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My shoulder is killing me!!

#101
Andre.
I do leatherwork...make leather shirts and stuff. I have made a couple of bass straps to order and a few for myself. Just in case you can't find any to your liking.
I make them from tooling leather . work them rub a lot of mink oil so they are nice and soft. I pad them with some Wool trade cloth then a final piece of chamois over that to finish. They are nice and soft form fit to the shoulder real good
If you'd like one let me know. In general I make them about 3 1/2 inches wide
Heres a pic of one unfinished showing the padding

IMG_20110505_1512212.jpg
 
#102
DougD
I found a sketch of the tri-strap.
I am gonna see about getting some strap leather and see about putting one of these together. If I come up with something proper you all will buy them ,,,,,,right ????? ;)

bstraps.jpg


Just looked a bit harder at this . I am going to see about Re-designing this so that there is a strap going over each shoulder with pads added then the straps that attach to the locks.
The one pictured appears to have one shoulder strap with the other appearing to go about the chest or back.
I wonder if using one of those military load bearing harness and tweeking it would work
 
#103
Here is my 2 cents worth of advice.

If the pain doesn't go away or even worse gets more intense over time, better have it checked by a doctor. Something might be messed up the sooner you find out, the sooner you can fixe it without further deterioration.

I have been using the Neotech straps and they are great. I play a rather medium heavy ibanez SRX705 and it helped a lot with that.I am a rather skinny guy the gigs I was playing were around 4 hours long. My P-bass's weight almost became non existant to an almost weird degree. I have a minor complaint though about them though. The material does not breathe very well and I always got a stripe of sweat under the strap. Really easy to get a cramped muscle when this dries on you.

My teacher(he is a full time pro,plays ridiculously long gigs 6 to 10 hours on a rather heavy warwich thumb 5 bass) has been swearing by some old daddario straps that you can pump with air kinda like those old goofy basketball shoes.They sure are pretty cofortable though

Exercise sure works but always in moderation.You dont want to make things worse by overworking yourself. The last couple of years I've been doing quite some yoga and never thought it would help that much.

Sitting is an interesting option an I think you should consider it if it is complient with your gig. Both me and my teacher alternate between sitting and standing.When your shoulders get tired you sit. When your legs start to get numb or your butt feels uncomfortable you stand up. CAUTION: There is a huge downside to excessive sitting, hemorrhoids. If you already have them they can get pretty irritated. If you don't it might play a part in developing them. I am young but I have been cursed with this god awful stuff. So try to get a nice cofortable stool with a little back support perhaps.

One final advice concerning the pains. This is kind of a grandma's remedy but it has always helped and it is of no risk.(To the point it could be a placebo, I really dont know).
After you get home, get some fresh white cabbage leaves on a pan and warm them up(dont burn them!).At some point their fluids will surface, grab them and plaster your shoulder with them(don't burn yourself!) Leave them on for around 10min.
It should help alleviate the pain.(If any physician/scientist has an explanation why this is working, I am really curious to find out)
 
#104
i've seen both kai eckhardt and damian erskine both tock the tri-strap.

though i may have missed it, i haven't seen anyone mention changing the height of the bass yet. i use to where a bass fairly high, which caused a lot of pain in my back and shoulder. i lowered my bass (which seems counterintuitive to the "bass height" threads), and the pain went away.
 
#105
thombo said:
i've seen both kai eckhardt and damian erskine both tock the tri-strap.

though i may have missed it, i haven't seen anyone mention changing the height of the bass yet. i use to where a bass fairly high, which caused a lot of pain in my back and shoulder. i lowered my bass (which seems counterintuitive to the "bass height" threads), and the pain went away.
Click to expand...

I have noticed that if I wear my bass lower I have less pain. But I cant play comfortably that way.
Damian is coming out with his own custom strap system called the V-Strap. I will be distributed by GruvGear. From the looks of it, it will be 2 3.5 padded inch leather straps. Looks like you'll need to mod your bass to make it work though--bummer--
 
#106
My problem isn't the shoulder, it's arthritic knees. I just can't stand up for very long, whether or not I've got the bass on my shoulder. So my attitude is, you want me to play, then I'm sitting down. I can't care what it looks like, because I don't have a choice.

And you know what? Nobody much cares! We're out to make music, not false impressions of our macho.
 
#107
DougD said:
I have noticed that if I wear my bass lower I have less pain. But I cant play comfortably that way.
Damian is coming out with his own custom strap system called the V-Strap. I will be distributed by GruvGear. From the looks of it, it will be 2 3.5 padded inch leather straps. Looks like you'll need to mod your bass to make it work though--bummer--
Click to expand...

:hiding: Spoke too soon, looks like the one strap wraps around the upper horn, no mod required:hiding:
 
#108
Flintc said:
My problem isn't the shoulder, it's arthritic knees. I just can't stand up for very long, whether or not I've got the bass on my shoulder. So my attitude is, you want me to play, then I'm sitting down. I can't care what it looks like, because I don't have a choice.

And you know what? Nobody much cares! We're out to make music, not false impressions of our macho.
Click to expand...

+1
Notice nobody criticizes Anthony Jackson or Melvin Davis for sitting down while playing :)
YouTube - Lee Ritenour Band - Melvin Davis & Will Kennedy
YouTube - Performance by Michel Camile, Horacio Hernandez, and Anthony jackson on Bass
two of the greatest IMHO :bassist:
 
#109
you know who's lame for siting- Anthony Jackson or Melvin Davis... i kid.

i know someone suggested the stand, i do think that's lame. Tony Markellis from Trey Anastasio's band uses one: He's a grooving bassist, but the stand looks lame.
 
#111
Flintc said:
My problem isn't the shoulder, it's arthritic knees. I just can't stand up for very long, whether or not I've got the bass on my shoulder. So my attitude is, you want me to play, then I'm sitting down. I can't care what it looks like, because I don't have a choice.

And you know what? Nobody much cares! We're out to make music, not false impressions of our macho.
Click to expand...
oh yeah, fault us for wanting false impressions of our macho, huh?

:bassist:

:D
 
#113
Some gigs I sit, others I stand. For many years I sat all the time - would bring my own stool. Part of it was because I was doubling on upright and played that seated. That said I do tend to move around a lot either standing or sitting. Have almost gone flying off the stool sometimes. Really depends on what sort of visual role I am supposed to play for the gig (ie am I the leader or a sideman), the logistics (sometimes sitting is easier, sometime standing is easier), and what I'm feeling at the time. The audience doesn't care if I sit or stand - either way they can tell that I'm playing "with relish" (direct quote from multiple audience members at different gigs).
 
#116
JimmyM said:
you guys with gigs where they don't care if you sit or stand...are they jazz or light music gigs? man, people sure care on my gigs.
Click to expand...

What's "light music"?

For jazz gigs I do both depending on the situation. For stuff closer to rock (eg Steely Dan tribute thing) I stand. For the nursing home gigs I generally stand because space is often tight and I also need to sing some tunes for that.

nostatic trio + is a mix of jazz, funk and soul. I've played the same tunes at different gigs sitting and standing. I can show a lot of energy and involvement while sitting. And I've seen guys standing who obviously want to be somewhere else so that isn't a criteria to me. That said, lately I've been standing more since I like to move around and get close to the soloists so I can get a better feel for where they are and where they're going musically.

Of course sometimes you kinda have to stand :D

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#119
I haven't read all the way through this thread so I'm probably repeating my other comments (what can I tell you I'm lazy/have other things to do today). I have had (and occasionally still get) left shoulder pain (right handed player), the steps I have taken have been a wider strap (some benefit) a better balanced bass (huge benefit) professional medical help (massive benefit). I ended up having a cortisone shot into my shoulder as the inflammation wouldn't shift with physio alone, but the temporary discomfort was worth it. The problem is you have to find out what works for you, but if you can get an consultation with a osteopath/physiotherapist/chiropractor/etc. Beyond the above good posture coupled with stretches will certainly help going forward. Good luck buddy.
 

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