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Strap length. on your chest? or at your knees?

#142
Recently got a lightweight bass that balances perfectly and has strap buttons placed so that it can hang securely at about a 40-45 degree angle.

This allows the bridge end of the bass to ride lower (looks cooler than wearing my bass like a necktie, also uncranks my wrist on the plucking side), pulls the headstock in closer to my body (reduces stress on my neck and shoulder, and lets me play a bass with a longer, better-sounding bottom string), and keeps the headstock high (reduces stress on my fingering hand).

I've gone from having chronic back and shoulder pain on longer gigs to having none, overnight. Without buying weird-looking, expensive specialty straps.

Seems like a win-win-win-win-win-win-win to me.

Now if only I looked as cool as I feel...

PS: please, no immature comments about my 18 year old daughter:

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#144
Milk said:
Step 1 - Learn how to play well
Step 2 - Write good memorable basslines that serve the song while also standing out
Step 3 - Get a cool looking bass (tone is secondary, besides you can cheat it with good gear)
Step 4 - Play that thing low OR high(though jacked super high on your chest never looks good....kinda like how if its hanging way past knee level it wouldn't) but make sure to look like a hundred bucks doing it, you ARE doing a show, so not why put one on a little.
Step5 - Bask in worship


Last time i checked, i'm pretty sure we all mainly wanted to make sure we got more girls than the singer or guitarist. Am i right or am i right?


And about enstwistle,he doesn't count, that guy LOOKED cooler than everyone BECAUSE he looked like he didn't even care that he was on stage, in The Who. He could pull it off, (and while having his bass fairly high too). But that's cause he's Enstwistle. You are not. Don't think you can just stand there and play and still be cool. Nah-uh.
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I'm definitely not Entwistle. But I can play good and look cool doing it so I got you there. :D

Cheers!

MJW
 
#147
I sit when i play because of nerve damage from my broken neck. In my last band, we worked it into our stage show by having me play in a wheel chair, which fit the post-apoc costume vibe we were going for.
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I've also been using the Slinger hip strap, which saves my shouder, but only allows for a small range of hip-height placement.
 
#149
Yeah, injuries suck. Glad I don't need the chair any more. We had plans to make it look like a rolling fortress. Too bad the band folded.

It takes the steam out to play seated, since I was an active live stage guy before. Now I just envision BB King and roll with it.
 
#151
If my life depended on wearing/playing the bass low, low it would go.

If my life depended on wearing/playing the bass high, it would fly sky-high.

Since my life doesn't depend on where I wear my bass, I care to wear it where I want.

You're welcome! :D

- - -

Oh heck, why stop there?

In one practice session, my finger-style plucking wrist is both straight and clawed. My forearm touches the bass and doesn't. The neck is angled at 45-degrees and not at 45-degrees.

The best part? I don't feel pain the next day! :hyper::bassist:
 
#154
I am sorta new to bass and very frustrated with this--I get the feeling that my body type is just not suited to bass-ing. I am a teeny-tiny person (well, height-wise anyway--not so much weight-wise) who is trying to play an Ibanez AEB10... and it looks (and often feels) absolutely absurd on me, no matter where the hell I put it--and I don't know where the hell to put it.

When I play sitting down, I try to rest it on my left leg (I'm right-handed) and play with the neck tilted up about 45o​, like I did when I took a classical guitar class back in high school. That seems to work well enough, but I still wind up putting too much stress on my thumb (although I'm pretty sure that's a technique problem, not so much a proportion problem) and I don't really like sitting while playing.

It feels more natural for me to stand while playing, but I have absolutely no idea where to put the damn bass--I tried doing same-as-sitting, but my right arm didn't like that (couldn't tell whether I should put my arm over the side of the bass or around near the bridge) and when I tried to lower it, my left hand didn't like that (too much wrist-bending). What do?
 
#155
TheAdrift said:
I tried doing same-as-sitting, but my right arm didn't like that (couldn't tell whether I should put my arm over the side of the bass or around near the bridge) and when I tried to lower it, my left hand didn't like that (too much wrist-bending). What do?
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From the position where your arm is over the side of the bass, keep your hand on the strings and just lift up your forearm so it's lightly resting on the "face" of the bass and your wrist is straight.

Adam Neely explains it way better:



He's right about your shoulder being a little sore at first. Mine was. But I kept working with it and now I can practice at length without any tension at all.

I was having a lot of the same frustrations with trying to figure out how to just hold the frigging thing, but it was totally worth all the tinkering once I figured out how to make it work for me. Whatever you do, just keep at it.
 
#156
Upper J horn crosses my left moob, headstock level with my head. I'm not particularly tall and sort of barrel chested, but I can comfortably play fingerstyle, pick, or slap all from this position. I can also accommodate any bass scale comfortably (in the event I use somebody else's bass). It comes out about the same when I play seated, right leg crossed over left, with the bass resting on my right thigh.
 
#157
TheAdrift said:
I am sorta new to bass and very frustrated with this--I get the feeling that my body type is just not suited to bass-ing. I am a teeny-tiny person (well, height-wise anyway--not so much weight-wise) who is trying to play an Ibanez AEB10... and it looks (and often feels) absolutely absurd on me, no matter where the hell I put it--and I don't know where the hell to put it.

When I play sitting down, I try to rest it on my left leg (I'm right-handed) and play with the neck tilted up about 45o​, like I did when I took a classical guitar class back in high school. That seems to work well enough, but I still wind up putting too much stress on my thumb (although I'm pretty sure that's a technique problem, not so much a proportion problem) and I don't really like sitting while playing.

It feels more natural for me to stand while playing, but I have absolutely no idea where to put the damn bass--I tried doing same-as-sitting, but my right arm didn't like that (couldn't tell whether I should put my arm over the side of the bass or around near the bridge) and when I tried to lower it, my left hand didn't like that (too much wrist-bending). What do?
Click to expand...

Yeah, an ABG is a whole other ball of wax. I'm surprised a seated classical guitar position works for you, especially if you're small - with an ABG, I find it puts the lower frets way up in the stratosphere where I can't reach them comfortably. Standing, I'd suggest letting the body hang a little low but keep the neck up at an angle, maybe 45 or even up to 60 degrees. Just experiment till it feels right.

In general, with solidbody basses, I'm a middle-of-the-road guy, not too high and not too low, I like the neck joint right about at my belt buckle (when standing - can't do that seated, obviously). I stand when I practice so no big adjustment to make at band practices or gigs.

However, I recently bought a USA Peavey Foundation from a TBer. I found that when I hang it at my usual height, the neck hangs parallel to the floor - not dreadful neck dive, but not a real comfortable angle for me. So I tried shortening the strap a few inches till the joint was up around my belly button instead, and voila - the neck hung at a perfect 30 degree angle.

I used to worry about a high-slung bass looking "dorky," then started to notice how high my hero, Chris Squire, wears his - and got over it. I still feel comfortable with mine a little lower, though.

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#158
If anything, I switched over to bass from guitar for physical issues. Being 6'4", it got to the point where guitars felt like toys :crying: and so I decided to give bass a try. It felt soooooo much better. I finally felt that I wasn't struggling with playing anymore :hyper: , and that I actually liked bass more :hmm:

:D
 
#159
Jbassrockboy said:
Some just don't look cool no matter what

rossa
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That's me :crying:

I've always found it more comfortable to play with the bass low, not quite Rex Brown low but not much higher, it needs to be bellow my stomach otherwise it feels awkward. Plus I've got issues with the right hand & arm, so letting my arm hang loose makes playing less painful than if I had to constantly had to hold it up.
 
#160
I don't keep it as low as the "at-your-ankles" stereotypes sometimes go, but keeping mine low just makes my stance feel more powerful and (for some reason that I will never understand) makes me feel more confident in my playing. I really could care less what I look like, but keeping it up high just doesn't feel right. Not to mention I play metal and metalcore, and playing with it hanging low gives me more flexibility for movement :)
 

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