Squeezing your neck

[Nukes4U]

I'm an electric bass player and I recently took up double bass with a teacher. My teacher tells me not to squeeze with my thumb and whatever finger I'm playing with on the neck while I play, in order to make for easier and more efficient position shifting. Squeezing the neck is a habit I picked up from electric.

I was wondering if you should try not to squeeze the neck while playing electric as well. I can get my fingers into the position needed to minimize the "vicing" of the neck, but it feels terrible.
Thanks in advance.

[lemur821]

You should never squeeze the neck. Your thumb is just there to keep track of where the neck is.

[user101]

i used to squeeze the neck as well. Still do occasionally. It's just like getting rid of any bad habit. Give it some time and it won't feel wierd anymore. I'm still working on it myself