Neck hurting.

[weldon29]

After practising, my neck and shoulder usually hurts. Is this because of my strap?
If it is, what can I do to prevent it?

[David J.]

Get a WIDE strap

[Illbay]

Originally Posted by weldon29

After practising, my neck and shoulder usually hurts. Is this because of my strap?
If it is, what can I do to prevent it?

What about your strap? What is it?

[unbridled]

Well, you are talking about practicing and using a strap so, I assume you are practicing standing up. Get the neck of the bass high and the body of the bass low. Also, get a wide strap as others have mentioned.

Make sure you move around too. Any time you hold ANY position for a long time, you're going to get sore. Are you looking at tabs or music when you're practicing? If so, make sure you are using a music stand to get the music up where you can see it without having to bend your neck a whole lot to see it. Stretching afterwards helps to keep from getting sore too.

[weldon29]

Originally Posted by unbridled

Well, you are talking about practicing and using a strap so, I assume you are practicing standing up. Get the neck of the bass high and the body of the bass low. Also, get a wide strap as others have mentioned.

Make sure you move around too. Any time you hold ANY position for a long time, you're going to get sore. Are you looking at tabs or music when you're practicing? If so, make sure you are using a music stand to get the music up where you can see it without having to bend your neck a whole lot to see it. Stretching afterwards helps to keep from getting sore too.

Well I am usually looking at my fingers. Oh and I use the strap even when I'm sitting(usually)

[unbridled]

Originally Posted by weldon29

Well I am usually looking at my fingers. Oh and I use the strap even when I'm sitting(usually)

That could cause some of it. Pay attention to your own body when you're playing. You might notice you are tensing your shoulders (Kind of like "shrugging" your shoulders) when you are playing. I did that when I first started playing years ago and I would get knots in between my shoulders and neck. It took a while to convince myself to relax those muscles, but, once I did, it helped bunches.

[Gearhead17]

Definitely invest in a wider strap. Something made of leather 2 inches wide or wider would really help. Bad straps will not carry the weight of the bass nicely for several hours. By the way, those slippery Nylon Ernie Ball straps that slide off your body is .01 seconds are not considered a good strap. If someone sold that to you, shame on them.

Position can also cause neck pain. It's hard to tell what you are doing wrong without pictures though. Follow unbridled's post about bass positioning overall on your body.