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How's It Hangin'

bovinehost

bovinehost

Dec 5, 2002
4,165
2,254
www.bovinehost.com
Disclosures
Endorsing Artist: Ernie Ball Music Man/Sterling By Music Man
#1
Almost kind of entirely by mistake, I have a Chowny CHB2. I really wanted a Stingray Special but funds are tight. I made it up to myself by spending a lot less and still having a new plaything. I've always wanted a decent hollow/semi-hollow and this seems to be a really good instrument.

If you were at NAMM and played the red wine burst, that's the one I have now.

chownybassred.jpg

Thing is, I don't think I've ever had a bass with strap buttons like this. I mean the one at the bridge end is normal, but the one at the body end of the neck? And it hangs weird. I mean, if I keep it way up high like some crazed jazz monster, it's fine, but I tend to hit myself in the teeth with it.

If I hang it lower, not like at my knees like I'm in Foo Fighters, but at a normal height, it wants to tilt forward. I know I sound like some n00b here, but is there something I need to DO or BUY or fashion from dog toys or clothes-hangers?
 
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#3
bovinehost said:
Thing is, I don't think I've ever had a bass with strap buttons like this. I mean the one at the bridge end is normal, but the one at the body end of the neck? And it hangs weird. I mean, if I keep it way up high like some crazed jazz monster, it's fine, but I tend to hit myself in the teeth with it.
Click to expand...

The reason the strap lock is traditionally there on semi-hollow basses and guitars, is that it is screwed into the center block where there is plenty of wood for the screw to take purchase on.

You can move it to the top horn, but be aware that as it's a hollow body instrument you may need to add a bit of glue to make sure it doesn't rip out and damage the body. :)
 
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#5
Iridescentone said:
Yeah, you can move the top pin onto the horn. That'll get the pin a smidge closer to the nut and it won't hang weird. Prolly want to reinforce the inside of the horn area.

Or, wear it high and get a mouth guard to protect your teeth.
Click to expand...

Yes, my Steinberger Spirit has the same hanging weird problem. The solution people use for that is a piece of metal that screws into the neck block and extends out ward to the button at about the 12th fret. How far you need to go toward the 12th fret depends on the balance of the bass. Hopefully in your case the hollow body will allow you to get balance with the button on the horn end even though the horn is rather short. In that case the main worry is how thick the wood is there. If wood is thin you may need to mount the button with a washer or other reinforcement on the inside of the horn. But other than that it looks like it's going to be a killer bass.
 
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#6
EA-250 Epi-2.jpg Epi EA-260 Bass.JPG '94 Gretsch G6119B.JPG My MIJ Epiphone hollow bodies are within spitting distance of 50 years old, and the strap pins are just fine. The one on the bass' upper horn was moved slightly by the previous owner, but not for any structural reason. He just liked it better pointing down a little - like the one on his favorite old hollow body guitar... You can still see the thread cuts in the old hole; they're perfect. The wood there in the horn isn't real thick, but it's thick enough. The guitar? Strap pins are nice and solid, too. The strap pins on my '94 Gretsch Broadkaster are also doing OK. But the pins on these Gretsches aren't screwed straight into the wood. They're knurled, miniature control knob-looking things that thread on to a machine-threaded little stud, which is screwed into the body. The Gretsch's body also isn't particularly thick, but it's never given me any trouble. I have to say, though, that I'm one of those stand-in-the-shadows-next-to-the-drummer bass players, and I don't move around much, either. So, maybe I'm just lucky...:whistle:
 
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#7
I was just thinking about this last night. My Thunderbirds like to stare at the floor because of the strap pin behind the neck. Not using a strap lock helps keep it from being exxagerated, but I am also looking for a solution that doesn’t involve drilling a hole. (Or doing something unsightly with the strap.)
 
#8
chowny said:
You can move it to the top horn, but be aware that as it's a hollow body instrument you may need to add a bit of glue to make sure it doesn't rip out and damage the body. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the quick reply, Stephen. I'm definitely not going to move the button to the horn.
(There's a sentence I've never typed before.) This may be my Official Old Man Sitting Down Bass.
 
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#11
I’ve generally found it’s easiest to acclimate to the quirks and weirdnesses of an individual bass rather than go through gyrations trying to get it to do something its design doesn’t want it to do.

On a positive note, sometimes trying to work with something the way it is (rather than mod it) has pushed me outside my comfort zone and given me new musical ideas and insights.

I really like any bass that makes me think and play differently than I usually do. Otherwise why bother getting another bass? YMMV.

EE185F74-47A1-46EB-9670-92D5DED76265.jpeg
 
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#14
My Epi Jack Casady semi-hollow body has the strap pin on the rear at the base of the neck as well. That’s the traditional spot for many hollow bodies as mentioned.

I couldn’t make it work for me so I moved it to the top of the horn. I did insert and glue a piece of wood into the inside of the horn to hold the screw of the strap pin. (I did it by removing the pickup to gain interior access.)
 
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