Top-Heavy Bass!

[Skygoneblue]

I feel somewhat stupid asking this after playing off and on for over 8 years, but I've recently grown to love my Stingray 5. But, as many of you may know, the neck on the thing is a beast, and it tends to slip towards the floor if I'm not holding it up.

I've purchased a leather strap, but found it pretty uncomfortable to have it constantly tugging on my shoulder, so I've resorted to dealing with the "neck dive" as I've seen it called.

Is there anything I can do to remedy this at all? Logically I would think that adjusting the rear strap pin would do it, but that's crazy talk for a casual player.

Any advice or direction to an appropriate thread would be much appreciated. Thanks gents!

Luke

[62bass]

I've had the neck dive problem with various basses, starting with my first Fender in 1962. Now I would no longer buy a bass with that problem because there are basses out there that sound as good or better and are more comfortable to play. But, you're attached to your Stingray so buying a different bass isn't an option.

I haven't found that adjusting the rear strap pin accomplishes anything. Extending the pin on the upper bout might help but that's a complicated solution. Adding weight to the bridge end of the body might even out the balance but then you're adding weight to an already heavy bass and that weight can get to you over years of playing.

There are lightweight tuning machines that will reduce the weight of the headstock some and may bring the balance under control, but it's hard to tell if the weight saving will be enough. That can get a bit expensive as these things aren't cheap. If you have time and are so inclined, you can try removing two of your existing tuners, then putting your bass on and checking to see if there's enough of an improvement. That will approximate the weight saving going to lightweight tuners.

I use a neoprene Comfort Strap on my Fender. It makes the weight a bit more bearable but does nothing to stop the neck dive.

[JEDI BASS]

A straplock will extend the upper horn strap contact point by 1/4 inch or more. Extending the horn and lightening the headstock are the 2 best fixes. Add some washers behind the lock and get a longer screw if you have too. And, get the widest strap you can find to disperse the weight on your shoulder. The last and worst choice is adding a weight to either the bridge end of the bass or to that end of the strap.

[Skygoneblue]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll try looking into a straplock for my upper horn and see what that does.

*crosses figners*

[Baker69]

I have a wide strap on my SR5 and Straplocks as well, and have never had any problems with the neck dipping.