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The ERGONOMICS Thread

W

wompwomp

Mar 1, 2025
588
758
#1
I'll kick things off by explaining a bit about myself and my process to date:

I picked up the bass guitar ~15 months ago. i've played bass before but never before as one of *my* instruments. i play guitar ( 30 years) and mandolin (15 years) and dabble a bit on drums ( maybe 4 years or so).

I got hurt ~7 or 8 years ago and have had a degree of atrophy in the left side of my back. my hand/eye and fine motor stuff works fine but the bigger motor stuff doesn't. my left back (and by extension my shoulder) is very lazy. paresis might be the best term.

on bass what this means is I never play sitting down, strapped and standing only. i'll explain a bit later.

pickingwise I play combo fingerstyle . no pick no slap and I don't ever anchor. my right hand is VERY strong and free I can extend my right arm/hand with dexterity and command. the left side is more like crabbed in from the back.

as a result I prefer a very vertical address to the fretboard, I can develop a relationship without extending my left arm. the elbow is in the envelope.

any power I have in my left back I use to hold the instrument up, sometimes it's more like i'm hanging my left hand and shoving the instrument down vertically into the rear strap button.

sometimes I feel like I am missing a strap or that I am going to push the instrument off the strap.

I am seriously considering trying a saxophone neck strap for my bass. a tenor sax probably weighs more than my aerodyne jazz.

comments welcome.
 
#2
neotechstraps.com

Guitar Support Harness | by Neotech™

If you want to enjoy more freedom of movement while rocking out, you need the Neotech™ Guitar Support Harness. This amazing product is a torso strap that fastens at the base of your rib cage with a quick disconnect buckle. It supports your instrument securely and comfortably, allowing you to...
neotechstraps.com neotechstraps.com

And if you want to play sitting:
guitarscientist.com

The First-Ever Electric Guitar Leg Rest: Performaxe

Performaxe, the First-Ever Electric Guitar Leg Rest. Increase comfort and practice effectiveness, raise and angle the guitar without strap or footstool.
guitarscientist.com guitarscientist.com

I found both of these helpful when I needed them, and I still use the performaxe every day.
 
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#3
I'm putting together a baritone guitar that I think is gonna have some of that upright playing position - extended upper bout, fairly radical body contouring, relatively light. Still just putting on the finish, eager to try it out. Seems somewhat in line with what you're talking about. Warmoth Z Body.
20250504_130352.jpg
 
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#6
wompwomp said:
I'll kick things off by explaining a bit about myself and my process to date:

I picked up the bass guitar ~15 months ago. i've played bass before but never before as one of *my* instruments. i play guitar ( 30 years) and mandolin (15 years) and dabble a bit on drums ( maybe 4 years or so).

I got hurt ~7 or 8 years ago and have had a degree of atrophy in the left side of my back. my hand/eye and fine motor stuff works fine but the bigger motor stuff doesn't. my left back (and by extension my shoulder) is very lazy. paresis might be the best term.

on bass what this means is I never play sitting down, strapped and standing only. i'll explain a bit later.

pickingwise I play combo fingerstyle . no pick no slap and I don't ever anchor. my right hand is VERY strong and free I can extend my right arm/hand with dexterity and command. the left side is more like crabbed in from the back.

as a result I prefer a very vertical address to the fretboard, I can develop a relationship without extending my left arm. the elbow is in the envelope.

any power I have in my left back I use to hold the instrument up, sometimes it's more like i'm hanging my left hand and shoving the instrument down vertically into the rear strap button.

sometimes I feel like I am missing a strap or that I am going to push the instrument off the strap.

I am seriously considering trying a saxophone neck strap for my bass. a tenor sax probably weighs more than my aerodyne jazz.

comments welcome.
Click to expand...
You haven't mentioned what kind of bass you play. Fender-style basses in particular are prone to neck dive (a phrase that gets discussed often here) and many of them require heroic efforts to compensate for it. It might be worth finding a design that inherently balances better. "Modern" shapes (scarequotes because the designs are actually 40 years old or more at this point) have longer upper horns and smaller headstocks, both of which allow them to balance more easily on a strap.

You can also move the strap pin on the lower bout so that the bass inherently hangs at more of an angle.
 
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#8
LowWay said:
neotechstraps.com

Guitar Support Harness | by Neotech™

If you want to enjoy more freedom of movement while rocking out, you need the Neotech™ Guitar Support Harness. This amazing product is a torso strap that fastens at the base of your rib cage with a quick disconnect buckle. It supports your instrument securely and comfortably, allowing you to...
neotechstraps.com neotechstraps.com

And if you want to play sitting:
guitarscientist.com

The First-Ever Electric Guitar Leg Rest: Performaxe

Performaxe, the First-Ever Electric Guitar Leg Rest. Increase comfort and practice effectiveness, raise and angle the guitar without strap or footstool.
guitarscientist.com guitarscientist.com

I found both of these helpful when I needed them, and I still use the performaxe every day.
Click to expand...

i really prefer to stand with bass guitar, I don't think i've ever sat to play the instrument. the harness is a compelling idea, I will probably try one.

TyBo said:
I'm putting together a baritone guitar that I think is gonna have some of that upright playing position - extended upper bout, fairly radical body contouring, relatively light. Still just putting on the finish, eager to try it out. Seems somewhat in line with what you're talking about. Warmoth Z Body.View attachment 7222892
Click to expand...

interesting. sort of an offset variant. I can see the benefit of the longer treble horn.

ahbass2500 said:
When you say “push the instrument off the strap”… are you using strap locks? If not I highly recommend them for keeping the strap attached to the guitar in the playing position you describe.
Click to expand...

if I stick to a guitar strap then strap locks are a must I think. i'm just squeezing the balloon a bit here.

i'm considering replacing the upper strap button with something like this

Screenshot 2025-05-10 3.12.03 PM.png

and trying a sax lanyard (not bothering with the rear button) or perhaps using a harness system as mentioned above.

ardgedee said:
You haven't mentioned what kind of bass you play. Fender-style basses in particular are prone to neck dive (a phrase that gets discussed often here) and many of them require heroic efforts to compensate for it. It might be worth finding a design that inherently balances better. "Modern" shapes (scarequotes because the designs are actually 40 years old or more at this point) have longer upper horns and smaller headstocks, both of which allow them to balance more easily on a strap.

You can also move the strap pin on the lower bout so that the bass inherently hangs at more of an angle.
Click to expand...

I've been playing guitars and other stringed instruments for a long time.

in my experience there is never a free lunch in terms of supporting the instrument, there is always a certain amount of juggling and I think that at the end of the day music performance is a kind of dance with an instrument and in spite of my back issues i've always preferred instruments that wrestle back a bit.

so i'm not really concerned with neck dive as much as surveying the options at this point. fwiw my basses are all fender, 2 are fairly lightweight aerodyne models and one is a fairly heavy 90s fretless p which is legitimately taxing for me to wear but worth it for mojo's sake. I think regardless of the model my hands will want to prop the bass vertically.

moving the rear strap button makes sense to force a higher angle on the neck but let me say this about the guitar strap:

it's my left back is crabbed up and so when I use really any guitar strap yes it goes under the right shoulder so it sort of allows my right back to be involved BUT it comes around that left side of the neck. what I think I'm trying to do here is to get more symmetry in terms of the right side supporting the instrument.

the harness may work. I think a sax lanyard may work. strap locks are a great idea.

Rocket Queen said:
1. Short scale
2. Headless
3. Double-cut w/long upper horn

Ibanez EHB1000 fits the bill:

www.ibanez.com

EHB1000 | EHB | ELECTRIC BASSES | PRODUCTS | Ibanez guitars

EHB1000 at Ibanez. Ibanez offers electric guitars, bass guitars, acoustic guitars, effect and pedals, amps, plus guitar accessories like tuners, straps and picks.
www.ibanez.com www.ibanez.com
Click to expand...

I rather like 34" scale.

at the end of the day i think i'd like to get the guitar off of my left neck/shoulder and there are some great ideas here. super appreciate the convo and will update as I go forward, peace!
 
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