Bass body shape and wrist bend

[belzebass]

Hello!

I have recently bought a Cort Curbow 5 string bass, and really happy with.
The bass has quite a small body, and it seems to force my wrist into a more bent position :-/ Did you encounter this, or am I just doing something wrong?

I use a moveable anchor technique, and carry the bass on a medium-high height

Thank you!

 

[ba55i5t]

I am familiar with this bass.

Are you playing it in classical style (body over left leg), or having the body over the right leg?

I think that this bass in particular would benefit from a contour at the top of the body where most players rest their forearms. However it's not really that bad and can be overlooked with time.

 

[Leo Thunder]

I always find interesting to bring guitar shapes in direct comparison to one another.
Here it is at scale with two of the usual ones aligned on the bottom curve of the body:

 

[belzebass]

Are you playing it in classical style (body over left leg), or having the body over the right leg?

I'm playing half classical position. I put the lower horn into my thigh (since it's a really short horn, and the lower par of the bass is miniature). That way it's the same position while sitting and while standing. The bass weights really little, so it doesn't bother me having it on a strap.

What seems to bother me is the smaller body just above the bridge, because that's where my forearm lands when playing. It seems to exagerate the bend of the wrist for me

 

[ba55i5t]

Yep understood. If you could post a picture that would also help to come up with a solution. I remember trying classical guitar playing style on this bass and it was very comfortable, but I tend to use floating thumb style regularly with no problems.

 

[mambo4]

stand up and postion the bass to eliminate L & R wrist bend

adjust strap & lower the bass body until your right wrist doesn't need to bend
angle the head stock up so that your left wrist doesn't need to bend

That's what I do anyhow. You can sort of see it in my profile pic.

 

[IamGroot]

I always find interesting to bring guitar shapes in direct comparison to one another.
Here it is at scale with two of the usual ones aligned on the bottom curve of the body:
View attachment 3237542

Excellent graphic!!!

 

[Lobster11]

I use a moveable anchor technique, and carry the bass on a medium-high height

There's the problem right there. I'm with @mambo4: Lengthen the strap and let the body hang low enough that you can keep a straight line from your elbow to your fingers. There's no good reason to rest your forearm lazily on the top of the bass and bend your wrist to reach the strings, and lots of good reasons not to.

 

[belzebass]

There's the problem right there. I'm with @mambo4: Lengthen the strap and let the body hang low enough that you can keep a straight line from your elbow to your fingers. There's no good reason to rest your forearm lazily on the top of the bass and bend your wrist to reach the strings, and lots of good reasons not to.

That's exactly what I did, and it's much better now. I have set my chair higher to to avoid crisping my wrist (I use a drum throne as a chair)

 

[Badwater]

All bases cause me to bend my wrist at extreme angles. For comfort I play standing up with picking area at or below waste level. Thus, no extreme wrist bending. May work for some, but not everyone. Everyone has a tolerance for how much they can bend their wrist for long periods of time. My tolerance is short.