defeat neck dive with a hootenanny strap?

[Pimpernel Smith]

McCartney used this method with The Beatles.

 

[Thunderthumbs73]

what is a hootenanny strap you ask? the old fenders (starting in 1960 I believe) came with a strap button on the back of the headstock. supposedly this naturally slings the bass in a more upright position...

seems plausible, gonna try it. none of my basses have the button but I assume i can use the old shoelace method as well.

who's done it? let's hear about it.

Which bass?

I suggest lighter tuners for two reasons:
1.) Should definitely reduce if not eliminate neck dive.
2.) Will make the bass feel lighter, overall.

Oh and I don't know about you, but I'm absolutely NOT going to drill a strap button into a headstock, and whoever I'd trust to do it will charge me money... which is money I'd rather spend on retro-fittable lighter tuners.

 

[wompwomp]

Oh good another neck dive thread

The three options for neck dive you'll find on Talk Bass:

1. Sell it
2. Fight it
3. Deny it

I'm in camp one. A surprising number are in camps 2 and 3. I'm not saying it's better than the others for you, but I cannot live in denial or throw good money after bad.

no this is a strap hootenanny! haha.

I have a few basses, none have a terrible neck dive. I was just being considerate and inclusive about the topic.

personally I like a more natural upright posture with a bass guitar, I have to stand to play and prefer a nice tall stance for my left hand, first fret should more or less be looking me in the eye.

I tend to agree with whoever said the hootenanny strap will likely move the center of the bass back towards my right hand and I also agree that isn't ideal. I would not consider using a hootenanny strap with my dreadnought for that exact reason (if folks here don't know most high end guitar makers do not include a strap button on the heel of the neck the default is the hootenanny strap unless you opt to have a heel button installed which I always do). the heel strap lets you push the instrument towards the left hand, ideal for both hands.

gonna try the hootenanny idea with the bass a bit later today, will report back.

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

For years I worked with a guitarist who had an improperly set broken left collar bone. He had to use a hootenanny strap. I tried it long ago on a bass (probably a Fender) and found it awkward but more importantly the strap would tug on the headstock and neck, causing the bass to "fret out". I wasn't concerned about damage (ref. Paul Simenon's bass on the cover of "London Calling") but wobbly tuning?, yeah.

BBB

 

[wompwomp]

For years I worked with a guitarist who had an improperly set broken left collar bone. He had to use a hootenanny strap. I tried it long ago on a bass (probably a Fender) and found it awkward but more importantly the strap would tug on the headstock and neck, causing the bass to "fret out". I wasn't concerned about damage (ref. Paul Simenon's bass on the cover of "London Calling") but wobbly tuning?, yeah.

BBB

sure. I mostly survived cancer but it left a sort of hole in the left side of my back. my hand works pretty good but my shoulder is trash . really helps to get the neck angled up otherwise it can be a bit hard to get traction with the instrument.

I suspect - for me - I will end up staying with the horn button but using an EVH style swivel so the strap is not directly connected to the guitar and can hang a bit freer on that side. seems like a sensible option and easy enough to try.

 

[wompwomp]

ok folks I tried it. i'll show you the setup:

so I used an old martin strap I had laying around with a leather shoestring under the strings in the traditional way. the strap isn't totally maxed out; it is on the extension but I'm on the 2nd hole from the end, you can just see the tail if you look between the endpin and the jack. you can get a sense of how high i'm wearing the thing from the amount of slack shown but I guess I can send along a pic of me wearing it if need be.

it's as close to my body as I can get it and it is indeed very upright, the first fret is looking me in the eye. my right hand is unsurprisingly forward on the body just in front of the neck pup. the strap is not exactly supporting everything on its own my right arm is pretty involved but my left hand is very independent so it seems. everything feels pretty good!

the guitar is an aerodyne, a very lightweight body and the most divey of my basses. it also has that bound edge and no chamfer at the front so it can be unfriendly to some players at the forearm.

verdict: so far i'm really liking it!

for me the stress test will be how articulate and strong my left hand is on my fretless basses. if I feel it's developable then I think this is a winner.

fwiw I believe in candor so I appreciate all the engagement and thoughts!

 

[Shinbone]

I think I just held the strap in place to see where the balance point was.
Can't remember if I tried taping the strap in place temporarily or not. (you might want to do that over a couch)

View attachment 7271177

This has been my solution. Move the strap button. I think manufacturers like to put the button at the center because aesthetically that's where it looks like it belongs, but that's not always the best for balance. I solved the neck dive on my Thunderbird by relocating both strap buttons.

 

[Pimpernel Smith]

I've never owned a Fender bass in my 58 years of playing bass, but I remember that Fender basses had a hootenanny button on the back of their heads back in the 1960s.

 

[wompwomp]

update:

after a few weeks of earnest tinkering (honestly it's been tough sledding lately but I know the difference between bad back and bad setup) I have some thoughts about the hootenanny strap...

- strapping the headstock does indeed push the instrument back towards the player's right side as noted in thread. I would expect the jazz bass offset architecture would reinforce this but I have not yet tried the idea with a p-bass to see if the effect is lessened with another body shape...

- the hootenanny strap completely liberates the left hand. I still haven't tried it with either of my fretless basses (I have both a p and a j to try) but it may prove ideal especially as it pushes the plucking hand towards the neck...