"I've made a huge mistake"

[Febs]

I'm honestly not trying to flame the OP. But if a guy like Stanley Clarke or Alfonso Johnson, who's also tall with long fingers, can play an Alembic 4 string neck the size of a pencil, and still have flawless technique. I think it just might be your lack of technique after only 4 months of lessons.

This. While it's true that Schecters have relatively narrow necks, the problem is much more likely to be with your technique than the instrument. After all, bigger guys can play smaller instruments like guitars, mandolins, banjos, etc. without difficulty.

 

[JZQuantum]

I agree with the others. It is your technique. Most bass players start with a four string I'd venture to guess. And a fender jazz type bass at that.

That being said, you could try a used yamaha fiver. A yammy bbn5 was my first bass. It was easy to play.

 

[Moe Monsarrat]

Adjust your strap.

 

[carl h.]

Don't blame the bass, it hasn't changed. You need to get some lessons from someone who knows what they are doing.


"Honest officer, the car won't drive the speed limit! I've been shopping for a slower car but they are so expensive. Do you think a pickup would drive slower? Maybe something with a heavier motor, like a corvette?"

 

[Christofolo]

Well I came back from the stores and I generally do have a fondness for P-basses I just got the used schecter cause it was such a good deal. And yes my technique is probably horrible because I am going with the whole keep your thumb on the back of the neck and other notes that you'd read off a book but for some reason and I've only had those 4-5 months. It feels like my wrist curves too much regardless of strap position, But I will work on it in the meantime however I'm still down for a P-bass.

EDIT: And no, I'm not a never nude, I am an actor rofl

 

[carlos840]

IMO you are doing something wrong.

I really dont think that after playing or 4 months you can possibly have an idea of what neck profile you prefer or a good technique.

I know it is easier to blame the bass than the technique but it is IMO not the right thing to do.

Your bass has a 1.5" neck which is pretty much a standard jazz bass neck, not overly thin as neck go, you can find thicker and thinner necks easily.
If i where you i would keep the bass and focus on playing it properly.
Make sure you play the bass at a height that is comfortable, that you dont break your fretting wrist, that you dont tense to much while you play, that your action isn't to high.
Try to focus on what you know you are doing wrong ( letting your thumb creep up) and dont do it.

 

[Roger Ford]

I don't know what your budget is like or how much you play. I have a Rogue 405 pro which has a moderately sized neck, is active, and has single coil neck/mm style bridge humbucker. For $230 at MF including freight, it might work for you for a year or so. I'm very happy with mine. You other guys, try to contain your laughter! I've had mine since '06 and had no problems.

 

[KingRazor]

Well I came back from the stores and I generally do have a fondness for P-basses I just got the used schecter cause it was such a good deal. And yes my technique is probably horrible because I am going with the whole keep your thumb on the back of the neck and other notes that you'd read off a book but for some reason and I've only had those 4-5 months. It feels like my wrist curves too much regardless of strap position, But I will work on it in the meantime however I'm still down for a P-bass.

EDIT: And no, I'm not a never nude, I am an actor rofl

My thumb goes over the neck all the time, nothing wrong with that. It's restrictive, not unhealthy.

What IS unhealthy is having too much of an angle with your wrist.

 

[carlos840]

My thumb goes over the neck all the time, nothing wrong with that. It's restrictive, not unhealthy.

What IS unhealthy is having too much of an angle with your wrist.

I disagree!

It is considered bad technique to do it!
Now, does that mean you should never do it?
No, i sometimes do it when i play with a pic and need to mute the E and A strings while playing something on the D or G ( i believe one should always mute unplayed strings with with one hand or the other) but i do it conscientiously.

If on the other hand, you always do it for no good reason other than lack of control of what you are doing, you are only setting yourself up to bad habits and sloppy playing that could lead to bad wrist position and issues down the ligne.

You should always strive to play the best you can, not be happy with good enough.

 

[Bengals]

I've had this problem in the past, spent about 2 months of practice focusing on technique mostly in keeping my wrists straight. It was a chore and took forever because I had developed some bad habits. If the OP is just starting out they've got a good chance of avoiding this before it becomes a problem. My advice: YouTube bass fretting technique.

 

[Christofolo]

Thank you all for the tips, I've been working on technique more than anything and for the most part I think its working lol...I just gotta keep tabs on how my wrist is when playing and to keep the thumb in a comfy spot.

I feel its a bit difficult to stick teacher lessons in my schedule atm though since i'm so busy i practically teach myself through online stuff. Tis a slow go but its all I can make do with right now.

 

[bassbenj]

I've had this problem in the past, spent about 2 months of practice focusing on technique mostly in keeping my wrists straight. It was a chore and took forever because I had developed some bad habits. If the OP is just starting out they've got a good chance of avoiding this before it becomes a problem. My advice: YouTube bass fretting technique.

I'm self-taught on bass guitar and never had much of problem with bent wrists, but also at one point I acquired an instructional video by one of the "name" bassists (I forget who) where he took some time to show the ergonomics of wearing and playing a bass and keeping your wrists (both of them) straight as possible. It was a revelation for me and although I never had a serious problem, attention to that greatly improved my positioning with respect to the bass.

And I can also assure everyone that the ONE thing you DO NOT want to do which is the self-taught danger, is to learn things WRONG only to have to "unlearn" them later! Just take the time one way or another, to learn things right the FIRST time. You'll save yourself a LOT of headaches. And there is often a lot of resistance to lessons from beginners, not only from cost, and time demands, but also just ego thinking you can do it yourself. Well you CAN do it yourself. BUT, I can assure you that a good teacher can just look at your playing a few minutes and tell you exactly what you are doing wrong. Hell, some of them don't even need to LOOK at you. They can tell what you are doing wrong just by listening! And that is WORTH whatever it takes to have them help you or at least get you started out on the right foot. After that, you can back off and practice. Remember that when you practice you always want to practice doing things correctly. Otherwise you are just teaching yourself to do them wrong!

 

[groove pump]

Avoid if you have wrist tendon problems. Look at where the forward strap point is in terms of the fingerboard, compare with a Fender (or similar), imagine what the consequences are for your left wrist.

BOOM!!!

Don't get a Warwick until you put one on a strap and play it for a bit. Their basses have notoriously short strap horns and this design effectively shifts the orientation of the bass to the left (for a righty). You may also have a similar issue with your Schecter. That design forces lots of players to use a more "crooked" wrist on their fretting hand when playing down near the end of the neck.

Look for a strap horn that extends to perhaps the 12th or even the 11th fret on the neck in order to get both decent balance (I had a Corvette and it had awful neck dive) and a comfortable playing position for that fretting hand and wrist. Fenders with full-sized bodies typically have a horn that's about even with the 12th fret, but I've found that any bass with a horn that only extends to maybe the 14th or 15th fret is only playable for me when I'm sitting down.

 

[KingRazor]

I disagree!

It is considered bad technique to do it!
Now, does that mean you should never do it?
No, i sometimes do it when i play with a pic and need to mute the E and A strings while playing something on the D or G ( i believe one should always mute unplayed strings with with one hand or the other) but i do it conscientiously.

If on the other hand, you always do it for no good reason other than lack of control of what you are doing, you are only setting yourself up to bad habits and sloppy playing that could lead to bad wrist position and issues down the ligne.

You should always strive to play the best you can, not be happy with good enough.

I do what is most comfortable for me. Which is ALWAYS the best thing to do. Screw "proper" technique. It is always, always, always best to do what is most comfortable for YOU.

 

[carl h.]

I do what is most comfortable for me. Which is ALWAYS the best thing to do. Screw "proper" technique. It is always, always, always best to do what is most comfortable for YOU.

oh HELLS no!!

Beginners do not have a clue what they are doing or what they will be doing in the future. What works for a pure beginner is almost never the correct thing to be doing.

 

[KingRazor]

oh HELLS no!!

Beginners do not have a clue what they are doing or what they will be doing in the future. What works for a pure beginner is almost never the correct thing to be doing.

Who said anything about beginners? I said do what is comfortable for you. That is always the right thing to do. Always.

 

[carl h.]

Who said anything about beginners? I said do what is comfortable for you. That is always the right thing to do. Always.

This guy has 4 months experience and is blaming a too small bass for causing pains. Do you think he has a clue what the right way to be doing it is? Telling him to do what is comfortable is not going to help his problems. He needs to know what to do, not some vague idea.

 

[smeet]

What is comfortable now may cause injury over the next few years, and will almost certainly restrict your technique.

Search YouTube for a video by Gary Willis showing how to fix your posture and the way you hold the bass. You need to be relaxed and none of your joints should be too bent. If you can't take lessons from a good teacher, at least look up lessons by experts like Gary. Not all great players use "correct" technique, so be careful. Correct technique is designed to prevent strain and injury, so its important.

 

[KingRazor]

What is comfortable now may cause injury over the next few years, and will almost certainly restrict your technique.

Search YouTube for a video by Gary Willis showing how to fix your posture and the way you hold the bass. You need to be relaxed and none of your joints should be too bent. If you can't take lessons from a good teacher, at least look up lessons by experts like Gary. Not all great players use "correct" technique, so be careful. Correct technique is designed to prevent strain and injury, so its important.

I see. Well at least in my own personal experience, every time I've used bad technique, it always lead to discomfort immediately. It may have only been mild discomfort, but any time I ever felt discomfort, I have altered my technique until I was comfortable again.

Coincidentally, I wound up using techniques very similar to players like Scott Devine and Ed Friedland.

I don't like it when people say everyone should use this one technique or that one technique assuming it will be the best for everybody (though I'm not saying you said that). Every individual is different and the "proper" technique will vary slightly on an individual basis. That is the reason I say that you should do what is comfortable for you and also that if you experience discomfort, especially if it's all the way up at "pain" then you need to stop and reevaluate your technique.

 

[bass_study]

Try P bass. I also remember there is a Marcus Miller model Fender jazz with the strings distance similar to the 4 strings which makes a thicker neck.