Perhaps a stupid question; what's the lower horn for?

[Pirate Captain]

aesthetics

 

[chadds]

A place to park your gum.

 

[tpaul]

If you don't know by this time in your life, I'm not going to be the one to tell you.

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

This. I once played a Flying V guitar. Seated, I couldn't play it because it would slide off my leg. Never played one again.

As shown above, the solution is to play in classical position.

 

[Thumpin6string]

It's not so much the lower horn, but the curve so it can sit on your leg. See avatar.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

 

[JakobT]

Think of them not as horns, but cutaways from the basic shape of an acoustic guitar. You don't really need the cutaway that makes the upper horn (think of a Les Paul, say), but the lower one gives access to the upper frets, and on a bass, you can lengthen the upper horn to improve balance.

 

[Bassbeater]

The horns are for metal. \m/

 

[Pug the Pig]

The horns are for metal. \m/

Ha! Very good...

 

[Terpodion]

Is that an Ampeg? I want one. It's so cool looking that I wouldn't even care how it played or sounded.

 

[Frenchy-Lefty]

If you are Jimmy, your lower horn is your upper horn.

 

[TundraMan]

As any tuba or baritone player will tell you, the purpose of the lower horns is to make the brass section sound fuller.

 

[rwkeating]

There is a school of thought that says your strap should be set so that the bass is at the same height (position) whether you are standing or sitting. If you buy into that, then a bass without a lower horn would function just as well as one with a lower horn whether sitting or standing.

 

[Bassbeater]

There is a school of thought that says your strap should be set so that the bass is at the same height (position) whether you are standing or sitting.

It's the Nerdy Jazz Academy School if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Duanestuermer]

I believe the lower horn is the worst design feature part on any bass guitar, it always seems to get in the way when playing toward the high end of the finger board.
I cut part of it off on an ol pre-CBS p bass and was never happier,
Later when I had a custom bass built, I insisted on "no" lower horn, and played that bass for 40 years.
Never had a problem playing it seated or standing.

 

[scuzzy]

 

[gitfiddl]

If the lower horn has enough hook to it, you can hang the bras and panties thrown onstage from your adoring fans on it instead of your mic stand...

 

[two fingers]

If you are thinking of pure function, look at the notches that are removed. There's the knee notch, which is the arc-shaped notch on the bottom edge which rests on your knee when sitting. It keeps the bass from sliding around on your knee, and is far enough down from the strings that you can play without hunching over. Ideally, it's positioned lengthwise so that the bass balances on the knee. Not neck heavy or neck light. That usually puts it about centered on the heel of the neck.

Then there's the lower cutaway, which is a notch out of the body right next to the neck, to allow good hand access to the fingerboard all the way to the heel. That notch has to be big enough that you don't hit the back of your knuckles against the body when reaching for the last fret on the lowest string.

The lower horn is what's left over once you've cut the knee notch and the cutaway. You need it if you want to have a comfortable knee notch and cutaway clearance.

Sure, you can leave it off and declare that your bass is only made to be played standing up. But if you are trying to sell it to customers, the majority of them will not buy a bass that isn't reasonably comfortable to play sitting down.

Perfect explanation.

I love functional, elegant and simple designs. The double cutaway offset body is all of those.

 

[ToneMonkey]

In the 1970s, I procured some raw MM components - neck and body. I decided to make a design statement by removing the lower body horn. Big mistake.

 

[Gully Foyle]

Great googly moogly! That is a remarkable instrument you have there. Is there a thread about it somewhere? Who made it? Hurry, before i have an aneurism!

I believe the lower horn is the worst design feature part on any bass guitar, it always seems to get in the way when playing toward the high end of the finger board.
I cut part of it off on an ol pre-CBS p bass and was never happier,
Later when I had a custom bass built, I insisted on "no" lower horn, and played that bass for 40 years.
Never had a problem playing it seated or standing.
View attachment 2958197

 

[Pug the Pig]

I believe the lower horn is the worst design feature part on any bass guitar, it always seems to get in the way when playing toward the high end of the finger board.
I cut part of it off on an ol pre-CBS p bass and was never happier,
Later when I had a custom bass built, I insisted on "no" lower horn, and played that bass for 40 years.
Never had a problem playing it seated or standing.
View attachment 2958197

Awesome!..Paul McCartney on steroids...!