Modern instruments like the guitar and... what else? I guess you could go into the banjo/mandola/mandolin subsets. As far as I know, it's just tradition, but you do have innovators every now and then.

Well I am a bass player, where the idea is to get the most out of your long wavelengths, and no bass has a heavy headstock.

Mea culpa, I completely forgot about the bass. :blush:

But yours is electric, right? On a string bass all of the resonance depends on the body, which is huge compared to the headstock. The cello head looks big in Steve's picture, but it really isn't very massive overall.

I think it's a good idea, but Steve probably doesn't have the tools.

Yeah, but is there any physics reason why you need a big weight on the end of the neck in order to get resonance out of your body?

I think it would have to do with the length of the neck of the instrument and simply keeping it weighted so it balances nicely on the shoulder rather than flying off when you draw the bow. If it doesn't have a bit of weight in the neck you'd be using your hand to hold it in place rather than concentrating on getting your fingers in the right spot.

That's only a guess, but my family is pretty highly into stringed instruments, so I've had plenty of time to look at what they do when they play.

It would be a lot less than having a new screw made though. (actually its a bolt) and the Lowes/Home Depot? hardware store definitely has what he needs. Also, if he is tapping into brass, it'll be very easy since its such a soft metal.

Just traditional as far as I know... even modern students cellos, violins, etc. have scrolls like that.

Update: we found the screw when sweeping up. (Obviously, it eluded us when we were actually looking for it.) Now we are still missing one of the gears... I know I put them both together. It's here somewhere...... :headshake

Good to hear you found it! Now replacing that gear would be a whole different situation.

for some reason, I just wanna keep clicking on this thread . . .

No but... I'm telling you, it isn't big or heavy. Look how narrow it is. Overly decorative, perhaps, but the whole thing can be enclosed in the palm of your hand.

There might be.
A while back I was browsing in a guitar shop and saw an accessory for electric guitarists, a heavy weight to clamp on to the head right at the end, with the claim that it would improve sustain and maintain the clarity of the tone over the whole length of the note.
I can imagine how this might work. If the string is vibrating it will tend to pass its vibrations on to the head. The head will begin vibrating, probably at a different frequency, thus creating interference with the string's vibration. This interference would mess up the purity of the string's vibration and lead to shorter sustain. Increasing the mass of the head might reduce this effect by keeping the head stable.
I did not buy one. I have not tested it. I am not a physicist. I have not even googled it. I just made this up. But it sounds good... until someone shoots it down. :ducks for cover: