Neck dive...

[Rangotouille]

My Epiphone EB-3, of course, has serious neck dive...

...I know using a wide strap, preferably with a suede underside could potentially solve the problem completely but I like the look of a narrower strap.

My question is: do light weight tuners help very much? I'm guessing they wouldn't solve the problem completely?

 

[JohnArnson]

Neck dive is a pretty serious issue that is not to be joked about, your neck is likely to brake from it, which is likely to cause your death, and if not having a big chance for making you go completely lame.

 

[Watchootognbout]

My Epiphone EB-3, of course, has serious neck dive...

...I know using a wide strap, preferably with a suede underside could potentially solve the problem completely but I like the look of a narrower strap.

My question is: do light weight tuners help very much? I'm guessing they wouldn't solve the problem completely?

Some.

 

[ixlramp]

Why isn't the hand "meant" to support some weight?

If your fretting hand has to support the neck it's partly disabled, it will also tend to cause poor 'neck holding' 'thumb over' technique instead of the hand being completely free and with the thumb on the back of the neck.
Many can play well like this but they would play better and healthier not doing this.

For bassists as we move our hand that is supporting a little weight on a bass neck we can sense changes to the weight feel and recognize it as a positional reference cue.

It should be very little weight, but there has to be SOME. Enough weight in the hand when playing to provide a good positional feedback

A ridiculous justification, thumb contact is the only positional feedback you need, weight in the hand is unnecessary. It's amazing what people get used to.

Both ends of the strap pull straight down on your shoulder.
Not forward.

If a bass is 'neck heavy', the force pulling downwards on the front end of the strap is larger than the force pulling downwards on the rear end of the strap. The imbalance causes the strap to want to pull forward over your shoulder.

tend to wear a bit higher with the neck closer to horizontal, and with my right forearm pushing downward on the instrument, which probably cancels any neck dive effect.

Pressing on your bass with your forearm, and with your wrist bent over like that, is likely to cause injury. A bass worn low and at a very high angle is far more healthy and ergonomic for the whole body. However the imbalalnce of basses rapidly becomes much worse at higher playing angles, so players are discouraged from playing at a high angle.

Having your upper horn go to the twelve fret will pretty much guarantee no neck dive.

It won't, very many basses have 12th fret horns but are still neck-heavy.

 

[Watchootognbout]

If your fretting hand has to support the neck it's partly disabled, it will also tend to cause poor 'neck holding' 'thumb over' technique instead of the hand being completely free and with the thumb on the back of the neck.
Many can play well like this but they would play better and healthier not doing this.


A ridiculous justification, thumb contact is the only positional feedback you need, weight in the hand is unnecessary. It's amazing what people get used to.

If a bass is 'neck heavy', the force pulling downwards on the front end of the strap is larger than the force pulling downwards on the rear end of the strap. The imbalance causes the strap to want to pull forward over your shoulder.

Pressing on your bass with your forearm, and with your wrist bent over like that, is likely to cause injury. A bass worn low and at a very high angle is far more healthy and ergonomic for the whole body. However the imbalalnce of basses rapidly becomes much worse at higher playing angles, so players are discouraged from playing at a high angle.

It won't, very many basses have 12th fret horns but are still neck-heavy.

Basses with the strap peg on the heel(like a Gibby EB)are known to "roll forward"
Not any of the basses that I've had.
Mine never roll forward.

Anyway.Neck dive,for me,is solved by Ultralite tuners AND a Comfort Strapp.

 

[Altitude]

Pressing on your bass with your forearm, and with your wrist bent over like that, is likely to cause injury.

A) You made that up, out of whole cloth. Prove me wrong?

B) I’m about 35 years into it at this point. I think something else is going to kill me.

 

[Frankula]

Really?

Honestly... how much of a big deal is it TRUTHFULLY?

Half of the time spent on "here", could be spent exercising, and practicing. Would this not make it a moot point?


Just curious.

My bass is all about neck dive, but I don't care, the sound is all I think about when I'm playing. The neck is as light as a feather in my hand and feels fairly balanced and requires no more effort than to place my hand on the neck to keep it in place.
As far as talking about neck dive being a waste of time, I offer this thought.
John Lennon said something to the effect of: if you enjoyed the time you wasted, it wasn't really wasted time.
That makes sense to me. It gave me a good reason to post a pic of my bass...

 

[Watchootognbout]

My bass is all about neck dive, but I don't care, the sound is all I think about when I'm playing. The neck is as light as a feather in my hand and feels fairly balanced and requires no more effort than to place my hand on the neck to keep it in place.
As far as talking about neck dive being a waste of time, I offer this thought.
John Lennon said something to the effect of: if you enjoyed the time you wasted, it wasn't really wasted time.
That makes sense to me. It gave me a good reason to post a pic of my bass...

Contradiction.
You said "My bass is all about neck dive"and then "The neck is as light as a feather in my hand"

Which is it?

 

[Rangotouille]

My bass is all about neck dive, but I don't care, the sound is all I think about when I'm playing. The neck is as light as a feather in my hand and feels fairly balanced and requires no more effort than to place my hand on the neck to keep it in place.
As far as talking about neck dive being a waste of time, I offer this thought.
John Lennon said something to the effect of: if you enjoyed the time you wasted, it wasn't really wasted time.
That makes sense to me. It gave me a good reason to post a pic of my bass...

Contradiction.
You said "My bass is all about neck dive"and then "The neck is as light as a feather in my hand"

Which is it?

I think this is (partly?) my fault.

I chose what was initially a s**tposting about neck dive as the the most appropriate thread to talk about the issue...

...if people are going to keep responding to the OP it's just going to muddy the waters with this conversation.

Maybe it would have been better had I just started a new thread titled "Neck Dive".

Better still, it might be a good idea to make a neck dive sticky with a faq and space for discussion...people seem to be sick of the topic, so even more so for that reason.

 

[Frankula]

Contradiction.
You said "My bass is all about neck dive"and then "The neck is as light as a feather in my hand"

Which is it?

Well I never notice it until I let go, then...

 

[Rangotouille]

With my EB-3 I rest my forearm on the body of the guitar, then it I don't have to think about the neck dive.

But it would be nice if I could move my arm without it heading for the floor.

 

[jellymax]

2 words. Stein. Berger.
lol