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low bass wearers

#41
I think the key is not just where the body of the bass is, but at what angle the neck is. If the neck is horizontal, you really start to bend your wrist in an uncomfortable (for me) way as the bass gets lower and lower. I always have a 30-45 degree up angle on the neck, and I wear my basses from as low as the top of the body being at/below my belt to the bottom of the bass being at my belly button. It's comfotable, easy to play, doesnt wear me out. Thats all I need.
 
#43
Looking cool as nothing to do with how the bass is strapped, it's about the look you have and about your charisma. As for the low slingers rocker, there is nothing wrong about it but if you look closely, even if they have good bass lines, they all have very bad technique, and are hindered in their playing. You can't have your bass slung low and have a good technique and be able to play all the notes on your neck with ease, it's just impossible.
 
#44
JustOpenYourMind said:
Looking cool as nothing to do with how the bass is strapped, it's about the look you have and about your charisma. As for the low slingers rocker, there is nothing wrong about it but if you look closely, even if they have good bass lines, they all have very bad technique, and are hindered in their playing. You can't have your bass slung low and have a good technique and be able to play all the notes on your neck with ease, it's just impossible.
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That's a load of crap. Sorry, but it is.
 
#45
JimmyM said:
That's a load of crap. Sorry, but it is.
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Ok then show me how it is physically possible to have a bass strapped at your knees and have a perfect hand placement that lets you have a 1 finger per fret reach across all the strings at any given place on the neck without having to have a ridiculous bend on your wrist or wrapping your hand around the neck.

It's just not possible, does it mean that you cannot play a great bassline with your bass strapped low, absolutly not, but the Op asked if there was a way to keep his reach and having the bass strapped low, the answer is no.
 
#46
JustOpenYourMind said:
Ok then show me how it is physically possible to have a bass strapped at your knees and have a perfect hand placement that lets you have a 1 finger per fret reach across all the strings at any given place on the neck without having to have a ridiculous bend on your wrist or wrapping your hand around the neck.

It's just not possible, does it mean that you cannot play a great bassline with your bass strapped low, absolutly not, but the Op asked if there was a way to keep his reach and having the bass strapped low, the answer is no.
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You said nothing about knees. You said slung low. I play fairly slung low and I have no problem keeping my technique up. Even if you sling it low, you can hold the neck up high and do 1 finger per fret on most of the neck.
 
#47
JimmyM said:
Funny you mention the piano. My piano teacher told me to sit farther away. All the great pianists I know sit farther away. So now I sit far from the piano. I still suck out loud, but my technique is good.

Anyway, I'm reminded of the old joke Liberace used to say. Someone would ask him how he could play with all those rings on his fingers, and he replied, "Very well, thank you."
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Really? I would think otherwise....well I guess you learn something new everyday!

That being said, I still don't think you can have proper hand technique completely when you have to reach so far for the bass. But still, to each his own.
 
#48
DanielTulip said:
shifters011307bab4big.jpg
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Is that Simon Gallup?

Anyway, I can't wear my bass too high or my fretting hand gets thrown into awful angles. I guess middle-low is where I have it -- three notches up from the bottom on my strap. I've been told by a tailor that I have long arms, though.
 
#49
rarisgod said:
Really? I would think otherwise....well I guess you learn something new everyday!

That being said, I still don't think you can have proper hand technique completely when you have to reach so far for the bass. But still, to each his own.
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You're going to have to define proper. You have to remember that there isn't any established classical technique for the bass guitar. You can apply upright bass and classical guitar techniques, but who's to say that's proper for this instrument?

That being said, with larger hands, you can get one finger per fret from 1st position up to 20th while your thumb is wrapped on top of the fretboard in order to keep your wrist straight. It might not be proper technique according to classical guitarists, upright bassists, or even other electric bass players. But if you can manage it, there is really nothing wrong with it.

To draw an analogue, playing with a pick (as opposed to fingers) requires different hand positioning and a different angle for the body to hang at. Just because it's not how you do it, doesn't mean it's unfathomable that someone else could pull it off just fine.
 
#52
JustOpenYourMind said:
Ok then show me how it is physically possible to have a bass strapped at your knees and have a perfect hand placement that lets you have a 1 finger per fret reach across all the strings at any given place on the neck without having to have a ridiculous bend on your wrist or wrapping your hand around the neck.
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I seem to do it just fine. Except the wrapping your hand around your neck part. The way i see it, wrapping your thumb around when you're slinging low IS good technique. It lets you avoid that horrible wrist bend.

I can pull off one finger per fret in all positions, and I have very small hands. Its called practice. Just because you haven't had the patience to do it right doesn't mean other people haven't
 
#53
agreed with the above i sling my bass low (about balls high) ok so my thumb comes over the top of the neck sometimes boo hoo its comfy for me i've never suffered and problems with my fretting hand
after all these years and i play the whole neck not just the 1st 4 frets and yes ok granted the high notes can be a pain to reach but there not impossible to reach it just requires a little practice

"bad technique" has nothing to do with where your thumb is it has nothing to do with how high your bass is nor does it matter how you fret notes "bad technique" is simply any technique that feels painfull, uncomfy or unatrual to the player (which varies for EVERYONE) as long as you hit the notes cleanly and you enjoy playing you got good technique

as far as tips for playing low go dont just drop your bass to your knees and wonder why it feels so alien to play it all of a sudden... drop it an inch a week and practice all the way up and down the neck everyday if it starts getting too hard to play or if you cant hit notes cleanly STOP its as simple as that, remember its the music that comes 1st NOT the looks or the stage tricks
 
#54
dreadheadbass said:
as far as tips for playing low go dont just drop your bass to your knees and wonder why it feels so alien to play it all of a sudden... drop it an inch a week and practice all the way up and down the neck everyday if it starts getting too hard to play or if you cant hit notes cleanly STOP its as simple as that, remember its the music that comes 1st NOT the looks or the stage tricks
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Aw dude, you have a lot to learn about the music business! The looks only stop mattering when you hit 40.
 
#55
After this thread I decided to take out all my straps and see which was the longest. Of the 2 60"s that I have I chose the ones with lightning bolts :D The first pic illustrates me wearing it at its longest. The belt is just below my gut :o (gotta work on that)

BassSlungLow001Medium.gif


This 2nd one is me rocking it "balls out" :D :bassist: Its still at the longest you can have it. I had some trouble rocking out the crazy 3 string riff at the end of "Dazed and Confused". I put the strap up about 2-3 inches and I could really kick it!

BassSlungLow002Medium.gif


Im totally gonna put some black felt or something 'round the buckle. The SX already has some dents in the back of the neck from it :o
 
#58
I don't understand how someone can be comfortable with the bass across their chest and their right arm all bent up like a damn t-rex...
I play my bass at crotch level and can play all over the neck with ease. I like to play just over the bridge pickup on my bass which is exactly where my hand hangs down to when my arm is straight. My thumb is always on the back of the neck and my wrists remain straight. I guess I hold the neck at about 45 degrees.

Is that bad technique?
 
#59
JimmyM said:
You said nothing about knees. You said slung low. I play fairly slung low and I have no problem keeping my technique up. Even if you sling it low, you can hold the neck up high and do 1 finger per fret on most of the neck.
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I do not want to go into an endless argument, but down below a certain point, you are compromising your technique by slinging your bass low.

What I mean is that if you have your bass at wais level or so, you can't play crazy ultra fast licks all over a the neck as effortlessly without having to have weird hand placment.

However, in real life, nobody needs to have all that reach all the time, and most of the basslines are played in the lower portion of the neck anyway.

Again, i'm not saying you can't have a decent technique while slinging low, it's just not optimal, especially when practicing and for a new player.

Looking cool as nothing to do with where you strap your bass, You just have to make it work for you, for your look, there are plenty of famous bass player in rock bands that strapped their basses high, and still look very good.

Look at rage against the machine, look at the pictures posted earlier, protest the hero and the band foals, they all have a look that work with having an instrument strapped high.

In the end it's about what your band is looking to acheive as a global look onstage, you all have to fit together. That doesn't mean you have to start practicing with your bass strapped in such a way that you are incapable of playing some more adanced stuff.
 

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