Fenderbird- neck dive

[dane22]

Hi all,
I've been away a long time. I just finished my under 300 dollar Fenderbird. I bought a 2011 Squier VM jazz for 100 bucks and a 2000 something Epi Goth T'bird for 180 (with case). I refinished it with gloss black because I didn't like the look or feel of the matte finish. I'm happy with the result but the neck dive bothers me. I've seen some pics of strap button extensions to cure the problem. Where can I get one or how do I make one?

 

[funkingroovin]

Nicely done! Concerning the neck dive,I've seen a couple T-birds on here over the years that have had 'strap-button extender' for lack of a better term..It was like a 2 1/2" long piece of round stock that screwed into the body,extending the button to an 'upper horn' position eliminating the dive. I don't know the supplier,but I know they're out there..

Found a few pics..http://www.3dentourage.com/425/fender-bird2.htm

 

[Immigrant]

Ric5 will probably be along soon with the answer you seek.

I wonder if a Batsignal type device could be constructed so he could be made available to answer this and five string conversion questions just by shining it towards the clouds?

 

[KeithAlanK]

I fought the dive, and I won.

Ibanez Iceman bass--manage to fit 12 oz of lead in the control cavity, plus another 8 oz in a cellphone case attached to the strap. Went from extreme neckdive to zero, and even with all that added weight the bass feels lighter because it balances.

 

[Sahe_Bassist]

When I had a t bird, I always planned to buy some wrist/ankle weights to put on the back strap. Maybe a pound at most. Look on Amazon, they are cheap.

I ended up trading it for an ibanez btb 5 string eventually.

 

[Mark4]

Have you tried relocating the strap button on the body behind the neck? That can make a big difference.

 

[Grissle]

Yeah I relocated the buttons to the back on mine and it worked. Still may add some Gotoh Res-O-Lite tuners down the road. The Gotoh's might work by themselves?

 

[Ric5]

I built my own DIY straplok extenders ... stops neck dive every time.

 

[Webtroll]

Ultralight tuners?

 

[depalm]

Yep. That kind of construction screams for neck dive. Straplock extensions and ultralite tuners should solve most of the problems.

 

[Gaolee]

If you play it more vertical, it won't dive near as much. You need to move the strap button to the heel of the neck, but that's only going to get you so far. My experience with Gibson basses is that they like being near vertical, unlike Fenders that will poke you in the stomach if you try it. I play the 'Bird and EB-2 I have in an upright position and the Fender in a more horizontal position. My take on this is that Gibson neck dive issues and the bad rap come from people trying to treat them like they are Fender instruments. They aren't and have their own thing going.

 

[Rod Barchetta]

There is another way that doesn't require modifying the bass.

You buy a cheap leather strap guitar strap, cut off the portion with the slots, buy fishing weights as needed and wrap in a neat packet of duct tape, thread the slotted portion over your strap leaving space for the weights, use the long leather portion of the strap to wrap around to hide and secure the weight packet, use a black twist tie to secure the end of the strap.

You can change the weight; you can use it more than one guitar; and the weight is in exactly the right place so it doesn't take too much weight to balance the guitar. Works like a charm.