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Neck heavy Guide (Others Please Contribute)

#21
WhiteKnuckles said:
Aye....though I've found my Thumb will stay in place if I bring the strap up and keep it near horizontal.
Click to expand...

I love my Thumb and it's heavy neck but the easiest way i have found to battle the neck dive is the 4" leather strap that i use. It is a Doctor Song guitar strap. After seeing Andrew Gouche in the SnapJaxx (sp?) add with three different strap lock positions for strapping i decided to try that. As you can see from the first pic (my normal position) that the bass hangs pretty horizontal and if i do happen to need the neck a little more up then i use the strap lock closer to the end.

I am a fat boy and the contoured body fits me very well so that might contribute to the lack of neck dive that i have to deal with.

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Sorry for the crappy MySpace style pics.
 
#25
"Originally Posted by Parabolic Box
It's somewhat to do with the position of the strap buttons. If the strap button is at the neck heel instead of the furthest extending horn, for example, there'll probably be neck dive.

For things like Gibsons, I can guarantee that giant hunk of mahogany called the body is heavier than the neck, but the strap position makes it so it's not well-balanced"

Spoken like a non-owner! Typical.......:rollno:
 
#26
TBird1958 said:
"Originally Posted by Parabolic Box
It's somewhat to do with the position of the strap buttons. If the strap button is at the neck heel instead of the furthest extending horn, for example, there'll probably be neck dive.

For things like Gibsons, I can guarantee that giant hunk of mahogany called the body is heavier than the neck, but the strap position makes it so it's not well-balanced"

Spoken like a non-owner! Typical.......:rollno:
Click to expand...
You're right, I don't own a Gibson for that and other reasons. So are you going to refute my experience with them, or just continue to post non-contributing statements?
 
#27
troyus said:
I would add WARMOTH to the cause of heavy bass neck. All their necks seem to have heavy steel bar inserts. Comparing their neck against another without the steel... you do get more authoritative tone and feel.
Click to expand...

I have 2 Warmoths, one is a Jazz and the other is a Dinky P. Neither is neck heavy. They balance as good as my Aria SB-900, Chandler/DiMarzio P-bass or any Fender I have owned.

I can see that if your going for a lightweight Swamp Ash, similar light wood, or their cambered bodies there could be balance issues.

When deciding to build any parts bass, all factors should be considered. Warmoth necks are beefy and require a body to compensate for that.
 
#28
"New Gibson Thunderbirds are NOT neck heavy they are well balanced."

Pretty common myth about Gibsons......just gets old, hearing it. Post 88 'Birds, that would be from 20 years ago have the strap pin at the heel, they balance fine, easy enough to add a strap pin at the neck heel of an older one. An easy thing.....and like obviousmrfuller I'd say if was good enough for JE its good enough for me.
 
#31
You haven't mentioned ABGs.

They will always have a problem as the bodies are so light. However, a really good wide strap fixes the problem as you are not fighting with much mass.

I would not suggest adding a heavy bridge to counteract the weight of the neck on any bass. That does not seem sensible to me.

Davo
 
#34
Both my Thumb and T'bird are classed by some as "neck heavy".

I don't have a playing issue with either. They probably do require a little alteration in playing technique (I say probably because I don't think about it these days) and having played both recently for 3hr rehersals, I don't find fatigue to be an issue at all.

I think some of the folks complaining here would likely complain about the fact a double bass falls over when you let go of its neck!

Variety is the spice of life!
 
#35
It's not rocket science. If it has a short or no horn, it will have neck dive. If the top horn is after the 15th fret/stop, it will probably have neck dive. Headless basses aren't as critical because the weight of the headstock and tuners have been removed, although the early Steinies are often neck heavy. If the bass has lots of strings, you need a longer horn to balance out the extra mass.
 

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