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Thunderbird Club

#181,703
So sad to hear about Dusty. The world lost a legend today. :-(


I have a question for the group. This 2021 NR bird is the first NR thunderbird I've ever owned and played for extended periods of time. This bass is killing my shoulder after 30 minutes of playing. I currently own 2 reverse tbirds (and have played other reverse tbirds) and do not ever get this kind of shoulder pain with them despite the fact that they are heavier. My Greco is 9.5 lbs, my bicentennial Gibby is also around 9.5 lbs, and this NR bird is around 8.6 lbs. I seem to have to reach more for the 1st fret with the NR bird because of where the strap button is relative to the fretboard. Both the Greco and the bicentennial have strap buttons at the heel of the neck that line up around the 15th fret, whereas the NR bird has a strap button on the horn that seems to line up closer to the 17th fret. I believe this difference is causing me to extend my arm more to play the positions I frequently play with my band (usually north of the 7th fret) and is causing shoulder pain because my shoulder is not in a relaxed position like it is with other basses.

I'm wondering what your opinions are on this? Would changing the strap button location to the heel of the neck help? (It looks like the strap button would continue to line up with the 17th fret if I moved it so I have my doubts)

I'm 6'3" so I did not think that this would be a problem… but here we are. My only rule with the basses I own is that I have to be able to gig with them - and I don't gig sitting down. If I can't fix this issue then I'm afraid I will have to return the instrument to the store. :-(

PXL_20210728_181956494~2.jpg
 
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#181,706
WSquires said:
So sad to hear about Dusty. The world lost a legend today. :-(


I have a question for the group. This 2021 NR bird is the first NR thunderbird I've ever owned and played for extended periods of time. This bass is killing my shoulder after 30 minutes of playing. I currently own 2 reverse tbirds (and have played other reverse tbirds) and do not ever get this kind of shoulder pain with them despite the fact that they are heavier. My Greco is 9.5 lbs, my bicentennial Gibby is also around 9.5 lbs, and this NR bird is around 8.6 lbs. I seem to have to reach more for the 1st fret with the NR bird because of where the strap button is relative to the fretboard. Both the Greco and the bicentennial have strap buttons at the heel of the neck that line up around the 15th fret, whereas the NR bird has a strap button on the horn that seems to line up closer to the 17th fret. I believe this difference is causing me to extend my arm more to play the positions I frequently play with my band (usually north of the 7th fret) and is causing shoulder pain because my shoulder is not in a relaxed position like it is with other basses.

I'm wondering what your opinions are on this? Would changing the strap button location to the heel of the neck help? (It looks like the strap button would continue to line up with the 17th fret if I moved it so I have my doubts)

I'm 6'3" so I did not think that this would be a problem… but here we are. My only rule with the basses I own is that I have to be able to gig with them - and I don't gig sitting down. If I can't fix this issue then I'm afraid I will have to return the instrument to the store. :-(

View attachment 4349359
Click to expand...
I have a 2013 EB that is insanely light, but it also has the same issue with where the strap button is. I moved the strap button from the horn to the base of the neck, with the same results you will probably have. The advantage of that location is that it let me swivel the neck much more vertical, where I prefer it some of the time. I find that the usual FSO button on the horn thing limits the ways a bass can hang, which makes it difficult to move the neck around near as much. I'm always moving the neck up and down, back and forth when I play.

That said, I seriously doubt you would have any difficulty selling that bass to somebody in here if you did that instead of returning it.
 
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#181,707
WSquires said:
So sad to hear about Dusty. The world lost a legend today. :-(


I have a question for the group. This 2021 NR bird is the first NR thunderbird I've ever owned and played for extended periods of time. This bass is killing my shoulder after 30 minutes of playing. I currently own 2 reverse tbirds (and have played other reverse tbirds) and do not ever get this kind of shoulder pain with them despite the fact that they are heavier. My Greco is 9.5 lbs, my bicentennial Gibby is also around 9.5 lbs, and this NR bird is around 8.6 lbs. I seem to have to reach more for the 1st fret with the NR bird because of where the strap button is relative to the fretboard. Both the Greco and the bicentennial have strap buttons at the heel of the neck that line up around the 15th fret, whereas the NR bird has a strap button on the horn that seems to line up closer to the 17th fret. I believe this difference is causing me to extend my arm more to play the positions I frequently play with my band (usually north of the 7th fret) and is causing shoulder pain because my shoulder is not in a relaxed position like it is with other basses.

I'm wondering what your opinions are on this? Would changing the strap button location to the heel of the neck help? (It looks like the strap button would continue to line up with the 17th fret if I moved it so I have my doubts)

I'm 6'3" so I did not think that this would be a problem… but here we are. My only rule with the basses I own is that I have to be able to gig with them - and I don't gig sitting down. If I can't fix this issue then I'm afraid I will have to return the instrument to the store. :-(

View attachment 4349359
Click to expand...

I always put the strap button at the neck heel on mine, they do on the Epi's, no idea why they didn't on the NRs. I'd recommend holding the bass in a more upright position to start with, that will shorten the horizontal distance your arm has to extend to reach the lower frets.
 
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#181,708
Gaolee said:
I have a 2013 EB that is insanely light, but it also has the same issue with where the strap button is. I moved the strap button from the horn to the base of the neck, with the same results you will probably have. The advantage of that location is that it let me swivel the neck much more vertical, where I prefer it some of the time. I find that the usual FSO button on the horn thing limits the ways a bass can hang, which makes it difficult to move the neck around near as much. I'm always moving the neck up and down, back and forth when I play.

That said, I seriously doubt you would have any difficulty selling that bass to somebody in here if you did that instead of returning it.
Click to expand...
True enough, but Long and Mcquade is really good about returns as long as you don’t abuse their policy.
 
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#181,711
GonePlaid said:
Like The Doors, Steppenwolf was a 4 piece group. John Kay didn't always play guitar in live performances. My guess is there's a bass player behind the amp wall. The organist would've had to be sitting to do pedals and his left hand was doing other things. In the credits, one guy is listed as guitar, bass, vocals. That's the people on the recordings.
Click to expand...
Like Black Sabbath with the keyboard player off stage.
 
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#181,713
MCF said:
No! WTH. So sad. In high scool we spent many a Friday and Saturday night blasting ZZ from our car stereos cruising the two main streets in our town. Part of the soundtrack of our youth.
Click to expand...
In high school, driving the parents cars, we would always rummage around in the glove box for the driver's Mom's sunglasses. Put them on then sing along with Cheap Sunglasses, replacing that with Mom's Sunglasses.
 
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#181,714
WSquires said:
So sad to hear about Dusty. The world lost a legend today. :-(


I have a question for the group. This 2021 NR bird is the first NR thunderbird I've ever owned and played for extended periods of time. This bass is killing my shoulder after 30 minutes of playing. I currently own 2 reverse tbirds (and have played other reverse tbirds) and do not ever get this kind of shoulder pain with them despite the fact that they are heavier. My Greco is 9.5 lbs, my bicentennial Gibby is also around 9.5 lbs, and this NR bird is around 8.6 lbs. I seem to have to reach more for the 1st fret with the NR bird because of where the strap button is relative to the fretboard. Both the Greco and the bicentennial have strap buttons at the heel of the neck that line up around the 15th fret, whereas the NR bird has a strap button on the horn that seems to line up closer to the 17th fret. I believe this difference is causing me to extend my arm more to play the positions I frequently play with my band (usually north of the 7th fret) and is causing shoulder pain because my shoulder is not in a relaxed position like it is with other basses.

I'm wondering what your opinions are on this? Would changing the strap button location to the heel of the neck help? (It looks like the strap button would continue to line up with the 17th fret if I moved it so I have my doubts)

I'm 6'3" so I did not think that this would be a problem… but here we are. My only rule with the basses I own is that I have to be able to gig with them - and I don't gig sitting down. If I can't fix this issue then I'm afraid I will have to return the instrument to the store. :-(

View attachment 4349359
Click to expand...
Lengthen the strap, tilt the neck up. The body needs to be low on your hip. Channel Jack Casady...
OIP.XMDCq6Pyv0tTSFCCvFytvQHaE7?w=276&h=184&c=7&o=5&pid=1.jpg
OIP.b9oRbUltzRTeqJTyBOZhrwHaNT?w=115&h=181&c=7&o=5&pid=1.jpg
upload_2021-7-28_17-15-50.jpeg
 
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