Hi!
This is my first post on TalkBass. I wish it was about something more exciting, like finding the Funk Machine, or at least a gig story, but here goes:
I've owned a bass for three years and been playing seriously for about one. My left hand has been fighting me the whole way (tendonitis, shoulder pain, all kinds of tweaking and weirdness, etc). This has been very frustrating, especially at age 22. I'm about 5'6'', with a slight build (shoulders all bone, tiny wrists, not so small but unfortunately delicate hands, etc). I have an MIM P-bass that weighs about 9 pounds, which is almost intolerable. I bought a Dano Longhorn to experiment. The short scale is definitely more comfortable, but it still sometimes hurts my hand or shoulder to play, which seems crazy because it is so light and small! It may be because the instrument doesn't balance well, or perhaps aspects of its cheap construction lead to uncomfortable playing-I don't know.
All of this has led to interest in a Birdsong Bass, which amounts to quite an investment for me. So I wonder: Is there a talkbasser in the NYC area who would let me try out his/her Birdsong? Of course I don't expect to simply borrow your bass or your time-I'm thinking more along the lines of taking a lesson. Regardless, I'd pay for your time. Any takers?
This is my main inquiry, which is why I posted it in the basses forum. But any other insight or encouragement is welcome. I haven't ruled out
other solutions (light, balanced full-scale bass plus upright fingering? Some other short-scale hand-builder? Just keep playing and it will come?) I want to be able to play very comfortably among the lower frets, and also to be able to play things like fast 1-3-5-6-5 bluesy lines without sweating over it like I currently do. Most importantly, I want to get over these physical issues and focus on music!
Thanks for reading.
This is my first post on TalkBass. I wish it was about something more exciting, like finding the Funk Machine, or at least a gig story, but here goes:
I've owned a bass for three years and been playing seriously for about one. My left hand has been fighting me the whole way (tendonitis, shoulder pain, all kinds of tweaking and weirdness, etc). This has been very frustrating, especially at age 22. I'm about 5'6'', with a slight build (shoulders all bone, tiny wrists, not so small but unfortunately delicate hands, etc). I have an MIM P-bass that weighs about 9 pounds, which is almost intolerable. I bought a Dano Longhorn to experiment. The short scale is definitely more comfortable, but it still sometimes hurts my hand or shoulder to play, which seems crazy because it is so light and small! It may be because the instrument doesn't balance well, or perhaps aspects of its cheap construction lead to uncomfortable playing-I don't know.
All of this has led to interest in a Birdsong Bass, which amounts to quite an investment for me. So I wonder: Is there a talkbasser in the NYC area who would let me try out his/her Birdsong? Of course I don't expect to simply borrow your bass or your time-I'm thinking more along the lines of taking a lesson. Regardless, I'd pay for your time. Any takers?
This is my main inquiry, which is why I posted it in the basses forum. But any other insight or encouragement is welcome. I haven't ruled out
other solutions (light, balanced full-scale bass plus upright fingering? Some other short-scale hand-builder? Just keep playing and it will come?) I want to be able to play very comfortably among the lower frets, and also to be able to play things like fast 1-3-5-6-5 bluesy lines without sweating over it like I currently do. Most importantly, I want to get over these physical issues and focus on music!
Thanks for reading.
