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Basses for bassists with back issues

#141
I play in an all original music band and the longest show we've ever played is An hour and forty five minutes. Haven't played a lightweight bass that I thought sounded good yet. My compromise is having a high dollar strap. Having a nice wide padded strap makes a huge difference for shows. We also have a couple acoustic songs we mix into longer sets and I normally play sitting for those. We don't practice together often because all the band members are spread out through North Carolina but when we get together its an all day thing and i play sitting down through most of practice.
 
#142
Fender or another company used to make a "bass belt" that, essentially, was a wider, padded strap that attached to the rear strap button and went around your back at the waist. I can't find a picture, but it appears that the weight-lifter's belt in this thread is the same idea. I believe their was an additional connection point on the back of the bass for the other end of the belt. I assume that such a cantraption would limit your ability to move the neck up and down a bit should you wish to.
 
#144
Rip Topaz said:
The only thing stopping me from owning a Hofner is the look. The violin bass thing just isn't me. Great bass for a bad back, though.
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Don't forget that they make the Club bass -- single cutaway and still lightweight. Available in the Chinese-made series, so you don't have to drop $1800 to try one. Brian Ray uses a Club bass on the song "Let's Fall Apart" on his "This Way UP" CD, and I think that the bassist in the British band Gomez uses a Club. And don't believe those who say that the Hofners have only one sound. If you experiment and use both pickups, you can get quite a bit of punch form these basses. McCartney uses on the front pickup, which is very bassy.
 
#145
bad_andy said:
I use a Kala U-Bass 2 and just acquired a Kala SUB solid-body as well. I bought mine to knock around on and ended up discovering that it was quite usable as a gigging instrument. Very nice for those long 4 and 5 set shows. YMMV.
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I agree that the Kala solidbody is a great option. I have one of the California made fivers. Gonna try replacing the proprietary Kala black strings with Thunderguts for stability and ease of tuning.
 
#149
JoeVictim said:
No. I'm playing Couch right now. They have no intentions of making anything wider than two inches. I've been living without leather for 3 years. Don't want to step backwards...
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I have an update for you. I wrote a letter to Mono about their GS1 Betty strap (a wide, padded strap). Here is the reply I received:


Thanks for the email.
We do not use leather or animal products in the production of any Mono products. We use a material called hypalon in places where many other companies use leather. It is a very strong and weather resistant material that is often used to make rafts.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
 
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#150
boynamedsuse said:
I have an update for you. I wrote a letter to Mono about their GS1 Betty strap (a wide, padded strap). Here is the reply I received:


Thanks for the email.
We do not use leather or animal products in the production of any Mono products. We use a material called hypalon in places where many other companies use leather. It is a very strong and weather resistant material that is often used to make rafts.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I ended up ordering the polyester ended strap from bass strings online. I'll let you guys know how it works out. The GS1 Betty might be plan B at this point.

I appreciate you asking. :bassist:
 
#153
NYC Sadowsky, Rob Allen, Danelectro, Birdsong, Godin, and Carl Thompson basses all usually run light. However, the lightest bass I own is a Squier Mike Dirnt made from agathis at 6.5 pounds. It is also one of the best sounding basses I have played. Apparently, I got lucky with mine as usually they run heavy (or so I have heard).
 

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