Forearm guard

[Bodeanly]

Some people pay money for the "road worn" look. I say cover your wrist with sandpaper and let the finish chips fall where they may. Or, if you have no sense of humor, I also like the shirt sleeve idea.

 

[BecDeCorbin]

Well heck, I could just slice the edge off with a band saw for a nice forearm cut and be done with it.

 

[thomas-k]

Or you could put a banjo armrest on (with double sided tape, not screwing it into your bass).
Here is one on a gretsch guitar :

 

[GretschWretch]

Well heck, I could just slice the edge off with a band saw for a nice forearm cut and be done with it.

But the bass would have more mojo if you abandoned the band saw and just gnawed the forearm cut into it.

 

[JimmyThunder]

 

[BecDeCorbin]

Hmmm, I wonder if Gene Simmons could spare a piece of his gear...

 

[Bodeanly]

But the bass would have more mojo if you abandoned the band saw and just gnawed the forearm cut into it.

Incorrect. With the help of Mojo Oil, a modern bandsaw cut can have just as much mojo as a vintage gnaw.

 

[Hopi76]

I had the same thing with my bound Aerodyne Fender Jazz, I find myself playing it a little more around the side of my right waist. Doesn't really effect my technique, but it does provide some forearm relief.

 

[Doner Designs]

I have switched to only using Fender spec bodies for this reason. Would love to have an AEB, but they are too dang uncomfortable.

 

[superdick2112]

So I just got a new Ric 4003, and as anticipated, the corner where the top and side meet is irritating my forearm. I normally use a soft wristband for playing, but that's not enough in this case. I know Cliff Williams used to use what looked like an archer's leather forearm guard, so I'm considering something along those lines. However, I don't want to prematurely wear the corner of my new baby. Any suggestions?

Just curious - if you anticipated this, why didn't you go for the 4003s instead? Super comfy bevel, and all the tone of a regular 4003.

 

[Lobster11]

I had the same problem when I first got my Jack Casady, which also has sharp body edges. It was a big enough problem that I almost sold the bass. But it turned out be a blessing in disguise, because it made me realize that I need to adjust my right-arm positioning. The reason the body edge was digging painfully into my forearm was that I was resting the arm heavily on top of the bass, in an almost-horizontal position, and bending my wrist so my fingers could dangle down to reach the strings. This might look cool, but the bent wrist severely hampers the dexterity of the plucking fingers and increases the risk of injury. So, I started holding my elbow out, further away from my body, so that my arm was resting on, and parallel to, the face of the bass -- rather than almost perpendicular to it, as before. This not only solved the original problem of the body edge digging into my forearm, but straightened out my wrist, which in turn immediately improved my technique and speed. Once I realized these benefits I adopted the same new arm positioning with all my basses, whether they had sharp edges or not, and I'm a better player because of it. I might have learned this lesson somewhere else eventually, but it turned out that having a bass with a sharp edge got me there sooner.

 

[Facebook user]

Just do what Telecaster guys do.

 

[Garret Graves]

Maybe the leather is your best option, but the following should be considered too. After I saw this video, i made some changes to my technique, that made the forearm digging in problem pretty much disappear. Start at 2:20 and listen to what he has to say about playing angle and technique, strength, etc.
http://youtu.be/CNUGpfVHLfk

 

[StudioGC]

Always ask a question as "What would Phil do?"

 

[monsterthompson]

Probably overkill.

 

[Helaskold]

I just wear a wristband, like what basketball players wear. Seems to do the job and it's kind of grown on me as an accessory.

 

[Lobster11]

Always ask a question as "What would Phil do?"
View attachment 819651

Yeah, I got that idea from him and use a wristband like that when the weather (or room) is warm and humid, so I can move my arm smoothly and to protect the bass from perspiration.

But also, per my (and another) comment above, note the position of his right arm: completely parallel to the face of the bass, with no bend at all in his wrist. Even if that bass had a sharp top edge, and he didn't have the wrist band, that sharp edge would not be digging into his forearm.

 

[AltGrendel]

My first thoughts was that the whole point here is to protect both the OPs forearm and the Ric as well. Most of the cloth solutions won't work for the arm, I'd just try the archer's forearm protector and go with that. They're probably a softer leather than you think.

 

[Facebook user]

People have been playing Telecasters, acoustic guitars, all sorts of hollow and semi hollowbody electrics and anything else with a slab body just fine since the invention of the guitar. It's not a Rickenbacker issue, it's an issue of technique.

 

[StudioGC]

Yeah, I got that idea from him and use a wristband like that when the weather (or room) is warm and humid, so I can move my arm smoothly and to protect the bass from perspiration.

But also, per my (and another) comment above, note the position of his right arm: completely parallel to the face of the bass, with no bend at all in his wrist. Even if that bass had a sharp top edge, and he didn't have the wrist band, that sharp edge would not be digging into his forearm.

True, I never noticed the right arm position before. I definetly like basses with contours. I guess I could learn to adjust my arm to suit the bass if it was a killer sounding bass....or adopt Sting's technique: