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Wheelchair friendly Basses


Biglump
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Hi all,
I appear to have gained an apprentice bass player.

I've been asked to offer advice, maybe even find a bass for a soon to be chair bound young lady.

So, are there any wheelchair users out there able to offer any opinions, please?

Money is quite tight so the cheapest, most playable option would probably be best.

Hoping to train her up to be deputy bass in our Uke orchestra.
But U basses are too pricey.
Also the ambition lies in playing a giant bass a'la Suzi Quattro for limited standing up and posing.
(don't we all start wanting to be playing and posing?)

Is there such a thing as a wheelchair friendly bass, short scale, small body, light in weight and playable?


Thanks,
Ade

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Blimey thats a difficult question... there are probably loads of limiting factors that a non wheelchair user wouldn't even think of...

Don't wheelchairs have raised sides? I would imagine that takes playing the bass on the right knee (assuming player is right handed) out of the equation. So I guess the options would be to play it uprightish between the legs (kinda like a classical guitarist) although as this is for a young lady she may not be quite so enamoured with a rather unflattering position :blink:, or go for as lighter bass as possible and play it on a strap up high, close to the chest so it doesnt even touch the legs... although again down to physiology I would imagine this is harder for ladies than it is for men.

I recon a shorty P bass would do, something like this from Thomann, although the body is quite large.





They do occasionally crop up on their "decoration only" section which is for instruments with cosmetic damage, I think the last batch went for £17.

Edited by CamdenRob
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Yes there are wheelchair friendly basses.

There may be folk here who use a chair but you can also contact Jimmy Lloyd Rae.

https://m.facebook.com/jimmy.l.rea?refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fjimmy.l.rea

I know Jimmy from LinkedIn and he's only to happy to help anyone else who is in a chair and needs advice and support.

Jimmy used to play with Lee Hooker and is in the Blues Hall of Fame as a bass player.

Edited by Grangur
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[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1437746205' post='2828771']
She should be able to fold the right hand side of the chair down and I'd recommend a light bass, hollow would be better and a good strap.
[/quote]

Very true. Try an Ibanez ATK

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[quote name='Biglump' timestamp='1437744475' post='2828738']
Hoping to train her up to be deputy bass in our Uke orchestra.
But U basses are too pricey.
Also the ambition lies in playing a giant bass a'la Suzi Quattro for limited standing up and posing.
(don't we all start wanting to be playing and posing?)
[/quote]

U-basses are pricey but there's a Harley Benton equivalent (FSVO equivalent), or there's Ashbories, which tend to crop up occasionally for about £150, although these don't meet the "giant posey bass" criterion.

If she can fold the chair arms down then almost anything will do, except Buzzards and anything that doesn't have a little bit sticking out to catch on the leg.

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[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1437745418' post='2828758']
both the Hofner and the Steinberger are better options than my suggestion :lol:
[/quote]These are sprang to mind when I saw the OP thread title.

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How about the Danelectro? I had a Longhorn for a while simply because I liked the looks. It's super light and short scale. It had a really punchy sound; not a great deal of variation tonally but would be fine for a starter bass. If the body shape is wrong for a wheelchair user they also do a single cutaway bass but I know less about them. I'm assuming they are also light weight.

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[quote name='PlungerModerno' timestamp='1437831961' post='2829403']
If you can find one used (could be a long shot given how awesome they are supposed to be) - how about an ibanez Mikro: [url="http://www.ibanez.co.jp/usa/products/jumpstart/GSRM20B.html"]http://www.ibanez.co...rt/GSRM20B.html[/url]
[/quote]

I've a Mikro I'm not using... nice little thing, fits a guitar gigbag. It would need some work though (noisy electrics), and my experience is that the E string tends to be soggy. I'm considering restringing it and tuning ADGC.

But also consider Aria 690 Sinsonido. Weighs nothing, sounds great, looks good but [i]strange[/i]...
This one is a bit overpriced IMO (and fretless)... [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aria-fretless-bass-/181807034028?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2a548b2eac"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2a548b2eac[/url]

Edited by alyctes
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I'm disabled, but don't use a chair....... Key factor here must be weight. One of my first "real" basses many years ago was a Bass collection ..... A fine slender and very lightweight bass with a great tone.... Infact I had a 4s and a 5s I liked them that much. Active, easy to set up well, slender neck profile.....

Seen them very cheap on ebay recently, circa £100, same bass I paid £450 quid for many moons ago...

A great cheap alternative the the ibanez sr range but similar standard....

The chair is not the issue here as it's likely the sides will drop down or be removed, the bass sitting on a leg that may have impaired feeling is the issue, especially if the bass is heavy enough to affect circulation .....

Go light weight....

In fact, here's one here !!! Absolute bargain and looks just right for a lady :)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bass-Collection-SB301-active-bass-guitar-in-beautiful-candy-apple-red-/201391079812?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2ee3d80184


I had one of these for years and did hundreds and hundreds of gigs with it without a single issue, sounded great too.

Edited by Wonky2
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[quote name='Wonky2' timestamp='1437949386' post='2830356']
...
The chair is not the issue here as it's likely the sides will drop down or be removed, the bass sitting on a leg that may have impaired feeling is the issue, especially if the bass is heavy enough to affect circulation .....
...
[/quote]

Again, the Aria Sinsonido would do well here, because the lower bout is removable.

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