IMO, neck dive on expensive guitars is absolutely inexcusable

[James Collins]

Holding the neck like a baseball bat. Not an option for anyone with a more classical grip on the neck. He does seem to have a good strap though, so that's probably helping.

I wasn't even paying attention to his human thumb. But I think he is using it as a mute and for fretting. I watched it again and it doesn't look like he is holding the neck up with his left hand. He just moves too effortlessly.

I'm not trying to say they don't dive or that most videos are of people playing sitting down.

I wonder what the bass would have done if he did this!
View attachment 3059669

Thanks.

 

[SoulReflection]

I wasn't even paying attention to his human thumb. But I think he is using it as a mute and for fretting. I watched it again and it doesn't look like he is holding the neck up with his left hand. He just moves too effortlessly.

I'm not trying to say they don't dive or that most videos are of people playing sitting down.

Thanks.View attachment 3059849

"Look, Ma, no neck dive" but, look at his shirt on his right shoulder!

I have to admit that when I was young, I never experience neck dive on a number of basses. Maybe I should emphasize when I was young .

 

[James Collins]

"Look, Ma, no neck dive" but, look at his shirt on his right shoulder!

I have to admit that when I was young, I never experience neck dive on a number of basses. Maybe I should emphasize when I was young .

Which if you go back to the video of Andy Irvine playing his thumb, he looks relaxed and the strap is loose... So again what is he doing? Or is it just a balanced thumb?

 

[Watchootognbout]

I wasn't even paying attention to his human thumb. But I think he is using it as a mute and for fretting. I watched it again and it doesn't look like he is holding the neck up with his left hand. He just moves too effortlessly.

I'm not trying to say they don't dive or that most videos are of people playing sitting down.

Thanks.View attachment 3059849

You have a thick,wide strap like I do.
That's the secret.

 

[SoulReflection]

You have a thick,wide strap like I do.
That's the secret.

I have a thick, wide strap as well. My shirt looks just like his, only I'm right handed (oh, and mine does not have a superman logo). But, transferring the strain from your fretting hand to your strap shoulder does not seem like a viable solution to me, but, who am I to say? I respect your opinion...maybe its mutual.

 

[SoulReflection]

Which if you go back to the video of Andy Irvine playing his thumb, he looks relaxed and the strap is loose... So again what is he doing? Or is it just a balanced thumb?

Your guess is as good as mine. If he is truly happy, I would vote for a balanced thumb.

 

[Giffro]

"Look, Ma, no neck dive" but, look at his shirt on his right shoulder!

I have to admit that when I was young, I never experience neck dive on a number of basses. Maybe I should emphasize when I was young .

Made me laugh then SR..took me back to the old joke with the little kid on his bicycle..Look Ma, no hands. Look Ma, no feet. Look Ma, no teeth.

 

[IamGroot]

Andy Irvine recorded an album with Tiny Tim titled Prisoner of Love.

Andrew Irvine (bassist) - Wikipedia

 

[dbsfgyd1]

So you got some centuries old wood on the bass you crafted, it has pickups hand wound by fairies, hardware precision cast by the best blacksmith in the universe, as well as blessings from several dieties deities... only to have it neck dive.

My mate ordered a Warwick thumb BO6 from thomann and when it got here it looked great, he strapped it aaaand... headstock wanted to go to China to visit its aunt. This wasn't slight neck dive that you'd see on slightly lighter bodied P and J basses. No, this was EB0 levels of neck dive right there on a 1900e instrument.

He just returned the instrument.

I told him if he liked it enough he could just use the extended screw to make the guitar balance better, but he told me that if his 150e squier doesn't have this issue nor require a workaround like that, then sure as hell his 1900e warwick shouldn't, either.

IMO, if you have neck dive, get a better strap, preferably made from cloth, and at least 4” wide. Seriously, a bass can’t neck dive unless the strap is sliding on your shoulder.

 

[Christine]

Nothing winds me up more than limp wristed bassists complaining about neck dive and heavy basses. What the hell happened to rock and roll?

 

[Korladis]

Nothing winds me up more than limp wristed bassists complaining about neck dive and heavy basses. What the hell happened to rock and roll?

It got old and apparently developed back problems.

 

[SoulReflection]

Nothing winds me up more than limp wristed bassists complaining about neck dive and heavy basses. What the hell happened to rock and roll?

...'nuff said. Have at it youngins...

 

[blowinblue]

Nothing winds me up more than bassists playing neck-diving basses who put stage image before practicality. Ok, I exaggerate. It is in the top 50 of things that wind me up but probably sits at around 43 on that list.

M. M.

 

[Christine]

Loose some weight, get yourself fit and just get on with it or learn to play the flute. If it wasn't about stage image then we would all be playing Harley Benton's or something cheap and cheerful, not that there's anything at all wrong with HBs

 

[Korladis]

Nothing winds me up more than bassists playing neck-diving basses who put stage image before practicality. Ok, I exaggerate. It is in the top 50 of things that wind me up but probably sits at around 43 on that list.

M. M.

Such as?

 

[MordBass]

Nothing winds me up more than limp wristed bassists complaining about neck dive and heavy basses. What the hell happened to rock and roll?

or they play the types of lines that require the left hand to be playing the bass rather than stopping it from diving.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Nothing winds me up more than limp wristed bassists complaining about neck dive and heavy basses. What the hell happened to rock and roll?

Loose some weight, get yourself fit and just get on with it or learn to play the flute. If it wasn't about stage image then we would all be playing Harley Benton's or something cheap and cheerful, not that there's anything at all wrong with HBs

Body weight and muscularity have nothing to do with the issues that can arise from wearing heavy basses or neck dive. The trapezius and shoulder muscles can be strained or impinged even when well built and using lighter weights.

 

[MordBass]

Body weight and muscularity have nothing to do with the issues that can arise from wearing heavy basses or neck dive. The trapezius and shoulder muscles can be strained or impinged even when well built and using lighter weights.

I would say yes and no.... You are definitely right but at the same time a great many people have back issues that stem from being out of shape. Regardless..... displacement is the real champion here. Wider strap with more padding = less weight put on each square inch of your shoulder.

 

[Watchootognbout]

Body weight and muscularity have nothing to do with the issues that can arise from wearing heavy basses or neck dive. The trapezius and shoulder muscles can be strained or impinged even when well built and using lighter weights.

Also the added forearm muscle tension caused by having to lift the neck while fretting.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Nothing winds me up more than limp wristed bassists complaining about neck dive and heavy basses. What the hell happened to rock and roll?

And gear weight?