Drop it low or wear it high, where do you wear your bass and why?

[MantisBot]

I've always been curious about this and I've never gotten a very satisfying answer, but where do all ya'll wear your basses and what factors into your decision?

I tend to wear mine with the bottom rim just below my hip bone, mainly because the strap won't let me take it higher. I find that the more horizontal my bass gets the easier it is to move up and down the neck. I also play a bunch of genres ranging from rock and blues to jazz and experimental, so my technical requirements from my playing are a bit above, "Slam that root note boy!" Getting around the bass is a necessity and so my bass placement is more for efficiency than style.

I'd like to hear what the rest of you have to say Trying new things is a good way to shake up what you do and why you do it.

[monkeybutlerfez]

i play my precision bass quite low, just below my waist. in my opinion its what suits me and the bassists i watch (idolise) wear their's too.

i dont play anything too overly complicated, mostly just punky stuff.

however, i have played a thunderbird and because the diving neck i had to play it quite high up for the comfortability as its difficult to wear em low like i said the necks heavy.

at the end of the day its just whats comfortable for the bassist

[RobertPaulson]

Oh this one again....

Just to spare you from having to go through the flamewar that is sure to follow, here is what it will consist of:

Jazz Fusion nerds wear it around their neck.
Bad Players/Image conscious people wear it around their knees.
Everyone else is in between.


I wear mine low

[snyderz]

My strap is the same length sitting or standing.

[LilRay]

I have to sit when I play and my bass just comes into contact with my leg.

So where does that put me?

Fusion Nerd?
Bad Player?
Or Bad Playing Fusion Nerd? (Middle)







God Bless, Ray

[iriegnome]

My higest string sits just above my missing waist (hehe).. No really, I have my bass sitting with the strings just above my waist were it feels comfortable and I can give my elbows enough room while playing to keep them from cramping.

[bagapac]

it depends really on a number of variables. i play mine high, because the music we write requires a lot of difficult stretches on my left hand (i.e. 5/2 chords), and if it were too low it would cause my wrist to bend at a severly bad awkward angle (which would definately lead to carpal tunnel).

[Surly]

My strap is about 57-58 inches long. I suppose this is considered low.

[KsPiNeSh]

I started out well below my waist, but over the years it has crept up

[LowDown Hal]

Originally Posted by snyderz

My strap is the same length sitting or standing.

Same thing for.
Adjusted to be in the same place sitting or standing.

[tom once dead]

I have my ESP low, but not insanely low, it feels comfortable and still looks metal. My Spector is really low, belt scratches are almost not a problem, the upper horn just touches my belt.

I feel more comfortable with them low, makes it a bit harder to play the stuff we do, but I would rather it low than high.

[BoomSTICK]

Over the years and depending on what band I'm in, usually bass horn is touchin the "nip" for mainly blues rock stuff.

Back in the day, the bass was low but not at knee level, more like a comfortable slightly south of the belly button.

Funny, I just noticed that ever since I raised my bass up to left "nip" level, I've encountered several bouts of cramping in both left and right hand, where as, when lower, never ever cramped or experienced lockup/cramping.

[misfit-x]

The middle of the body is sitting on my crotch. My Ric is the only one I play that sits a little higher on my body (think how Lemmy plays it) but that's it. If I play too high my right wrist and shoulder become very very uncomfortable.

[beelzelboss]

I like my 4 string sitting pretty low, just under my waist for a few reasons. First off is that its my metal bass and i like to power stance with it (that makes it a lot easier). Second is that i don't like my right arm (plucking arm) to be bent very much, i like it to be pretty straight with a little bend in it. But the interesting this I found is that I like my bass really vertical. The headstock comes up to around my shoulder and since its a really light bass it won't neck dive on me.

Now for my 'wick thats a different story. Its got so much neck dive I have to play it either sitting down (on my leg) or pretty high because I like my neck to be more vertical. I always found the neck being horizontal to be annoying since (its a 5 string so it makes it even harder) I can't drop my wrist as easily so I can get to my low B.
A big part of how you wear it really really depends on ones technique. One of our guitarist likes his like slash low because he hooks his thumb and the other can't do it because he was taught to not hook his thumb and its a habit of his.

It really all comes down to comfort in my mind though.

[Only]

I wear mine fairly low, with my right wrist a little below waist level.

I also have the neck at about a 45 degree angle. Granted, I hardly ever venture into the upper registers, so this works for me and keeps both wrists straight.


I've got long, gangly arms, and if I strap the bass any higher I start getting the T-rex arm. It's a darn good thing I don't like playing high notes or bass solos!

[David1234]

I got right wrist troubles a few years back partly from having the bass slightly too high.

Now I'm closer to the "same height sitting as standing" rule, but not quite - I tend to go about an inch lower when standing.

[halloweenfiend]

I currently have my bass pretty much right in the middle. The neck is angled at a near perfect 45 degree angle from the middle of my torso. I guess this would be considered pretty high for some.

[LowBSix]

High - the same level as when I'm sitting practicing.

Always the same location.

done

[mrkreuzschlitz]

Depends. I wear it right below the belt.

[Miesside]

doesn't really matters either high or low, most importantly you must be comfortable with length you are playing at.