solo4652

Folks, My medical woes continue, but I've been experimenting with different basses to find a way forward. I've found that: As suggested by many B/Cers, a well-balanced bass is just as important as a light one. Holding up a neck-heavy bass while playing very quickly leads to arm and neck pains. I've cobbled together a waist strap that takes a lot of the weight of a bass off my shoulder. I've discovered that the key thing is to have an extra strap running from the waist to an extra strap pin close to the tip of the lower bout. With my Yamaha BB's, this also really helps with the overall balance. 32" scale helps. So, my revised shopping list for a bass is: 32" scale Lightweight. Doesn't have to be as mad/creative/different as I was originally thinking. Just light, that's all. 3 Kgs would be good It[i] has[/i] to be nicely balanced on a conventional strap with no neck dive. P/J, or maybe P/MM pickup configuration. I've never really been a J-bass fan but, you never know... Budget is £500 max I thought about starting a new thread, but decided that slightly re-orienting this existing one would be a better option. Mods - please do advise if you think otherwise. Steve

Gone, unsurprisingly.

[url="https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/for-sale-very-rare-80-s-bass-collection-fretless-bass-guitar-japanese-sgc-nanyo-/1179221480"]https://www.gumtree....nyo-/1179221480[/url]

I do feel for drummers at rehearsals when, as usual, most of the people there haven't learned their parts. Guitarist and keys player (and to a lesser extent, bassist) have endless conversations about chords, diminished 7ths and such like. The inevitable result is a seriously fed-up drummer (and singer) who then mentally goes AWOL. Same thing happens regarding the same song and same chords the following week. Quite often, I'm not surprised that the drummer decides they can't be bothered any more.

I played classical guitar as a teenager and hated it. I sill have the guitar, and haven't touched it for 40 years. Started playing bass aged 50 and it's certainly my main instrument. I also dabble on the cajon and have been the "house cajonista" at a few open mic evenings, accompanying anybody who came along and wanted a bit of percussion behind them. That feeling of comfortable improvisation is something I'll never have with my bass-playing, since I can only play basslines I have spent hours practising. So, in terms of hours spent, I'm a bass player first and cajon player second.

Quick update, for anybody interested. This afternoon, I played a nice Bass Collection SB301, hoping its light weight would be the snake oil I've been looking for to enable me to play more than 5 songs. I'm afraid not. The SB 301 is about 1.2 Kgs lighter than my Yamaha BB1024, but I could feel my left arm and hand, and my neck getting tired and painful after only 5 minutes or so of noodling. I was using my own strap, and the SB301 was balancing nicely. I didn't feel I was holding up the neck, and it was pretty easy to play. Nothing wrong with the bass - for the money, I was very impressed with it. Driving home, my left arm was pretty numb and I was losing some strength and coordination at times. My thinking is that if I'm struggling to play a light, nicely balanced little bass like the BC SB301, then there's not much point trying to find something much lighter or easier to play. Just holding a cup of tea up with my left hand causes problems. Time for a re-think about what I'm going to do next in terms of playing bass. Bit fed up now.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1465894070' post='3071839'] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/697-obscure-musical-backwaters/page__hl__obscure"]http://basschat.co.u...ge__hl__obscure[/url] [/quote] Thanks for the link

Hi Stuart. How kind you are. The Bass Collection basses have been mentioned quite a few times. I'll do some research and then get back to you if a try-out seems in order. What do you do with that extra string? Steve

I had a Vintage V4 some while ago. It was OK, but nothing special. Sold it on fairly quickly. The Sinsonido is the front runner at the moment. Anybody got one they want to sell, or lend me?

I suppose it's because I'v always played 34". Better the devil you know, and all that. *Quickly Googles scale length of Yamaha BB424 to save later embarrassment*

@Wilco. Hmmmm - 8Lbs is perhaps still a little heavier than I'm looking for. Quite surprising, given that it has a carbon neck. Cardboard bass! Westone Rail - Now we're talking! @HappyJack - What's the weight of that Westone, please? How's the balance for playing when standing up? @Number6 - I had a look at the Chowny basses. For me, they do look a bit dated with that Eddie Cochran/1950's style. Sorry, not for me. @Neephied - Similar reaction to the Epiphone Jack Casady. It weighs 8lbs/3.6 Kgs. I'm trying to find something under 3 Kgs, hence the "let's be creative and unusual" request. I keep looking at the Sinsonido and this cheap copy: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Anygig-AGB-Full-Scale-Length-Travel-Bass-Guitar-Backpacker-Portable-Bag/321884540505?_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131017132637%26meid%3Dada28af155334dcd8a6f8b7c51978cb0%26pid%3D100033%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D222028132975"]http://www.ebay.co.u...%3D222028132975[/url] How easy would it be to upgrade the pickup? Any other full-scale, decent quality 4-string stick-type basses out there? Thanks again for everybody's suggestions. Steve

@ Wilco. Thank you. What's the weight, please?

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1465670594' post='3070145'] [/quote] Nah - too prone to temperature changes!

Folks, I think I'm looking for a somewhat more radical solution. I'm looking for something seriously lightweight, but giggable. Something like the Sinsonido, or similar. So - get radical - step outside of the "normal" bass shape....Go on, be creative...

Folks, Apologies for this post which may well overlap with lots of others. Here goes; Because of Arthritis in my neck, I need to find a lightweight full scale bass that's giggable through a standard head/cab rig in a pub covers band. I've searched the web and come up with some ideas, but I may well have missed something obvious. Don't mind any "left field" suggestions - don't hold back! Here's the shopping list; Full-scale The lighter, the better Fretted Plays through a GKMB500/Tecamp rig Sounds good enough to be an honest bass for, errrm, Dr Feelgood, Fleetwood Mac... Active or passive - I don't mind Budget; £400 - £500 I'm aware of the Sinsonido, and that's a possibility How about an electro-acoustic? All suggestions greatfully received. Steve

@Mottlefeeder. Thank you - yes, I've seen that website. The Sinsonido still looks like the most promising bass, since it's full scale, and very light. I'm just not sure how it will sound through a standard head/cab gig rig. I'll have a look at YouTube - maybe something there.

I'm considering the Sinsonido as a permanent replacement to my Yamaha BB basses, rather than as a travel bass. It's the Sinsonido's lightness (2Kgs) that's the big attraction, in view of my arthritic neck. I'd play the Sinsonido as normal, through my GKMB500/Tecamp112 rig.

$11,000 Is that a typo?! I could afford £400 for a new Sinsonido, if I think it'll work for me. There's one on Preloved for £300, not too far from me. The extra £99 for a new one would probably be worth it, if it became my main bass. I'll put a wanted ad on here, maybe even ask if somebody would be so kind as to lend me one for a week.

Because of neck and arm problems, I'm researching lightweight travel basses as possible permanent replacement for my Yamaha BB basses. I'd want a full scale bass, not a shorty. The Sinsonido looks promising. 2KGs in weight! Anybody gig with them, as oppose to playing them in departure lounges? Would they cut the mustard at a pub gig, going through a GK MB500/Tecamp 12" rig?

@Wonky and @Timmo Thanks for mentioning Anti TMF. I've not come across that. I've Googled it and read what I can. I next see the spinal consultant in 4 weeks time - I'll see what he says about the relevance of it in my case. Perhaps you could PM me so I can ask you a few more questions? Thanks, Steve

Thank you to everybody who has posted advice and suggestions here. I am very grateful. My waist strap for supporting the bass' weight is working pretty well. I'll need to practise with it because the playing position has been subtly altered. In terms of the weight on my neck, I can play about 8 songs before I need a rest. The more worrying problem is the weakness and worsening coordination in my left hand. I'm also starting to get random muscle spasms in my left arm. Consequently, my fretting is slowly becoming less accurate and thus more and more frustrating. I've started to look at those lightweight travel bass thingies as a possibility. Currently, both of the bands I'm "in" are idling in neutral, so I'm getting a natural break. However, I'm holding back from approaching other bands because my confidence has taken a big knock. I am taking strong NSAID painkillers, but I don't see that as a long-term solution. I get very mixed reports regarding the effectiveness of steroid injections. The operation that cages the bulging vertebrae is described as having a 50/50 chance of relieving my arm pain, but probably wouldn't affect my neck or chest pain, or the weakness in my arm. The operation can sometimes affect your swallowing and talking for a while afterwards. Don't like the sound of that, thank you - not with those odds. For now, I'm trying to make practical lifestyle changes to get round the things I've been struggling with; upstairs [i]and[/i] downstairs hoovers, reversing camera fitted to my car, using a hosepipe rather than a heavy watering can in the garden - those sorts of things. I've been reading up about the Alexander Technique, but I'm struggling to separate the sensible bio-mechanics from the sub-Jungian psychobabble. My background as a professional Psychologist could have something to do with that! Sorry - I'm rambling here. Please do keep the suggestions coming. Thank you to the B/C community once again, Steve

Following a spell in hospital and associated MRI scans, I've just been diagnosed with Arthritis at C5 and C6 vertebrae in my neck. Nerves leading from my spinal cord are being squeezed by bulging vertebrae. I know that this is a pretty common occurence in people of a certain age. I'm struggling to play bass because of weakness and numbness in my left arm and hand. I've made myself a waist strap that takes nearly all of the weight of my basses (Yamaha BB424, BB1024) but still have a neck strap to stop the bass tilting forward. Trouble is, my left arm and hand coordination is suffering. I also get random episodes of mild dizziness and vertigo. I've had to stop playing golf and racing sailboats. I'm not especially comfortable driving. I'm trying not to panic, but this degenerative condition is having far-reaching consequences. There is no "cure", as such - just pain management so you can keep going as best you can. Painkillers, cortisone injections and a scary operation whereby vertebrae are caged and/or bolted together. I'm asking for any advice from other bassists who have this condition, please. What have you done to enable you to carry on playing? What treatments have you had that have worked for you? Is there anything I can do to help myself cope with this? I'm happy to discuss this on here, or via PM. Steve

Because of recurrent neck and shoulder problems, I've been looking for a simple two-strap system for a while. I tried the Planet Waves two-shoulder rig but it didn't work for me - the right shoulder strap kept sliding off. Then I saw this: [url="http://www.slingerstraps.com/sling-strap-guitar-strap.html"]http://www.slingerst...itar-strap.html[/url] I like the idea of a waist strap to take some weight, but can't seem to find any for sale in the UK. Don't fancy the cost of importing one, either. I managed a lash-up with a spare strap, and it seemed to work OK. So, how about making your own? Waist strap could be one of these padded work belts: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Silverline-Tough-Nylon-Padded-Work-Belt-Tool-Holder-Storage-DIY-598505-/172158402181?hash=item281570be85:g:31wAAOSwOfxXBDgs"]http://www.ebay.co.u...1wAAOSwOfxXBDgs[/url] Shoulder and hip straps could be a normal webbing guitar strap cut to two lengths and stitched to the waist belt. Worth a try? PS - Another thought. If you already have a strong belt on your trousers, you could simply cut the end off a webbing guitar strap and then use some velcro to make a hip strap loop. Used in conjunction with your normal shoulder strap,