• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Bass height versus Age

#64
Just think, in another 38 years you'll be slinging it like Gerry Marsden
images.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jah Wobble Fan and JIO
#65
I started out at, what I think of as medium height, then moved the bass to under my chin. Chin height was way to high for me to play comfortably in the lower register so a dropped the bass down to lower than chin level but higher than what I started with. The end result of all this is that I have good access to the whole neck and no need to turn my belt to the side to prevent belt rash.
 
#67
When I resumed playing in 2001 after a long layoff I just gravitated to having my bass so that it was the same height sitting or standing ... It just seemed logical to me.. but then even when I was younger I never was a low hanging player but I did have it lower than I do now.
 
#68
micguy said:
I've been playing bass for decades. In my 20's, the top horn of my bass was about belt height - It was a time where playing with guitars and basses slung low was cool, I was young, and that position meant my right hand was pretty straight. That afforded a lot of power in my right hand to attack the strings. I had an inadequate amp to start with; decades later my technique is similar, in that the strings are very often bouncing off the frets (or fingerboard on a fretless).

Anyway, over the years, it seems every 5 or 10 years, I decide it'd be more ergonomic to move the bass up a little - not a lot, just a little. Net result is, over 38 years, my basses now sit about 6 inches higher than when I started. It's still an inch or so lower than playing in a seated position, but pretty close at this point.

When i started, I had a hard time getting a strap that was long enough - a bass slung low on a tall person meant I had to search a while to get a strap long enough. Now, not so much - 6 inches higher means the strap is about a foot shorter.

I have also made these moves very slowly - half an inch or an inch at a time - more than that, and it felt really awkward. like the bass was goig to choke me or something.

Anyone else experience this?
Click to expand...
yes been there done that.ah, the 20's. when you raise the bass up higher it allowes your hand postions ( right hand) to be more ergonomic to the postion your playin' in.Ok, here's a seed that ALL bass players should remember.we all change thru out the years, taste,talents, genres.As flavor as, amps ,4 0r 5 string, heads and pedals.We all change with age.My friend what your expienceing is normal. find your self a 3.5 with leather strap wide so it gets right with your body contour( something soft. the hard stuff just jacks with your neck)Takes away from your groove for you and your drummer.when you get the strap you want, put it on, does the peg head slide down?where you have to pull the neck up?that could be the balance of the bass that's not right for you. PLEASE don't get me wrong on this,but as we get older, we change as we go.The main thing my friend youhave to be comfortable with your bass. balance, balance,and BALANCE. cuz, how can you do the best performance if you fell uncomfortable. Let me know if this helps. Thank for time.
 
#69
micguy said:
Anyone else experience this?
Click to expand...

No. I have always worn the instrument at a comfortable, moderate height, such that I would not have to reach way down, nor would it be "choking" me. I never went in for the slung low, hard rock/punk aesthetic. For that matter, I never went in for hitting the strings hard either. I keep the strings set close to the fretboard/fingerboard, and I play with a light touch.

For me, it's all about finesse and skill - not about slamming the crap out of the thing for the sake of "image" or "attitude". It's a musical instrument.

MM
 
#71
JimmyM said:
I started out higher and got lower as I got older. I wear it pretty low today, although not Jimmy Page low. More like Linley Marthe low. Can't stand it all bunched up on my chest.
Click to expand...
yes sir,myself. seen bassplayers that would burn up the neck so fast, when sat down, then you feel the wave of air.(lol)and this bass was about a foot below his chin.saw it I Austin.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JimmyM
#73
GretschWretch said:
Because I favor long-scale hollowbodies, my bases must be slung low if I am to reach the first couple of frets. But I also am trying to figure a way to hang them at about a sixty-degree angle a la early Bill Wyman, mostly to access the higher frets as well (and it does seem to make weight less of an issuel).
Click to expand...

That's easy! Just adjust your strap to the longest possible position. It's how I manage to play a giant acoustic bass comfortably.
 
#74
I always set mine about belt high but my straps seem to slip over time and I don't realize it. Sometimes I find that I've been playing comfortably for quite awhile at a ridiculously low (for me) strap height. Then I readjust and go "ahhh that's better" but for awhile I was cool with it. Which leads me to think that #1 I don't pay attention to stuff at all.(dumb) And #2 I can adjust and play under different situations without worrying about it.(cool!)
 
#78
5' 7" on a good day, and I started at 13 wearing it with the body centered about belt buckle height. Working on my 48th year now, and I have also come up slowly over time. It's now probably 4" above where it started. I don't wear it like a bowtie, but it's arguably higher than most of the other local players wear theirs. Playability is what matters to me, and that height is where both hands can do their best work.

As a bonus, it rides high on my expanding gut which angles it back where I can see the fret markers with ease.
 
#79
micguy said:
I've been playing bass for decades. In my 20's, the top horn of my bass was about belt height - It was a time where playing with guitars and basses slung low was cool, I was young, and that position meant my right hand was pretty straight. That afforded a lot of power in my right hand to attack the strings. I had an inadequate amp to start with; decades later my technique is similar, in that the strings are very often bouncing off the frets (or fingerboard on a fretless).

Anyway, over the years, it seems every 5 or 10 years, I decide it'd be more ergonomic to move the bass up a little - not a lot, just a little. Net result is, over 38 years, my basses now sit about 6 inches higher than when I started. It's still an inch or so lower than playing in a seated position, but pretty close at this point.

When i started, I had a hard time getting a strap that was long enough - a bass slung low on a tall person meant I had to search a while to get a strap long enough. Now, not so much - 6 inches higher means the strap is about a foot shorter.

I have also made these moves very slowly - half an inch or an inch at a time - more than that, and it felt really awkward. like the bass was goig to choke me or something.

Anyone else experience this?
Click to expand...

IMHO, too high stresses the wrist on your plucking arm; too low stresses the wrist on your fretting arm. Find the best compromise given you instrument and physiology.
 
#80
My main strap, which I use on my two Jazz basses, has four holes in the bottom end which see regular use. I just measured, and the distance from the shortest to the longest is 10 inches. Sometimes I'll use all 4 positions during a single set, depending on how I feel, though that is rare - usually it's only two which are close to each other.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back