Bad back ..

[lozkerr]

At the age of 59, I can still lug most things about and play a full evening with my five-string Fender Jazz, but I do have to be careful moving things like Hughes & Kettner PA cabs and my Eden Metro. I tried to move a Trace combo in a rehearsal studio some months back and felt strain in my back. I took that as a warning to take it a bit easier.

[Rich]

5 hours ago, TheGreek said:

Thankfully I don't move gear that often but I do have a foldaway trolley for when I do.

Oh yes, a trolley. I use it for everything, have done for years and am now on my 4th. 

20ish years ago when I turned up at my first rehearsal with my current band, oh how they laughed at my trolley... Now, all the gear-luggers have got one...

[Rich]

2 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

Avast ye, with your Musicman Cutlass

Fixed. 

[tauzero]

I forgot to mention the rest of the band - as soon as their gear is loaded, they come back to help me (as I'm derigging the PA as well as my own gear, I'm generally ready to load up after they're loaded).

[JazzyJ]

A motorcycle accident, 45yrs in the motor trade, 5yrs retained firefighter and 2 prolonged sciatica episodes have led to being very careful these days. Currently, lower back and knee issues. Gentle exercise/ walking is my way forward oh and downsizing the Trace and Hartke stuff.

[BassAdder60]

At 63yrs old I’m pleased I don’t have any back problems or mobility issues 

 

That’s why I still lug the SVT212AV cab and V4B around to gigs while I still can !! 

[BlueMoon]

yep……..more common than you’d think.
 

I used to play a lot of squash (racquet ball) when I was younger and sustained a niggling back injury. It flares up from time to time to remind me that it’s still there. I do regular core-strengthening exercises to try to prevent relapses and always think carefully how I position myself when lifting stuff - especially never twisting and lifting.

 

I now try to go FOH for larger venues and Class D elsewhere, if possible.

[Ed_S]

I started early with the bad back thing - I can recall several occasions when I was off secondary school with my lower back causing the kind of pain that drops you to the floor if you can't find something to grab on to and hold yourself upright. Truly lightweight gear wasn't a thing at that point so I just did my best - two compact 1x15s or 2x10s and separate amp head instead of combos and larger single cabs - but things were still weighty. One day whilst I was at university I took the bus over to Doncaster for a general mooch around ElectroMusic and got introduced to Markbass. They'd just got the LM2 in stock and I was so impressed that I took one home on the bus; the very fact that I could do that made it a no-brainer. When I got my uni results I treated myself to a celebratory Markbass 104HR which, whilst not light-light, was about the lightest beefy cab going, matched my LM2 and made things much easier on my back. I've swapped and changed since then, but always been mindful to keep the bulk and weight similarly low, if not reducing.

 

Alongside the amp journey, I didn't really notice that the basses themselves were doing me no favours until I spent a long time playing my Warlock NJ5 which was so unwieldy and caused me to stand so unnaturally that it made me realise the BTB, Vampyre and Warlock, whilst cool looking basses, were also causing me discomfort. It just so happened that very close to that point of realisation, Fender brought out the MIM Standard range which made everybody go "wait a minute.. these are really good", so I tried one just to see what the fuss was about. I instantly found it very comfortable, bought it there and then, and that was it - progressively lighter 4 string FSOs for relatively pain-free live gigs over the next 10 years.

 

Of course then the pandemic threw everything up in the air. I decided to lose some weight, thin down all the music equipment, and get back to playing 5 string for everything instead of 4 on stage and 5 at home. So 4 stones in weight, 14 basses and loads of other related guff all shipped out, and now I'm left with the basic live rig being an Ibanez SR Premium 5, BF Two10, MB Nano II and PT Metro 16 board. The rig is about as light and compact as I can get it to be and the bass, whilst heavier than the Sandberg SLs and Maruszczyk Jake L I eventually ended up playing pre-C19, hangs much more ergonomically now the bay-window has reduced. I'm unashamedly pain-averse and duly careful these days.

[chris_b]

3 hours ago, BassAdder60 said:

At 63yrs old I’m pleased I don’t have any back problems or mobility issues 

 

That’s why I still lug the SVT212AV cab and V4B around to gigs while I still can !! 

 

The time to start looking after your back is when you don't have any problems.

[Supernaut]

Yoga. You should try it. 

[BassAdder60]

29 minutes ago, chris_b said:

 

The time to start looking after your back is when you don't have any problems.

I still look after it but carrying the load of gear isn’t a problem .  I’m a big strong guy and never struggle, when I do it’s time to stop playing ! 

[SamIAm]

I neglected to mention my bad back in the OP.

Slipped disk while repositioning a 150kg patient who was ventilated/sedated so a dead weight.

It means I can no longer do ITU nursing (Which was heartbreaking) but I've found a role in cardiology research which is a blessing.

I can walk (with a cane) and stand for an hour or so so gigging is still on, but need the lightest gear and a shortscale.

 

S'manth x

[Lfalex v1.1]

My back is still OK.

I use my legs to lift, and for longer distances,  I strap everything together and use a dolly board. 

My Schroeder cab is lighter than the Trace 1048h I used to have, but that decision was driven by circumstances and power handling. 

I could get a diminutive head,  but I like good old Class A/B Watts, so the head is relatively heavy. 

[Paul S]

30 yrs ago I developed an acute sacro-iliac problem. This became full on chronic problem after clearing snow Dec 2009. Since then I have managed a prolapsed disc L4 and a hernia. I am usually a sneeze away from a week on the bench. 

 

I spent most of my adult life as a regular at the gym and, as I always say, was once as strong as an ox, now I just look like one. 😁. These days I have a daily core routine and walk a lot. 

 

All my basses are under 8.5lbs, my main squeeze 7.5lds, and I no longer use a backline, just straight into the desk via a pedal. 

Edited December 9, 2023 by Paul S

[Lozz196]

A couple of good calls there Paul, both health-wise and gear-wise.

[martin8708]

Hopefully not tempting fate , but at 59 , the back is still OK .

I am lucky to live on the outskirts of town , so I walk to work ( 30 mins ) walk to the shops , walk to school drop off .

We try to limit using the car , only long for longer journeys ,etc. 

I try to eat well , do lots of physical outdoor work , and have a 17kgs Vanderkley cab to carry around .

 

[tauzero]

Ho hum. Bent over to stroke the cat this morning (she was on a chair so I wasn't bending that far) and pretty much locked up. Managed to get back upright. Not ideal as I had a 5 hour round trip to pick up a bass. Now hoping I'll have a fairly functional back for the next gig (Saturday).

[40hz]

I'm 37 and already have a very dodgy left shoulder/Rotator cuff injury from jumping about on stage 5-6 years ago. I remember leaping in the air, and as my Modulus Flea bass distributed it's weight on the strap as I landed, it just went, and was like someone had set fire to my entire shoulder and back. It's never been the same since and due to it, I suffer from impaired mobility/range of motion in that shoulder/arm. Due to this, my entire rig is based around being mobile and lightweight.

 

I have two Trace Elliot Elf 2x8 cabs, which weigh about 11kg each. They're extremely loud and very capable things and easy enough to ferry to and from the car, while taking up little space. I have a Little Mark 4, which goes without saying on the portability front. But most of all, I won't touch a bass over 4kg anymore, it's just not feasible, no matter how much I might like it. Case in point was my recent Musicman Stingray - 4.7kg and I couldn't stand up for more than 30mins with it on. Having sold it, I struck extremely lucky with my 1995 Warwick Streamer Bolt-On 5, it's 3.8kg and supremely comfortable.

 

In relation to the above, it still utterly boils my p*** that so many shops do not weigh their instruments, save for Bass Direct and Bass Bros. It really limits potential basses.

[Rosie C]

Arrgh, my back was fine when I read this topic yesterday. Today I can barely stand straight. I think I just slept in an awkward position, but I did move some PA speakers yesterday afternoon, or was it just the power of suggestion?    

 

[Rodders]

Fortunately my band mates are always happy to help me, having had a hernia fixed this year, 3 lumbar spine discs with issues, plus a neurological disability that affects my balance and mobility, saying I have to take it easy nowadays is an understatement. As a young man (early 30's) invariably describribed as "Hench" or "A Unit", this is frustrating but necessary to continue doing what I love..

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Totally agree with yoga and Pilates .

From 2004-2006 I was seeing a personal trainer ( costly and a struggle financially ) who gave me a yoga/ Pilates weekly session , plus weights and some boxer size  . Session was once weekly, and I used the gym 3-4 times a week . 

The feeling after each PT session was fantastic . The only issue was having to go back to the office / band practice/ commute home.

Feeling relaxed and rejuvenated is an understatement . 
 

When my job was made redundant , I purchased a Pilates reformer ..big mistake ! Only because it was too big and awkward for my previous abode . 😬. Very noisy too .  Having said that , I gave it to my builder for his missus when I moved home , and he gave me a discount here and there .  There are places with reformers ,and they be worth trying out .

 

Lots of stuff on YouTube these days.  

[Happy Jack]

A noisy reformer? Did you plug it into a Trace combo or something? 😉

[Paul S]

6 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

A noisy reformer? Did you plug it into a Trace combo or something? 😉

 

I think it is some remote offshoot of an Evangelical organisation, the Church of the 7th Transverse Abdominist Pilates Reformers.  

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

11 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

A noisy reformer? Did you plug it into a Trace combo or something? 😉

No! It was the castors trying to contain the excessive weight  I put on . The sound of tortured mice was off-putting 😬

[Happy Jack]

Just now, RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE said:

No! It was the castors trying to contain the excessive weight  I put on . The sound of tortured mice was off-putting 😬

 

You're supposed to spray them occasionally with silicon grease.