Who doesn’t mind neck dive?

[Engle]

I can’t play any bass with neck dive in a standing position. How can you play with good left hand technique if you’re using that hand just to support the neck? Talking as a right-handed player, obviously.

I won’t claim to have great left hand technique, but usually my right forearm is in contact with the body - I think that’s partly holding it in position.

 

[GretschWretch]

@gretschwretsch 2:46 is the end of the video...

Thanks for noticing this. Try at 1:55.

 

[rogerbmiller]

Depends on the cause. My MIJ jags dive but a good strap makes that a non issue.
But I once had a Warwick Thumb NT5 and it was a murder. The neck extended too far out to play comfortably let alone to play comfortably AND hold up. No strap could remedy that. So 45 minutes into a 3 hr rehearsal I hade the decision to launch that bass.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

There is neck dive while seated and neck dive while on a strap. It's often not specified and can cause confusion.

I'm not too worried about neck dive while seated as most basses are going to have that to some extent. To get around it you need a lot of weight at the bridge side which makes the instrument heavy. Neck dive on a strap is usually caused by either heavy tuners or (more commonly) a strap point that is too far back as a result of design. You can get lighter tuners, but changing the strap point is difficult.

 

[JRT64]

I once jammed on an Alembic Series I that had the worst neck dive I had ever seen. That ended any desire for me wanting one. None of the basses I have owned, have had any serious neck dive. My wide straps pretty much takes care of any minor dive.

 

[JRA]

How can you play with good left hand technique if you’re using that hand just to support the neck?

i think folks who aren't bothered by neck dive generally don't realize that they're supporting the neck! i didn't. i'm sure i wasn't the only one. it's easy to 'not realize'.

 

[SoulReflection]

I don't mind neck dive now that I am old and have to sit down, anyway !

 

[G On Bass]

I cannot and will not own a bass with any degree of neck dive. Just can't do it.

 

[Jefenator]

If there was a poll, I would vote as not minding neck dive. It seems to be a big deal for lots of others, but it's really never bothered me at all.

I'm all for a longer horn & smaller headstock as long as they make it look cool.

 

[Watchootognbout]

Thanks for noticing this. Try at 1:55.

 

[Mike Vee]

doesn't bother me. heavy weight does though.

 

[Slevage]

Non issue for me.

Heavy basses are ok too.

 

[John Stephen]

This one has had me scratching my head for many years. Maybe I’m just an outlier.

Like many players, I’ve owned my fair share of basses that had some degree of neck dive. Some have had a lot and others just a small amount. Playing basses with neck dive has never been a hindrance to me; it’s basically unnoticeable while I’m playing and a non-issue while I’m not. Yet, I’ve read tons of posts from folks that treat neck dive as a nuisance. My question to the TB collective is this: Are there others that find neck dive to be irrelevant?

I wish I was one of those who find it irrelevant. I became aware of it soon after I took up the bass guitar, and long before I ever heard of it as a known issue. I had a Fender Jazz bass, and even though I played sitting down, I literally couldn't control it. The headstock kept making out with the floor. It was impossible for me to play. I couldn't figure out what was wrong, but I went into my local GC, found a bass that didn't seem to do that, or did it less, and traded in the Jazz for it (I forget which brand it was). I envy those who don't find it to be a problem.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Not really a big deal.

 

[micguy]

Neck dive is bad design. In an era where you can model anything quickly in CAD software, the center of gravity is a trivial thing to find out, and you can find that out before you even make a prototype. If a bass doesn't stay put on a strap when you jump up and down, I won't own it. If it needs a "grippy" strap to stay put, that's still not good enough for me - any bass that's tugging at me because it's grabbing my shirt is just neck dive that's not quite as bad as one that falls if it isn't held - neither is acceptable to me.

I'm also not a fan of basses with excessive reach to the first position - the rule about the upper horn extending to the 12th fret (or a bit further) is as much about this as it is about balance - basses like Thunderbirds, even if they somehow miraculously balance, I won't buy because the reach is not reasonable over the long haul. I'm tall, so I could tolerate that better than most folks, but I have decided that if a company can't make the thing balanced and ergonomic, their bass is off the list.

Life is too short to suffer with stuff that doesn't work well.

 

[Pilgrim]

It's not that I mind it, I simply won't put up with any significant amount of it.

Most basses are a bit more neck heavy than body heavy, but it comes in many degrees. The WORST neck dive I've experienced was an SG-bodied Epiphone EB-0 with a 34" neck. Not only was the neck too long for the body, but it was set farther out on the body than usual, which made the neck dive worse. I sold it two weeks after I got it...there was no reason to put up with that.

 

[okabass]

Irrelevant to me.

 

[pbass2]

I hate neck dive. That’s why I make sure my basses have heavy bodies. All my basses are 10.5 to 11.25 lbs.
They don’t neck-dive.

Same. I'm a scrawny little guy and I'd rather play a heavy bass that hangs there just right than a poorly balanced lightweight. I think supporting the neck while you play messes with your body more than a balanced heavier bass does.

 

[Grinderman]

There's only one potential upside I can see with neck dive: When there's someone annoying in the audience at the front of the stage: plausible deniability. Ooops... neck dive, sorry.

 

[pbass2]

There's only one potential upside I can see with neck dive: When there's someone annoying in the audience at the front of the stage: plausible deniability. Ooops... neck dive, sorry.

And you could "accidentally" smack the keyboard player's left hand