mustang vs bronco playing frustration

[pcake]

I don't think the 'Stang pickup would go well in a Steinberger. Also, there's a weird metal attachment you have to use to make the bass fall closer to your center. It's kind of a metal arm of sorts and kind of defeats the purpose of the bass. Also, from what I read they're pretty heavy for what they are. I had considered the Spirit but happily I settled on the Mikro and I love it.

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good reply - want to write all the replies to this thread that i'm working on? i could make you my officially authorized spokesperson

i have a spare mikro somewhere in my husband's workshop. i can't recall what mods we were making, but maybe we could drop all the mustang stuff into it for now...

 

[lug]

I don't think the 'Stang pickup would go well in a Steinberger. Also, there's a weird metal attachment you have to use to make the bass fall closer to your center. It's kind of a metal arm of sorts and kind of defeats the purpose of the bass. Also, from what I read they're pretty heavy for what they are. I had considered the Spirit but happily I settled on the Mikro and I love it.

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I have an even weirder metal attachment on mine! (goes out to the 12th fret). The reason I suggested trying a Steinie was that since only your wrist drapes over the body, your shoulder can be carried "farther back". This may or may not help depending in Pcake's injury.

 

[Maxdusty]

I have an even weirder metal attachment on mine! (goes out to the 12th fret). The reason I suggested trying a Steinie was that since only your wrist drapes over the body, your shoulder can be carried "farther back". This may or may not help depending in Pcake's injury.

I have a Hohner headless bass. Pretty much bought it to see if it would be a nice lightweight, smaller body alternative. It has that flip out leg rest if you play it sitting down. While it did its job, didn't really cause my shoulder much pain, I found it a little awkward to play standing up (maybe more a matter of getting used to it), and when played sitting down, it was pretty uncomfortable on my wrist (another injury) as your wrist is bent over it at a more acute angle. So I agree depending on the nature of the injury, it could either be of great help or no help at all. Absolutely recommend trying it out first before buying one and modding it. I love the sound on mine though and decided to keep it - besides, who doesn't want to keep a baseball bat around?
The one body shape that seems to work for me is the Cort Curbow, there's enough on the top part to be less of a strain on my wrist, but small enough not to strain my shoulder. It's a full scale bass but yet the size of a mid-scale in length. Only real problem I had was I didn't care much for the sound of it and was pretty underwhelming and thin because of the one pickup. They addressed this by adding two pickups on the Curbow Retro and later, made wood (not luthite) versions of the bass with two pickups.

 

[pcake]

Sorry for your shoulder issues, I've been following this thread with much interest since, due to a mild stroke that messed with my right side, I have similar problems with my right shoulder being forced too high by the body shape. My hand works well enough to gig but pain is annoyingly constant in my right arm, shoulder and leg.

I originally thought of using a stand to hold the bass but standing to play for any more tha a few minutes is out of the question for me.

I've found the Bronco, MIJ Mustang and Mustang PJ to be a better fit for the shoulder than a P, J, or Squier Jaguar SS but still not ideal. An Ibanez Mikro is also a decent solution but the rounded edge of the body causes my arm to slip around much more than the Bronco slab-ish edge and the offset body shape of the Mustang/Bronco style makes it much easier for me to play.

So far the best feeling solution for my shoulder issues is the wedge shaped body of a headless kit bass I bought on Amazon but it's too heavy to sit on my leg comfortably (weight sensitivity is another gift from the stroke) and it can slip and slide on my leg due to the shape. I installed some grip tape on the lower edge of the body that helps with the slipping but it really needs a more leg friendly shape there.

My shoulder prefers the wedge shape but my leg prefers the the Bronco offset shape so I've been thinking of taking the bandsaw to a spare Bronco body I have and removing the bass side bout in increments to see if that helps the shoulder issue. It'll probably look odd but if it works I couldn't care less how it looks.

I tried using the bass with the body sitting on my left leg instead of my right leg but found my arm needs the support of a slab body edge or some real pain ensues and any random movement of my arm causes playing issues.

As far as replacing the Bronco pickup goes, I've tried a few substitutions in my Bronco and finally settled on a dual blade Stratocaster guitar pickup I bought on Amazon for less that $15. It took a bit of finagling to install it in the Bronco's pickguard pickup slot but it once in there it works fine and I like the sound better than my MIJ Mustang.

Best of luck finding a solution and please let us know when you do.

can you send me a link to that amazon kit, please? i want to show it to my husband - he could potentially make me a body with a "sitting on the lap" shape at the bottom and the rest could be the wedge.

btw, i have minor positional issues with the edge of the mikros, as well.

Tough deal. I've had two guitars that just don't/didn't agree with me - loved both and played the crap out of them, and both eventually led to [separate] injuries that had me not playing for about two years afterwards, each

Got rid of one (a PRS McCarty), but the other, an AVRI Tele, I still hold onto even though I don't play it - just sounds so good and looks so great that I can't let it go. Both were dream guitars for me...

Fortunately, I have other instruments that don't cause such issues. Sucks, but some things just aren't meant to be.

Still, one reason I keep the Tele is that it has a bolt-on neck and so I could get a new, flatter radiused neck for it (which would solve the particular problem I have with that one). I still plan to do it, but haven't gotten around to tackling that particular project yet.

Similarly, if you reaaally dig that Mustang, you could make it work. Have someone strip the finish and cut/sand down the dimensions to match the Bronco, then have it re-surf greened. Or, get a new body custom made for it to the Bronco's specs, and have the guy put your Mustang's guts in the new body, too. Or put the Mustang neck on a Bronco body and have someone route the body and carry over the electronics for you. Etc.

When it comes down to it, Fenders are an aggregation of removable parts, and so you could accordingly keep the parts you like and replace the parts you don't like with other parts that suit you better (or even custom-made parts that suit you perfectly).

Or, like I did with my McCarty, you could move on despite digging it so much.
Tough choices, but at least you already have some instruments you know you can play.

Good luck!

what i love about the mustang the most is the tone. i was thinking of getting a cheap something with a PJ, pulling out ALL the pickups and guts and replacing them with the mustang's. it will mean i can't sell the mustang to finance it, but it will mean i keep the tone and moving everything over will avoid our previous issue of the electronics not working well...

I would be taking out the files and sandpaper and adjusting the Mustang body until it fits. No resale value but extra points for rock'n'roll!

having had this issue for so long, i've found this sort of thing can be very tricky because when my right shoulder is sensitive to such minor differences. and with some basses it can take hours for the pain to set in.

Couldn't d help to notice lots of injured shoulders in here. I play drums and also have aging shoulder problems. My advice would be to strengthen your body. Maybe one day even the bronco will start making your shoulder hurt.
What we do is physical after all.

this isn't something that can be strengthened - no weak muscles are a part of it. it's a combination of scar tissue in several areas of the rotator cuff and previously severe hyperextension (overstretched tendons and maybe ligaments) from catching myself on a fast fall. tendons have very gradually improved, but only by not stretching them may they continue to improve - and it's been over ten years to get this far.

You're obviously doing something differently. Try videoing yourself with each bass and see if you can see the difference.

we did this with photos, and couldn't find any difference in my position except for the angle the bass help my hand and arm. i'm remarkably consistent in how i sit when i play.

Exactly what I would propose as well. Would be interested to see if that makes it any better or if the other shoulder gets worse (because of its elevated position at the lower frets).

i find playing with the bass on the other leg hurts my left arm from reaching further out - both my shoulder were injured similarly in the fall.

 

[mongo2]

can you send me a link to that amazon kit, please? i want to show it to my husband - he could potentially make me a body with a "sitting on the lap" shape at the bottom and the rest could be the wedge.

btw, i have minor positional issues with the edge of the mikros, as well.

PM with link sent.

I made the cuts in my spare Bronco body to remove the bass side bouts and assembled the bass. It appears that my idea does improve the shoulder issue for me. The issue now is that the Bronco body weighed almost 6 lbs and after the cuts it's still too heavy for my leg's weight bearing issue which is why the body was a spare in the first place. I suppose I'll lighten this body and see how that works out. Prototyping is fun though.

 

[pcake]

PM with link sent.

I made the cuts in my spare Bronco body to remove the bass side bouts and assembled the bass. It appears that my idea does improve the shoulder issue for me. The issue now is that the Bronco body weighed almost 6 lbs and after the cuts it's still too heavy for my leg's weight bearing issue which is why the body was a spare in the first place. I suppose I'll lighten this body and see how that works out. Prototyping is fun though.

weight on my leg can also be a problem for me. that's why i recommend either the traveler guitar ultra light bass if you don't mind a P bass neck (looks like popsicle sticks, under 4 pounds!) or the smallguitars.com bass (24.75" scale, weighs in at 4.75 pounds). the neck on the traveler was too chunky for me, but the smallguitars MB2 is pretty nice, sounds decent, and the neck is nice and smooth.

i'm not mad for prototyping myself, but i am seriously thinking about a short scale wedge design with a waist on the bottom for my leg.

 

[mongo2]

weight on my leg can also be a problem for me. that's why i recommend either the traveler guitar ultra light bass if you don't mind a P bass neck (looks like popsicle sticks, under 4 pounds!) or the smallguitars.com bass (24.75" scale, weighs in at 4.75 pounds). the neck on the traveler was too chunky for me, but the smallguitars MB2 is pretty nice, sounds decent, and the neck is nice and smooth.

i'm not mad for prototyping myself, but i am seriously thinking about a short scale wedge design with a waist on the bottom for my leg.

Thanks for the suggestions.

An idea I had just after I cut mine was to use a slightly convex curved shape on the bass side instead of a straight cut, sort of similar to the Ovation Deacon shape.

 

[Tim de Martino]

There are also these:

4 string headless bass guitar

Not sure if I'm way off bass - not everyone likes headless. But certainly another take on body shape.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

I know what you mean about how different the Bronco and MIM Mustang feels. I own a Bronco and a Vintera Mustang and looking at them side by side they look like they're twins. But PLAY them and they feel completely different.

Have you ever tested a MIJ/CIJ Mustang? It has been a couple of years since I played one but from memory they feel somewhat slimmer/lighter than the MIM Vintera or MIA Mustangs.

 

[BassyFred]

Build your own dummy bass. I think not only the shape but also weight and balance are factors. Build a bass shaped object that can't play (this word come from the saxophone world). You could just do it yourself with wood blocks. You should choice a wood with a similar weight than a real bass. You will modify the shape until it fits you perfectly. Afterwards you have a look for a real bass that you have slightly to adapt.

 

[mongo2]

Build your own dummy bass. I think not only the shape but also weight and balance are factors. Build a bass shaped object that can't play (this word come from the saxophone world). You could just do it yourself with wood blocks. You should choice a wood with a similar weight than a real bass. You will modify the shape until it fits you perfectly. Afterwards you have a look for a real bass that you have slightly to adapt.

That's pretty much what I did but I did it in my mind from experience with different basses. My idea of a combined wedge bass side and offset J style treble side came from my experience with a wedge shaped and a J/Bronco/Mustang shaped basses. After removing the bass side bouts of a Bronco body it turns out it works better for me that either the wedge or Bronco shape.

 

[Watchootognbout]

Do you play on the right or left leg?
Casual or classical position?

 

[pcake]

I know what you mean about how different the Bronco and MIM Mustang feels. I own a Bronco and a Vintera Mustang and looking at them side by side they look like they're twins. But PLAY them and they feel completely different.

Have you ever tested a MIJ/CIJ Mustang? It has been a couple of years since I played one but from memory they feel somewhat slimmer/lighter than the MIM Vintera or MIA Mustangs.

no, i haven't had the opportunity.

Build your own dummy bass. I think not only the shape but also weight and balance are factors. Build a bass shaped object that can't play (this word come from the saxophone world). You could just do it yourself with wood blocks. You should choice a wood with a similar weight than a real bass. You will modify the shape until it fits you perfectly. Afterwards you have a look for a real bass that you have slightly to adapt.

that was our original thought. it would have to have a neck, so it would have to be pretty much an entire bass. i guess once we found something that worked, we'd already have the wood working mostly done...

Do you play on the right or left leg?
Casual or classical position?

right leg. can't play with left - it makes the first couple frets painful to reach unless i'm playing a sub-short scale bass.

 

[mongo2]

I decided to do some more work on my cut down Bronco body. After hollowing out under the pickguard the body went from 5lbs 14oz to 4lbs 4oz. After re-assembly it seems more comfortable for me in its lighter state so I'll play with it for a few days and see how it holds up.