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Another neck dive thread (G&L L2500 Trib)

Raman

Raman

Feb 19, 2003
2,223
3,273
53
Montreal, Qc
#1
I’ve been blessed with very comfy basses for the better part of my playing years. For instance, the bass that I most played and gigged with in the last 20 years was an Ibanez EDA905, which was perfectly light and well balanced.

Then a few years back, I switched to a G&L L2500 Tribute, because I fell in love with its heavier body, pickups and tones. And I’m still in love with it!

Except it came with neck dive. At first, I thought I would get used to it. But a few years have gone by and it still bothers me. I especially feel it limits my right hand, because my right forearm must permanently push down on the body in order to keep my left hand from having to hold the neck up. All in all, I lose dexterity on both hands, however little.

I’ve been reading about solutions, such as getting a wider leather strap. But I fear that would just further involve my shirt in the diving situation… I also checked about replacing the tuners for ultra-light ones. But between their price, the shipping and import fees, plus the luthier job in drilling new holes for them, it’s a costly solution. Then I read about adding weight to the bottom half of the bass, which plainly seems wrong…

Then I read about one guy who simply moved his strap peg (bridge side) up on the body of his instrument, so as to better redistribute and balance the weight. Now that sounds like a smart solution!
Has anybody ever tried this? How does one go about finding the perfect spot? Any warnings about drilling a new peg hole in a bass?
 
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#2
Try a new strap first would be my recommendation. It's the cheapest and you may be able to try a few and return what does not work.
- Leather can be good, there are some affordable options on Amazon from Perris Leathers.
- Dimarizo cordura clip lock has great grip if that's your thing.
- Good ol' cotton straps can do the job if they are quite coarse. The plain Levy one is good quality.

Something else to consider in conjunction with a grippier strap is adding counter weights to the strap. Never had to try this myself though:
 
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#10
I did the button relocation on some cheap strats as a kid and almost went and did it to an Epi EB3. The strats were great with the button moved to the bottom of the trem cavity. With the Epi, even putting both ends of the strap on the neck button it still wanted to dive, just far slower.

I tried out three Tribute L2K’s and they all dove, but they all also had what felt like 0.5lbs bodies. It’s what’s stopping me from going at a Fallout bass.

Try 1) rubber band over the strings at the 1st fret 2) remove two tuners 3) strap the bass on with a slippery nylon strap and wiggle+bounce a bit... lightweight tuners are going to help exactly that much.

Where’s the guy who tells us to just connect the bass to your dadjeans for a nice wedgieomatic antidive system?

If you’re really ready to drill extra holes, just drilling one isn’t much less ugly than drilling four. But finding the right area to start can happen by just pinching the strap to the bass. Start near the horn and move down till it starts to tug on your shirt, then bring it back. Eyeball that spot and tap it with a Sharpie.
 
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#13
Those heavy tuners weigh a lot and are at the end of a long lever. Your biggest difference is likely replacing them. I’ve had good experiences with doing so myself. The strap button relocation will help, but not as much as the tuners. I’ve also tied a half pound weight to my strap where it hits the lower body on one particularly light G&l that was 7.3 lbs. that was a US version so already had light tuners.
 
#16
Raman said:
I’ve been blessed with very comfy basses for the better part of my playing years. For instance, the bass that I most played and gigged with in the last 20 years was an Ibanez EDA905, which was perfectly light and well balanced.

Then a few years back, I switched to a G&L L2500 Tribute, because I fell in love with its heavier body, pickups and tones. And I’m still in love with it!

Except it came with neck dive. At first, I thought I would get used to it. But a few years have gone by and it still bothers me. I especially feel it limits my right hand, because my right forearm must permanently push down on the body in order to keep my left hand from having to hold the neck up. All in all, I lose dexterity on both hands, however little.

I’ve been reading about solutions, such as getting a wider leather strap. But I fear that would just further involve my shirt in the diving situation… I also checked about replacing the tuners for ultra-light ones. But between their price, the shipping and import fees, plus the luthier job in drilling new holes for them, it’s a costly solution. Then I read about adding weight to the bottom half of the bass, which plainly seems wrong…

Then I read about one guy who simply moved his strap peg (bridge side) up on the body of his instrument, so as to better redistribute and balance the weight. Now that sounds like a smart solution!
Has anybody ever tried this? How does one go about finding the perfect spot? Any warnings about drilling a new peg hole in a bass?
Click to expand...
Gotoh resolite Or Hipshot ultraLites are the only thing that cured the Dive on my P/J. I believe you can get then for different hole sizes, I think. There is also a guy thar wraps his strap to his pants if your in a pinch! im afraid if i tried that Id end up with my pants around my ankles "flashing" the audience ala george Costanza "van damire latex!":woot::hyper:
 
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#17
It seems like there is an easy order of progression here, both in terms of increasing cost and reversibility of the modifications.
  1. Try a wider/grippier strap.
  2. If that doesn't suit you, try lighter tuning keys.
  3. If that doesn't get you there, try moving the strap pins.
  4. If that doesn't get there, try a different bass. You may want to jump to this step after the strap option - especially if tuning keys or strap pin involve adding holes to your bass.
 
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#18
Lightweight tuners is the way to go. Removing the weight from the far end of the moment lever makes all the difference.

A wider strap with suede backing can help but it doesn’t solve the inherent problem.

Changing the tuners is only a bad investment if you’re not sure you want to keep the bass long term. It’s the second best solution next to not buying any basses with neck dive to begin with.

I simply do not abide basses with neck dive.
 
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#20
Raman said:
I’ve been blessed with very comfy basses for the better part of my playing years. For instance, the bass that I most played and gigged with in the last 20 years was an Ibanez EDA905, which was perfectly light and well balanced.

Then a few years back, I switched to a G&L L2500 Tribute, because I fell in love with its heavier body, pickups and tones. And I’m still in love with it!

Except it came with neck dive. At first, I thought I would get used to it. But a few years have gone by and it still bothers me. I especially feel it limits my right hand, because my right forearm must permanently push down on the body in order to keep my left hand from having to hold the neck up. All in all, I lose dexterity on both hands, however little.

I’ve been reading about solutions, such as getting a wider leather strap. But I fear that would just further involve my shirt in the diving situation… I also checked about replacing the tuners for ultra-light ones. But between their price, the shipping and import fees, plus the luthier job in drilling new holes for them, it’s a costly solution. Then I read about adding weight to the bottom half of the bass, which plainly seems wrong…

Then I read about one guy who simply moved his strap peg (bridge side) up on the body of his instrument, so as to better redistribute and balance the weight. Now that sounds like a smart solution!
Has anybody ever tried this? How does one go about finding the perfect spot? Any warnings about drilling a new peg hole in a bass?
Click to expand...
Raman said:
I’ve been blessed with very comfy basses for the better part of my playing years. For instance, the bass that I most played and gigged with in the last 20 years was an Ibanez EDA905, which was perfectly light and well balanced.

Then a few years back, I switched to a G&L L2500 Tribute, because I fell in love with its heavier body, pickups and tones. And I’m still in love with it!

Except it came with neck dive. At first, I thought I would get used to it. But a few years have gone by and it still bothers me. I especially feel it limits my right hand, because my right forearm must permanently push down on the body in order to keep my left hand from having to hold the neck up. All in all, I lose dexterity on both hands, however little.

I’ve been reading about solutions, such as getting a wider leather strap. But I fear that would just further involve my shirt in the diving situation… I also checked about replacing the tuners for ultra-light ones. But between their price, the shipping and import fees, plus the luthier job in drilling new holes for them, it’s a costly solution. Then I read about adding weight to the bottom half of the bass, which plainly seems wrong…

Then I read about one guy who simply moved his strap peg (bridge side) up on the body of his instrument, so as to better redistribute and balance the weight. Now that sounds like a smart solution!
Has anybody ever tried this? How does one go about finding the perfect spot? Any warnings about drilling a new peg hole in a bass?
Click to expand...

I repositioned the strap pin on my G&L 2500, and most of my other basses too. It changes the center of balance and has made my life MUCH easier!
 
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