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Neck Dive Tip


stewblack

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I've experimented with many solutions and the most effective was still a little inelegant. I have a canvass pouch designed to hang from a belt or bag whilst out hiking. This pouch holds a water bottle. So when I cycle to my rehearsal with my tiny travel bass I take the bottle from the bike, fill it with water at the rehearsal room, clip the pouch to my guitar strap (at the bum end of course) and the weight of the water precisely balances the instrument without me having to carry anything heavy on the bike (which would kind of defeat the object of travelling light). I carry the bottle anyway and it becomes lighter throughout the ride as I consume the initial quantity of H2O.

So I rehearse with a bottle swinging at my hip. Perfect if, as I say, inelegant. I am therefore adapting the idea for when I'm actually gigging with a neck heavy bass. Quite simply velcro attached to the back end of the strap and a certain number of curtain weights sewn into a flat pouch with the other half of the velcro sewn to the pouch. Balanced bass? Remove the pouch, neck heavy? Velcro it on. The 'certain number' of weights is arrived at through trial and error but by using three smaller pouches rather than one big one I can stick on differing amounts of weight to suit each bass on a case by case basis. Or a bass by bass casis.

A bag of curtain weights, yesterday:

1732905662_curtainweights.JPG.f17de0bb9a59a1bb7f02d881d6c3ba6b.JPG

Pictures to follow. When I've actually done the sewing.

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An alternative, more visually pleasing approach would be to tie a large, colourful helium balloon to the headstock. The more neck heavy the bass, the bigger the balloon. Thunderbirds generally need a giant rainbow coloured unicorn. 😎

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11 minutes ago, Maude said:

An alternative, more visually pleasing approach would be to tie a large, colourful helium balloon to the headstock. The more neck heavy the bass, the bigger the balloon. Thunderbirds generally need a giant rainbow coloured unicorn. 😎

Or an anvil.

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I don't get the worry about neck dive. I have four basses. The Wal, Aria and Cort balance perfectly. The Thunderbird (obviously) does not. The solution? a tiny bit of support from the left hand. Don't let go of the neck, and the problem goes away. Maude, all Brighton based bassists have such a thing in their gigbag

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8 minutes ago, neilp said:

I don't get the worry about neck dive. I have four basses. The Wal, Aria and Cort balance perfectly. The Thunderbird (obviously) does not. The solution? a tiny bit of support from the left hand. Don't let go of the neck, and the problem goes away. Maude, all Brighton based bassists have such a thing in their gigbag

I suppose the answer to that is if it bothers you it's a problem if it doesn't it isn't. 

The Hohner travel bass is literally unplayable to me. My left hand needs to glide freely up and down the neck not act as a shelf bracket 

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Guest oZZma

My bass dives, and it's HEAVY. I find comfortable to wear an extra-wide rough leather strap. It keeps It in place and distributes the weight so It doesn't cut my neck.

Edited by oZZma
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47 minutes ago, stewblack said:

I suppose the answer to that is if it bothers you it's a problem if it doesn't it isn't.

 

Very much so - one's person's comfortable bass can be another's ergonomic nemesis.

Edited by ahpook
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6 hours ago, T-Bay said:

My Gibson Thunderbird has zero neck dive, is it the epiphone ones that dive as none of the Gibsons I tried ever have.

 

It is possible that you are not as 'sensitive' and/or wear the bass lower than other people, as I found that wearing the bass low reduces the neck-dive feel. I haven't found a bass with the strap button levelled at around the 15-17th fret that doesn't have some degree of neck dive.

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5 minutes ago, ahpook said:

This is how I tame the dive on my Jack Casady - the fishing line holds the strap over the front of the bass so the pointy end doesn't go south if left unattended.

JCstrapage.jpg

I love this too! I have a semi acoustic bass which hangs all over the place and this might just be the answer.

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24 minutes ago, stewblack said:

I love this too! I have a semi acoustic bass which hangs all over the place and this might just be the answer.

Sorry, did I say fishing line ? Of course I meant my patented (ahem) ToneConduit music tether. Want to know why all the session players use it ?

You'll be amazed at the answer !!

Edited by ahpook
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17 minutes ago, ahpook said:

Sorry, did I say fishing line ? Of course I meant my patented (ahem) ToneConduit music tether. Want to know why all the session players use it ?

You'll be amazed at the answer !!

Don't keep us on tenterhooks ...

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