Members megadan Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 I'm undecided as to which position is"better" - both in terms of comfort, playability all over the neck, and medical/tension issues. Up high, straight arm, neck close to you: Or flat bass, arms bent: It seems like more people (except metal heads ) play flatter, but the natural position of my wrists seems to be more bent inward - rotating it out to play flat seems to induce more stress on the wrist. So....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fastplant Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 Depends on the song, I do both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ToeJamFootball Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 in between Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jiggo Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 If playing with a pick, i leave it flat, if playing with fingers, i pull the neck alot closer to me. This could be also due to the fact that anything I play with fingers inevitably has alot more left hand work too. dunno Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members greenshag Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 I play up-high, and thanks to bassius helping me on ergonomical techniques, my wrists have thanked me...no more sore left hand wrist from playing too low, rock star style... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassplayer7770 Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 I have my bass strapped pretty high. I haven't found it to be uncomfortable, and I feel like I have easier access to the whole neck that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zachoff Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 The body of my bass is at crotch level. I play with a slightly bent fretting arm. I'd guess at times it at a decent angle, but other times it's fairly flat. Dunno, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B-Bottom Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bigby Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 I position my bass so that it's at the same level when I'm sitting down as it is when I stand up. That way, there's no adjustment to be made and less cause for injury. The angle of my bass also is pretty much set. It's closer to being flat, with just a slight rise and what feels natural to me. The important thing was to get past the idea of how cool I look (or thought I looked) and position my bass to perform at my highest level and what feels most comfortable to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 Either position is good, depending on whether you're using a plectrum or your fingers. The position that's NOT ergonomically correct is to have the thing hanging below your crotch a la Slash (yeah I know he plays geetar - but I've seen bassists doing that too.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kid Vicious Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 I play a cross between the two: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flatcat Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 Kind-of on the higher side, but under my ribs. I don't want it on my chest if I'm singing, which I do all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members s4001 Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members One Bad Monkey Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 Originally posted by bigby I position my bass so that it's at the same level when I'm sitting down as it is when I stand up. That way, there's no adjustment to be made and less cause for injury. The angle of my bass also is pretty much set. It's closer to being flat, with just a slight rise and what feels natural to me.The important thing was to get past the idea of how cool I look (or thought I looked) and position my bass to perform at my highest level and what feels most comfortable to me. +1. After doing enough switching between standing up playing and sitting down practicing, I found that just doing it in the same position made things a whole lot easier. The angle is pretty much flat too, with a slight angle up. Except for the fretless bass I had, which had a really high angle on it, to simulate a string bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Adrenochrome Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 / Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mounds Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 i kid, i kid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members illidian Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 In between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members justinbass Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 I play with the neck up high. I can't play sitting down. Well, I can, but barely. The angle is all wrong, and I don't like the feeling that I am holding the bass up with my left arm while playing. So I practice and play standing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zenfascist Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 Ya know, the guy from The Slackers sets his bass on a stool and plays it like an upright......kinda interesting. I play it pretty flat for the most part......slightly angled I guess. I don't really pay much attention to it when I'm playing. My bass is usually around crotch level or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chris-dax Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 VICTOR SAYS.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B-Bottom Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 Originally posted by Kid Vicious I play a cross between the two: that bass looks huge!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassgirl9 Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 Originally posted by mounds I'm actually not too unlike that guy. My hands/wrists/arms never hurt either. Like most women, if I play too high and too flat I have to deal with bass horns digging into places they don't belong. No one likes to see bruised up cleavage. That's just nasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Super_Donut_Man Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 I play in between. Its not high like that guy, but its not low like the chick, it sits happily around my junk, good thing I don't jump around alot with it on:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sludgebass69 Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybigmouth Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 My bass body hangs pretty low and when I'm playing down towards the nut I play it pretty much straight out with my thumb wrapping around the top of the neck. As I work higher up the neck I just tilt the neck up and down while playing as needed. I can actually get pretty close to the Fieldy position if I'm playing at the end of the fretboard. I use one of those locking straps made out of seatbelt type material so it slides easily over my shoulder without too much friction as I'm tilting the bass up and down. I think I too am somewhere in the middle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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