My new bass hurts me. What should I do?

Lots of fish in the sea. Take it back.
Or simply hurt it back.

 

Play it sparingly for the next week or so. Give your hands etc. a breather to heal.
I've found every time I've made even slight adjustments to either the strap length or a different bass than I'm accustomed to it can spell disaster. My body always goes through a little adjustment period. If after a few weeks the pain isn't subsidizing make a decision then whether or not to return it.

 

Take it back and get a bass that doesn't do that.

 

Yeah, take it back before it can hurt you for good and you are stuck with a bass you either don't want or can't play.

And don't be afraid to chose a short scale if that turns out to be the right bass for you.

Poul McCartney, Jack Bruce, Stanley Clarke and Mike Watt was not.

If a short scale is good enough for them, then surely it ought to be good enough for everyone.

 

I loved, loved, loved my Spector NS5-CRFM, but it hurt my wrist. I toughed it out for nearly three years hoping for a different result. I can't hang with 35's, that was stupid of me putting my wrist thru that for that long.
IOW, look for something else.

 

Sorry to hear about your hand. I have a spectorcore fretless and I'm pretty sure they are 34" scale not 35. Did you measure or read that it's 35"

Maybe tweak the strap?
------ edit-------
Sorry. Spector shows it as 35. I had no idea.
NECK
WOOD: 3pc Maple; Bolt-on
FINGERBOARD : Rosewood, with dot markers
NUMBER OF FRETS: 24 or Fretless
SCALE LENGTH: 35"
RADIUS: 16"
WIDTH AT NUT: 1.75"

 

What is the scale length of your MTD?

 

I really don't understand this.
A 35"scale bass is only one inch longer that a 34" scale bass.
And it causes wrist problems?

Try angling the neck more to a 45 degree angle?

 

If you can't do a thing on your bass that may help play it without any pain, I should bring it back immediately. Injuries by playing bass can take years before they are over.

 

IMO, the ergonomics of the Spector leaves something to be desired. The upper horn is too short and the headstock mass makes for an imbalanced instrument, at least on the 5 string. OTOH, I had no problem with the 34" Warwick Streamer 4's.

Edit: just looked at the specs a little more closely. The lightweight chambered body coupled with a conventional full-size neck & headstock does not help the situation.

Riis

 

Experiment with different strap heights or sitting down positions. Sometimes, some basses just don't fit right for certain people. I love the sound of a Warwick Thumb 5 but I could never own one. Completely uncomfortable for me. Just sits on me weird. A short scale is maybe a bit extreme. Maybe a last ditch effort. Plenty of 34 in basses out there.

 

Life is too short and there are plenty of basses to chose from. Personally, I would take it back.

 

Take it back and try the new Ibanez with piezo it's a neat affordable bass

 

My Rickenbacker feels fine to me. Every 34" bass I have owned has caused me problems so, yes, that small amount can cause issues.

 

I say give it some time. Your body may adjust. You've got 30 days don't you?

 

Why Not Play the Bass That Fits You Perfectly?

 

As a Spector guy, I can tell you that the 35" scale could very well be the culprit. But Spectors also have a different center of balance as the top horn (and strap pin) live around the 14th fret. While wearing the bass on a strap, that pushes everything to the left about 2", couple that with the wider fret spacing of the 35" scale, and that could very well be where the discomfort is coming from. It's become a problem for myself, unfortunately. Just a theory.

 

I owned a Rickenbacker 4003 for a number of years.

To this day, I have never owned another bass that caused me so much wrist pain. And I never will again, no matter how many of my heroes might play it.