Bass Guitar Right Hand Technique Quesions

[Bass707EU]

Hello everyone,

I’m naturally a jazz guitarist used to playing big hollow body guitars. I got a P bass copy and I’m some difficulty adjusting to the smaller body, particularly with my right hand technique. If I allow my forearm to rest on the bass my wrist bends causing pain. If I raise my forearm to straighten my wrist then my shoulder hurts.

Would a larger bodied acoustic bass guitar be a solution for these issues? Would I be able rest my forearm on an acoustic bass guitar and not have that bend in my wrist?


Yea yes I know in electric basses sound better but I’m a hobbyist with prior injuries from my gigging days.

 

[onda'bass]

Float your hand and lower your strap to a point that your shoulder is relaxed. If it to high, it’s like your shrugged up and tense.

 

[TyBo]

Hello everyone,

I’m naturally a jazz guitarist used to playing big hollow body guitars. I got a P bass copy and I’m some difficulty adjusting to the smaller body, particularly with my right hand technique. If I allow my forearm to rest on the bass my wrist bends causing pain. If I raise my forearm to straighten my wrist then my shoulder hurts.

Would a larger bodied acoustic bass guitar be a solution for these issues? Would I be able rest my forearm on an acoustic bass guitar and not have that bend in my wrist?


Yea yes I know in electric basses sound better but I’m a hobbyist with prior injuries from my gigging days.

I'd try adjusting the strap height. Sitting down? Try standing up, and use that strap setting, approximately, for sitting as well. Play around with it all until some comfort is reached.
For me, I need to wear the instrument fairly high, for best comfort. Different strokes situation for sure, one size, or setting, does not fit all. A lot also depends on what the RH technique is - fingers, pick, thumb ... etc. ...

 

[Nashrakh]

When it comes to sitting: Have you ever tried classical guitar position? I find that to be my golden ticket to healthy wrists. It looks feckin weird on a P bass, but I'll do whatever to avoid the T-Rex arms you see on most players.

Standing: Strap it high. High enough? No. Higher.

 

[SteveCS]

Hello everyone,

I’m naturally a jazz guitarist used to playing big hollow body guitars. I got a P bass copy and I’m some difficulty adjusting to the smaller body, particularly with my right hand technique. If I allow my forearm to rest on the bass my wrist bends causing pain. If I raise my forearm to straighten my wrist then my shoulder hurts.

Would a larger bodied acoustic bass guitar be a solution for these issues? Would I be able rest my forearm on an acoustic bass guitar and not have that bend in my wrist?


Yea yes I know in electric basses sound better but I’m a hobbyist with prior injuries from my gigging days.

Welcome to TalkBass, and sorry to hear you are having problems finding a comfortable playing position. If you can post some pictures (selfies?!) of the various positions that are giving you problems it would really help - as it stands we are shooting blind in terms of assessing the issue.

 

[And I]

the "right hand floating thumb" technique helps me keep a straighter right wrist.

 

[thunesBARROW]

I think getting an acoustic bass guitar might be the best and easiest solution for you. You won’t have to modify your technique as much, and I think you’ll be more comfortable since that’s what you’re already used to.

As far as tone, I don’t think they sound any better or worse than a solid body bass. Different? Yes, but not worse.

 

[trseal]

Sounds to me like the guitars too high. Lengthen the strap so your right arm and wrist lie more naturally.

Tim

 

[mambo4]

My strap height is my primary weapon against a bent right wrist.
( positioning my "plucking zone" near my waist )
Similarly my neck angle is my primary weapon against a bent left wrist
( positioning my "fretting zone" nearer to my head/shoulders )
See my avatar pic.

Other players have other preferences.
The primary approach is to position the bass to suit your body mechanics and not the opposite.

Note: my positioning is different when It's a guitar.

 

[SteveCS]

Would a larger bodied acoustic bass guitar be a solution for these issues?

I think getting an acoustic bass guitar might be the best and easiest solution for you.

Agree - although maybe even a slimmer semi-acoustic might also suit?

The long-scale Epiphone Jack Casady:

or the short-scale Guild Starfire:

or even a Hofner Club:

All three of these bring an ergonomic character that might suit better whilst still sounding good plugged in.

 

[DylanGCM]

Probably a posture that doesn't work/groove for everyone, but I've really appreciated how ergonomically natural (and healthy...reduces likelihood of injury) Janek's approach is here:

Right Hand Technique - Janek Gwizdala (YouTube)

Probably don't need to watch the whole thing to get the gist, but hope this gives another idea on posture and right hand approach.

 

[DylanGCM]

Rereading your original post, I think this may also have to do with your feet if playing while seated.

Having your left foot on a box or one of those folding ramps classical guitarists use while seating your bass in the middle (rather than to the right) of your lap enables his posture to make sense.

Otherwise, yeah, it does feel like you'd wear your shoulder out trying to hold your arm out far enough to make the straight wrist thing work with the bass on your right thing (like I see most people do, and naturally do myself when I'm not thinking about posture).

 

[bigdaddybass12]

Lower the strap a little, hold the neck a little higher, move your elbow a little back. Slight adjustment of all 3 of these should solve your problem.

 

[matthewbrown]

Hello everyone,

I’m naturally a jazz guitarist used to playing big hollow body guitars. I got a P bass copy and I’m some difficulty adjusting to the smaller body, particularly with my right hand technique. If I allow my forearm to rest on the bass my wrist bends causing pain. If I raise my forearm to straighten my wrist then my shoulder hurts.

Would a larger bodied acoustic bass guitar be a solution for these issues? Would I be able rest my forearm on an acoustic bass guitar and not have that bend in my wrist?


Yea yes I know in electric basses sound better but I’m a hobbyist with prior injuries from my gigging days.

I play a big archtop Washburn. I'm trying to adjust to the bigger body, so I'm going in the other direction. If you're using a pick, you'll want to raise the bass up. When I play sitting, I use a classical guitar footstool and an adjustable drum throne. With a strap, the bass needs to be elevated enough that both hands are in a "neutral" position, without excessive flexion of the wrists or other joints. Tilting the bass neck upward helps keep the right hand lower, which helps if you're using fingerstyle.

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

Many mfrs. make jazz box sized electric basses. Ibanez, Dean (at least they used to), many others. You will probably still need to adjust strap length and neck angle. Good luck! Enjoy!

BBB

 

[Wasnex]

Does the bass balance on the strap, or does it have neck dive.

I would rather have a heavy bass that balances on the strap than a light bass that has neck dive.

If the bass balances on the strap, experiment with height. In my experience, going higher generally benefits your fretting hand and going lower generally benefits your plucking hand.

The height I use is pretty much the same for sitting and standing. Due to your injuries and unique physiology, you may prefer higher or lower.

 

[VW fan]

Be very careful to avoid tendonitis!
I was heading down that path and, in order to keep playing, had to rethink my default playing position. Consequently, the classical guitar style has alleviated most of the pain.

 

[thisheregiraffe]

Be very careful to avoid tendonitis!
I was heading down that path and, in order to keep playing, had to rethink my default playing position. Consequently, the classical guitar style has alleviated most of the pain.

I'm doing physiotherapy to treat tendonitis at the moment. Not fun! Unfortunately, I think my RH technique was one of the big contributors to the pain I've been experiencing in my elbow and forearm. It took a long time to get to this point. Probably didn't even realize it for a long time. Now I need to make some changes.

 

[TyBo]

I happened across a clip of an early performance by The Who, and Entwhistle's positioning reminded me of this thread. He lays his RH forearm along the length of the (somewhat large) bass body, with the instrument sitting high, neck elevated, and his RH seems rather stationary, cocked in a position to easily pluck the strings. Worked for him anyway, that's for sure!