Bass height- How high and why?

[Paulabass]

You can see by my avatar, I'm about as high up there as female physiology will allow. My fretting hand wrist has to be straight.

 

[Jay2U]

For me it's all about playability with minimum effort. I like to keep my strumming wrist as straight as possible, while being able to play finger style at very fast rates.
So low is my way to go.
This is how it works...

 

[armyadarkness]

There seems to be a lot of variance in how high different players strap on their basses. I'm trying to figure out the optimal height but haven't quite dialed it in yet. Some guys sling their basses down by their crotch. I'm curious as to why, even though I would never do that, as that seems to make serious playing more difficult. But some guys seem to like their basses super high, and I'm most interested in why they do that.

What makes or breaks a given height for you?

Very subjective. I wear mine very low, Dee Dee Ramone style. It makes fret work harder, but I can play faster, which suits my requirements. No real bass player would play for any length of time in an uncomfortable position. Not to sound like a jerk, but the answer you seek is in your house, not on TB.

If I tell you where to wear your bass will you do what I say? When you're comfortable and your skills are best, that's where the bass should sit.

 

[armyadarkness]

For me it's all about playability with minimum effort. I like to keep my strumming wrist as straight as possible, while being able to play finger style at very fast rates.
So low is my way to go.
This is how it works...

Lol... I've actually seen a few of your videos covering Lillingtons tunes.

 

[Siggy]

I wear my bass at about the same height standing as I do when practicing (sitting) 55 years ago, when I thought I was cool, or trying to look cool I'd hang it low like a gunslinger. Now that I know that I'm cool, I don't care what I look like and go for comfort.

 

[Paulabass]

A few years ago at NAMM I was talking to some hotshot whose name escapes me, but I will never forget his line-
Your guitar has to cover your crotch or you're just asking for trouble.

 

[ZAR14]

It's all about comfort. There is no Right or Wrong position, its all about what feels "Right" for You!

 

[ThaCoast]

Depends on my basses, some seem low, others seem higher, really just depends. I'm in camp of Paul Simonon during the Clash, Duff Mckagan - Nikki Sixx, Road to ruin era Dee Dee Ramone. So i swing em low enough where my picking hand is capable of downstrokes for extended hours without fatigue, but also where i can groove in up/down strokes with ease.

Again, depends on which bass i'm using

 

[Altitude]

I think it's culture.

We wear our bass the way our personal heroes did, more or less.

And, we wear it like the music we play suggests. You usually don't see a metal guy wear his bass up under his arm like a lot of funk guys do. Usually.

 

[JRA]

and then there's this: whatever playing "height" you might use in your twenties can change as you approach your 70's:
- fatter or skinnier
- muscle systems change and work differently (whether or not they have been abused!)
- less need for 'the look' and increased need for playability (some of us get smarter)
- yada yada

 

[TheReceder]

When I was a kid, I riveted extra leather onto my strap, got it just above my knees. All because the local band, Chameleon (that had of all people Yanni) had a bass player that just oozed stage presence.

Now... I qualify as a guy that looks like he belongs in a dad band.

Long interview, but check where he wore his ric at about 6 minutes into the video.

 

[andruca]

I hardly ever play with fingers in bands these days (mostly picked HC and metal) so I strap my bass about belt height (not that low really for my picking arm length). When I play fingerstyle I'll move it up, centered around belly button high (just not too high).

 

[vindibona1]

Many of us occasionally play our instruments, in this case bass or guitar, while sitting...If the instrument is played very low on your body while performing, then when you sit down to play or practice with the instrument on your leg you will notice a dramatic change in the angle of arms and wrists - now you will need to cultivate four arm & wrist positions.

I understand how that works. When I sit I'm always wearing a strap. When I play guitar, particularly acoustic and sitting I've always got an erect posture and my guitar is not on my right knee, but centered, somewhere between a classical position and a casual on-the-right-knee position. Bass, being a longer instrument, will be more natural over my knee, but you're right, it will have to be cinched up a bit.

You can see by my avatar, I'm about as high up there as female physiology will allow. My fretting hand wrist has to be straight.

Yeah... At that height my left hand is pretty comfortable with my Jazz basses. Right hand is good there too for slapping, but plucking the right gets a little bent. But my smaller bodied Yamaha isn't so happy up higher for my left arm and I feel the effort in my left shoulder. But lower my right hand feels good for plucking but the popping gets weak and woofy as I can't get under the strings so well down low.

With arthritis setting into my hands I'm just super sensitive and consequently super fussy about how it feels. I think this (not me in the picture) is about where my basses hang right now. I'm contemplating moving them up a tad. It will help the pop in my slapping, but make it a little harder for plucking. A dilemma for sure.

Thanks for your replies.

 

[ogreboy88]

So, what you're saying is...

This is wrong:

 

[vindibona1]

So, what you're saying is...

This is wrong:

View attachment 3056314

Wrong no? STUPID AND DORKY (and far from functional)? Do I have to answer that? I can only imagine how "accomplished" this dude is on bass. Reminds me of Lil Wayne on guitar...

 

[BurtMacklinFBI]

Just below belt height for me. It’s comfy for either picking or finger style and it keeps the bass off my gut. Want to know what’s less attractive than a guy with a fat gut? A guy with his bass sticking out at a really awkward angle because it’s riding on his gut. It’s a bad scene. Lucky for me most of my early bass heroes are from the Seattle grunge boom so I got into the low slung bass look from the get-go.

 

[Big Hoss]

Interesting thought. There are a LOT of variables at play here. Not the least of which is the players height, arm lenght, their weight etc... I am a 6' tall fat dude, so there is a sweet spot, because literally too high and the bass turns outwards on me, too low it turns inwards. And at my weight it is super hard to find a strap that can put a bass too low...

I find that, and this is going to be hard to describe, but if I hang the bass such that playing at the bridge would put my arm in about the same position as if I were putting my thumb through the first belt loop on my jeans, is about right, not too high, not too low...

On the strap issue. I had found one strap that works well for me, but they seemed to stop making them for a while. Those are the Guild Deluxe Ballglove leather 2.5" straps. A bit narrower than I like. And like I said, they got to be hard to find for a while where I thought they stopped making them... So I went with on my other basses, a combination of Perris 2" basic leather straps, fitted with Planet Waves strap extenders, which seems to be a good enough match even though the Perris slots are a bit tight for the PW strap extenders, they work... Since they are so narrow, to take the pressure off of my shoulder some faux sheepskin seat belt pad / covers. Super comfy, and cheap to boot.

 

[Doctor Intrepid]

I recently had to readjust my placement of the bass. Back when I used to play on the regular I had mid to low. When I started playing again recently I had to move the bass up. This was due to a video game injury (sad, but true). So now the bass is strung a bit high and almost pointed upright. This is so I can keep the elbow of my plucking arm at a 90 degree angle and my wrist completely straight. Now I suffer no pain when I play.

 

[honeyiscool]

Billy Sheehan plays lower than some, but he has long arms, long fingers and has a 45 degree angle that keeps his left wrist pretty straight.
View attachment 3055899

I’m 5’7” and I play a five but this position he’s using is about perfect for me.

 

[vindibona1]

On the strap issue. ..the Guild Deluxe Ballglove leather 2.5" straps. A bit narrower than I like. And like I said, they got to be hard to find for a while where I thought they stopped making them... So I went with on my other basses, a combination of Perris 2" basic leather straps, fitted with Planet Waves strap extenders, which seems to be a good enough match even though the Perris slots are a bit tight for the PW strap extenders, they work... Since they are so narrow, to take the pressure off of my shoulder some faux sheepskin seat belt pad / covers. Super comfy, and cheap to boot.

Since you brought up straps (a favorite topic of mine) here's a PSA for you... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Y0CG0XU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
A Perris 3.5" leather strap... $11 !!!! I have several of them in black, brown and one red ($16). The leather isn't soft and supple, but you can break them in like a baseball glove. IMO the absolute best buy on the market. Also Walker and Williams have great straps for half to 1/3 the price of other comparable brands.

UPDATE!
I took what everyone said to heart. I can't wear my guitars or basses low. My wrist just doesn't work that way. But my Yamaha is close to the picture I copied previously and my Fenders are about where Paulabass has her hung. My Ibanez is somewhere in the middle. For the most part I ended up raising my basses up about an inch from where I was playing them. I had to drill a hole half way between two existing holes on the extension straps on a couple of the straps, but the extra holes helped dial in the height better.

Thanks everyone!