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Thunderbird Club

#179,941
Thumper said:
I have developed some pain playing my Thunderjazz, it's dull pain in the center of my palm. I have been playing MANY years, and back in the 80's had to quit playing my '66J (D profile) because of fretting hand cramping. I've avoided 1.5" necks ever since. The neck I put on my Thunderjazz is a 1 5/8" with a shallow profile, and up until now it has been a joy to play, and I practice at home with it. The second day I experienced the pain was a band practice day, so I practiced a little at home (pain again), and went to band where I use the ThunderP, which has a 1.6" neck with a slightly thicker profile, and didn't experience any pain.

Yesterday, tried the Thunderjazz again, pain again. Pulled down my '59 NOS CS P, 1.75" with shallow profile, and the pain went away.

Any suggestions short of not playing one of my favorite basses of all time?
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No good ideas off the top of my head, but sure am sorry to hear that. I hope you can come up with a workable plan.
 
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#179,943
GBassNorth said:
Is it feasible to swap out the Thunderjazz neck for something that is more comfortable for you?
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Yeah, I have a couple I can do that with, the matching headstock will not look good on them though, but maybe it's a short term solution.
20180310_100119.jpg
 
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#179,944
Thumper said:
I have developed some pain playing my Thunderjazz, it's dull pain in the center of my palm. I have been playing MANY years, and back in the 80's had to quit playing my '66J (D profile) because of fretting hand cramping. I've avoided 1.5" necks ever since. The neck I put on my Thunderjazz is a 1 5/8" with a shallow profile, and up until now it has been a joy to play, and I practice at home with it. The second day I experienced the pain was a band practice day, so I practiced a little at home (pain again), and went to band where I use the ThunderP, which has a 1.6" neck with a slightly thicker profile, and didn't experience any pain.

Yesterday, tried the Thunderjazz again, pain again. Pulled down my '59 NOS CS P, 1.75" with shallow profile, and the pain went away.

Any suggestions short of not playing one of my favorite basses of all time?
Click to expand...
First suggestion, do not take medical advice from strangers on the internet.

Second suggestion - see a doctor. Get a referral to a hand clinic. There are several potential causes of the pain, but testing is required. It should be fixable.
 
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#179,946
PillO said:
First suggestion, do not take medical advice from strangers on the internet.

Second suggestion - see a doctor. Get a referral to a hand clinic. There are several potential causes of the pain, but testing is required. It should be fixable.
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I should also note that, depending upon the problem, delaying doing something about it can result in fewer options that have good outcomes.
 
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#179,948
PillO said:
I should also note that, depending upon the problem, delaying doing something about it can result in fewer options that have good outcomes.
Click to expand...
You're right of course, wasn't really looking for medical advice though. I'm just going to play my P or JPJ at home, and see what happens. If that starts causing issues, it's Doctor time, playing less is not an option. I was curious to see if anyone else had experienced mid-palm pain.
 
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#179,949
Thumper said:
You're right of course, wasn't really looking for medical advice though. I'm just going to play my P or JPJ at home, and see what happens. If that starts causing issues, it's Doctor time, playing less is not an option. I was curious to see if anyone else had experienced mid-palm pain.
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How do you position your fretting hand on the neck?
 
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#179,951
Thumper said:
Curl your fretting hand until your thumb is touching your pointer finger, then spread the thumb and pointer fret width, and nearly straighten thumb. I've never had this issue in 53 years of playing.
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Yeah, then likely my thoughts wouldn't be helpful. I see a lot of bass players playing like guitarists, with the back of the neck in their palm and the thumb hanging over to the top of the neck. I keep my thumb braced against the back of the neck to sort of counteract the fingers.
 
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#179,952
BklynKen said:
Yeah, then likely my thoughts wouldn't be helpful. I see a lot of bass players playing like guitarists, with the back of the neck in their palm and the thumb hanging over to the top of the neck. I keep my thumb braced against the back of the neck to sort of counteract the fingers.
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I've mainly played Ps and 5ers, so I'll probably have to swap out the neck, shame though.
20200804_192502.jpg
 
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#179,954
BklynKen said:
Yeah, then likely my thoughts wouldn't be helpful. I see a lot of bass players playing like guitarists, with the back of the neck in their palm and the thumb hanging over to the top of the neck. I keep my thumb braced against the back of the neck to sort of counteract the fingers.
Click to expand...

That's the way I play as well. My bass instructor drilled that into my head early on.
 
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