story. It was a sore spot for Merle Travis until Leo Fender admitted the headstock was inspired by Travis' design in a Rolling Stone article. Merle Travis had said for years the headstock design was a side view of a fiddle headstock.
Here's some more:
http://www.bigsby.com/vibe/about/history/
I stand corrected.
ReplyDelete