Bass ergonomics question

[mhoss32]

Hello all

im in the process of drawing up some plans for a new project and am running into the sticky issue of ergonomics

it may be that there is no hard-and-fast answer to this, but it would be good to get some opinions

the question is about the shape of the front of a bass body

 

a good example is Wal, here are examples of their mk1 and mk3:

 

 

the Mk1 has a straight carve out of the upper edge, the MK3 has a rounded carve out

 

is either of these specifically preferable? and if so why? would be very interested to see which people prefer from a comfort standpoint

 

 

[neepheid]

I prefer the first one - more flexibility for positioning your forearm.  I would worry that the second one is much more prescribed and you have to keep your forearm where the carve is - either side of it and you're actually going to be resting on a perceived hump/point.

[fretmeister]

First one in general.

The second one might be amazing when sitting but crap when standing and so on. It might be comfy for a fewer amount of people.

[itu]

Depending on the body proportions and the strap length, the first one is much more universal. Here I would say, more carve is better, but I have had issues with my hands. If the player sets the bass very low, the carve is nearly useless. 

[PaulThePlug]

Ergonomics... Ibanez SR

[tubbybloke68]

You want ergonomic?get a Ken Smith if you can. X 

[Kiwi]

11 hours ago, mhoss32 said:

im in the process of drawing up some plans for a new project and am running into the sticky issue of ergonomics

it may be that there is no hard-and-fast answer to this, but it would be good to get some opinions
 

 

 

 

I've found generally that there is a set of trade offs between aesthetics and ergonomics which kind of shows there is a limit to the classic Modernist design mantra of 'form follows function'.  I tend to think of it as a prioritisation exercise...priotise ergonomics up to about 70% of the body shape and compromise a little for aesthetics.  If you go beyond that threshold, it's possible to end up with some fairly unattractive body shapes that are exceedingly comfortable.  I'd offer up Vigier as an example and maybe the Klein steinberger/Strandberg Boden bass.  I'm sure it must be possible to cobble together a 2 axis graph somewhere showing attractiveness vs comfort given access to enough survey data.

 

Strandberg Boden bass

Klein/Steinberger bass

 

Vigier Passion SIII 5
 

[chris_b]

I owned a WAL mk2 and a mk3 and the mk3 body carving was irrelevant. My arm was nowhere near. If you're designing your own bass, I wouldn't bother with it. The mk 2 was ok and probably helped a little.The mk1 looks more like the Fender style body carved shape. Can't hurt to do the same but I never played a mk 1.

Edited 1 hour ago by chris_b

[Hellzero]

In fact, it all depends on what ergonomics you're after which will be highly different if you play sitting or standing, offering the best for both positions is the challenge.

 

Having owned and played close 1000 different basses, I can tell you that this challenge is still up to date.

 

For the sitting position, the Human Base ClassX is close to perfection as the body is carved for this purpose, putting the bass at the right position instantly.

 

 

 

 

That said, as @Kiwi mentioned, the Strandberg design is quite effective too, if you put the bass on your right thigh using the closest to the bridge position.

 

 

Also remember that headless basses are often more ergonomics as the tuners and the headstock are anti-ergonomics...

 

For the standing position, I think the Leduc and Le Fay basses are certainly amongst the most ergonomics basses and quite right for the sitting position.