Do You Find You Play Better If You Wear Your Bass Up High?

[nocontrols]

I do. I played for years and years with my bass slung low, punk rock style, and I was cursed with being one of those guys who could do much more intricate fingerwork and play with much more accuracy if I was sitting down. Sitting down, you don't have to reach far away just to get to the frets so everything becomes easier.

I'm finally saying "screw it" to hanging my bass low... I don't care about image, I just like making my life easier. Holding your instrument way up high like the Beatles is the closest you can get to playing sitting down while still standing up. The secret is to keep it just low enough so that your right wrist isn't bunched up at an awkward angle.

I know this sounds elementary and I sound like a noob right now but you'd be surprised how often people get an idea drilled into their heads and they stick to it until it's commonplace and then it's a minor revelation to do something simple that makes your playing easier and better. It's best not to stick too hard to your preconceptions anyway.

Does anyone else feel this way? Are there people out there who get the same level of comfort and playability no matter how high they position their bass?

[Phalex]

I've always worn my bass a bit on the higher side. A low slung bass doesn't feel right to me, but that's probably because I've always worn it where I do.....

[kevteop]

Nah I play much better if I look cool, so I keep the bass in the nutsack region where it belongs.

Bassists with their basses up high always remind me of Ollie Hardy fiddling with his tie.

[cassius987]

Too high up messes with me as much as wearing the bass too low. So I tend to have the bass at waist level (as opposed to knees or chest). I used to wear my fretless super high but it started bugging my plucking hand wrist. In a jazz setting it kind of looks cool to wear it up there though.

[TaylorO']

Originally Posted by kevteop

Nah I play much better if I look cool, so I keep the bass in the nutsack region where it belongs.

Bassists with their basses up high always remind me of Ollie Hardy fiddling with his tie.

hahahahaha... no kidding. Always reminds me of white guy reggae bands. Or church bands. If im recording, and i have a song with lots of fills, then ill sit to record. Never wear it up high tho... just kinda looks silly, my opinion tho..

[spade2you]

Check out Gary Willis and his perspectives. I think both extremes put strain on the back, shoulders, wrists, etc. It's just plan inefficient to play either extreme.

[SCMan88]

I put my bass sort of in the "middle",but abit higher.
I was usually playing low,and well,it wasn't that comfy.
Then I started learning the slap technique,then I saw the only thing that is comfy for me is when the bass is quite high.

Since then I put the bass quite high all the time when standing.
I don't care if people think its funny,or making me look stupid,because in the end,both me and the crowd get a better gig,if when I play I feel comfy.

[nocontrols]

Originally Posted by cassius987

Too high up messes with me as much as wearing the bass too low. So I tend to have the bass at waist level (as opposed to knees or chest). I used to wear my fretless super high but it started bugging my plucking hand wrist. In a jazz setting it kind of looks cool to wear it up there though.

Originally Posted by spade2you

Check out Gary Willis and his perspectives. I think both extremes put strain on the back, shoulders, wrists, etc. It's just plan inefficient to play either extreme.

Word. I also mentioned that if it's up too high, my right hand would get bent up awkwardly so I have to lower it enough to avoid that. Good points.

[topcat2069]

I wear it high.... ( I took lessons with a classical guitarist and he helped me find the best height for arm, wrist and hand bone alignment) ...high enough that I can completely let go of the neck with no neck drop. That way I don't have to squeeze the the neck to hold it up and I can play by just touching the strings with my finger tips. Less fatigue and more speed up and down the neck. If the way it looks bothers you then you probably still make "rock star" faces when you play.




Before and after:

[kcole4001]

Always worn mine around belt level, any higher feels very awkward and hurts my right wrist, which I try to keep as straight as possible.

[stratovani]

Whatever works for you, but for me I like to have the neckplate directly over my bellybutton. That way both my wrists are straight, I'm at my most comfortable and relaxed, and it's one more variable out of the way. I can then play at my best.

[southpaw420]

I keep mine around belt level maybe a little higher. Hanging it low just isnt comfortable anymore.

[Syco_bass]

I found that it feels better when not too high or not too low. I like the neck pocket area to be right around my belly button. I was going to say right around my belt buckle, but I've noticed a lot of ppl wearing their belt buckles around their nut sacks, so I had to pick a different reference point. LOL.

[nocontrols]

Originally Posted by topcat2069

I wear it high.... high enough that I can completely let go of the neck with no neck drop. That way I don't have to squeeze the the neck to hold it up and I can play by just touching the strings with my finger tips. Less fatigue and more speed up and down the neck. If the way it looks bothers you then you probably still make "rock star" faces when you play.




Before and after:

Dude, thank you for mentioning this! This is a great point and I wanted to bring it up: If I have to squeeze the neck... like, literally GRAB it... I'm not getting optimum speed and maneuverability in my fretting hand. I want to not worry about keeping it upright, I just want my left hand to be able to go from note to note. When I played it hung low, I had a tendency to grab it, making a full-on fist, and that made me want to only play root notes, just clunking from chord change to chord change. I can actually play BASSLINES, ones that involve movement and have a lot more personality, if I lift that bass up a bit.

And this solves another problem: neck dive. I HATE neck dive and I find that it becomes less of a problem when my bass is higher up on my body. With my bass down around my crotch, the neck dive becomes a much bigger problem.

I think this has something to do with center of gravity. Thanks for bringing it up. Very pragmatic reason for lifting your bass up a bit.

[nocontrols]

Originally Posted by stratovani

Whatever works for you, but for me I like to have the neckplate directly over my bellybutton. That way both my wrists are straight, I'm at my most comfortable and relaxed, and it's one more variable out of the way. I can then play at my best.

Originally Posted by Syco_bass

I found that it feels better when not too high or not too low. I like the neck pocket area to be right around my belly button. I was going to say right around my belt buckle, but I've noticed a lot of ppl wearing their belt buckles around their nut sacks, so I had to pick a different reference point. LOL.

This is roughly what I was thinking of, yes.

[Mr. Pickles]

It's totally phsyiological. Trying to look cool is a fool's game because you will sacrifice technique.

[spade2you]

Originally Posted by topcat2069

I wear it high.... ( I took lessons with a classical guitarist) ...high enough that I can completely let go of the neck with no neck drop. That way I don't have to squeeze the the neck to hold it up and I can play by just touching the strings with my finger tips. Less fatigue and more speed up and down the neck. If the way it looks bothers you then you probably still make "rock star" faces when you play.




Before and after:

I also took some classical guitar, but I found that there are a few subtle differences. That harsh bend in your right wrist really closes off the forearm strength, which is where most of the finger contraction comes from.

I've also noticed that up high playing puts more strain on the left shoulder and tends to make 35" scale basses very uncomfortable due to the extra reach that this position causes.

[TechJunky]

When I first started, I always played it down low. I was into the whole punk scene, and that's how all my favorites played. And I always struggled. When I started taking lessons, I was shown to adjust the strap to keep it in the same position for seated or standing, but that's just too high for me (though it definitely helped me play better and more consistently). A couple of years ago, though, I pulled the bass up and now have it around waist or just about waist height. It's perfect. My right arm is comfortable and relaxed and can move wherever I need it, and my left hand/arm isn't strained at all, nor do I need to support the neck (at least with a properly balanced bass). The only bass I've had recently where I adjusted it up higher was my Thumb, because that's the only way I was comfortable. Once I had that up, though, it was very comfortable and very easy to play!

If people are worried about imagine, I say who cares. I've seen many bands that play hard and loud where their guitarists or bassists wear the instruments up high. The last band I was in, our guitarists played them at chest height...and they were both amazing. And off the top of my head, Dan Briggs from Between the Buried and Me tends to wear his bass up high, and I haven't heard anyone say he looks goofy or doesn't rock!

[nocontrols]

Originally Posted by spade2you

I've also noticed that up high playing puts more strain on the left shoulder and tends to make 35" scale basses very uncomfortable due to the extra reach that this position causes.

Yeah, I guess WHICH bass you play matters, too. There are basses where the neck juts way out from the body and I feel like those would be much harder to play with the bass held up high... for the simple reason that reaching that first fret would stretch your left arm out.

TechJunky - I agree about image. Usually people are even less judgmental than we'd worry that they'll be so it doesn't make sense to fret over the random odd guy who might think it "looks dorky".

[Old Fart]

I had the same experience. Down low at for the first several years. Higher today. Much higher, but not around my neck like a necktie. The thumb of my picking hand is at about the bottom of my sternum. Kinda like this guy, whoever he is: