franzbassist

[quote name='bubinga5' post='150984' date='Mar 4 2008, 11:58 AM']When im playing, my wrist feels very tense and uncomfortable. It doesnt hurt,it just feels under pressure. I try to play with a straighter wrist by lifting my elbow up, but its hard to maintain, and when im concentrating seems to fall back into this bent wrist position.[/quote] Hi there I think this is something all players go through. There is no right or wrong, and I am not qualified in such things so this is just what has worked for me, but there are certainly some things you can do to maximise the comfort, both short- and long-term, that will make sure you can keep playing. First of all, do you stretch and warm up your arms and hands before you play? If not I find it makes a big difference. A great simple exercise is to put your palms together, fingers facing up as if praying, and then just move your wrists down while keeping your palms together. Second, ideally your wrists [b]should[/b] be straight. The optimum height for your bass therefore is when your wrists are both straight when you play; anything else and you run the risk of CTS. How you wear the bass across your body (i.e. flat across the chest or with the neck out in front of you) can affect this so try it both ways. Third, avoid resting the forearm of your plucking hand on the body of the bass. Fourth, use a wide (say 3.5") strap. This will spread the weight of the bass and reduce the likelihood of bad posture adversely affecting your playing. Related to this, have you adjusted your strap since you changed to the bigger body shape? It may be worth revisiting the ergonomics of your whole setup? I hope this helps. Gareth

[quote name='BigAlonBass' post='149211' date='Feb 29 2008, 10:01 PM']NOT REALLY!!!!!!! This is what gets right up my nose sometimes. I ask a simple question, and I get the p*ss taken! All I see is some Black Guy playing some sort of Fender Bass. Thanks for the help guys! [/quote] It's Marcus Miller playing his Sadowsky-modified Fender Jazz. I saw JH at the Portsmouth Guildhall in something like 1989. Backstage passes and everything. Amazing player and a really nice guy to boot.

[quote name='phatbass787' post='148817' date='Feb 29 2008, 09:50 AM']he also said Ashdown's high end stuff would always be made in england, which is nice, more than can be said for Ampeg eh![/quote] Did Ampeg make stuff in England?