'The Comfort Factor'

[Roberto Zecchinelli]

It's a matter of angle, not a matter of Hight.
I'm not that idiot!
I maybe didn't explain well.
what I need for a correct left wrist position is fingerbord surface parallel to my body,
like when you play sit. if the fingerbord is facing up when you strap it on it will be harder to play and can take to wrist healt problems
because you'll have to bend your left wrist much more to reach the lower strings
It really makes a lot of difference to me, that's why I'd like to know Ken's opinion about that
I hope I sayd that clear now. (i'm sorry for my bad english)

[Bob Faulkner]

I'm thinking a picture would be a good idea. I'm not really able to generate a mental picture of what you're describing. The strap on my bass has nothing at all to do with the bass's position when I'm sitting.

[Tim Bishop]

Originally Posted by Roberto Zecchinelli

It's a matter of angle, not a matter of Hight.
I'm not that idiot!
I maybe didn't explain well.
what I need for a correct left wrist position is fingerbord surface parallel to my body,
like when you play sit. if the fingerbord is facing up when you strap it on it will be harder to play and can take to wrist healt problems
because you'll have to bend your left wrist much more to reach the lower strings
It really makes a lot of difference to me, that's why I'd like to know Ken's opinion about that
I hope I sayd that clear now. (i'm sorry for my bad english)

Roberto,

After further pondering, I think I now understand what you are saying and strap "height" is not what I was suggesting. If you have enough slack in the strap while sitting, you should be able to angle the bass to meet your need and get the angle you are needing (while sitting) for your wrist comfort-level. Otherwise, why wear a strap while sitting?

[Gareth Hughes]

Maybe I'm picking this up wrong but I think that Roberto is describing the angle that the neck is positioned as a result of having a large stomach (politest way I can think of saying that), ie - your belly is tilting the bass body upwards.

In other words - when seated you should only be able to see the sidedots on the neck, but standing the dots on the front of the neck are now visible. And because the neck has moved forward and up like this, the wrist has to have a sharper bend and further stretch to reach the lowest strings.

Geez, this is hard to describe, and English is the only language I speak!!

[Roberto Zecchinelli]

Originally Posted by Gareth Hughes

Maybe I'm picking this up wrong but I think that Roberto is describing the angle that the neck is positioned as a result of having a large stomach (politest way I can think of saying that), ie - your belly is tilting the bass body upwards.

In other words - when seated you should only be able to see the sidedots on the neck, but standing the dots on the front of the neck are now visible. And because the neck has moved forward and up like this, the wrist has to have a sharper bend and further stretch to reach the lowest strings.

Geez, this is hard to describe, and English is the only language I speak!!

Thank you Gareth, that's the idea, (except for the large stomach, I'm slim, instead.
A little example test. Stomach or not if you wear your bass and stand up the bottom edge of your bass will not touch your body..
this won't happen with basses with the straplock in the center of the body like the Yamaha trb6 or I played for long time or almost every bass on the market.
(this is probably why I noticed that)
ok I did some picture to explain my point:

Look at the angle between the bass and the line of the wall behind:

or the door here (notice Clifford Brown and the Double Bass bridge in the background..)

I don't have a goniometer here but this is almost 15 degrees

now see the reduced angle after the modification

Now my bass feels really good on my body..

Then this is a pic of my wrist when playing on the E string with the normal Smith strap position

you can also see very well that the bass is not straight vertical here, as you can notice when you wear your own Smith

Then here the more healty reduced wrist angle with the new strap position.


I don't want to look assumptive with that but I've been very careful to posture problems this years after a bad wrist problem and I think this can really help someone.
than my beautiful smith feels so much better and easyer to play now..
Please don't think this is a criticism. I think the Smith is by far the best bass ever built and I just love it.
It was hard to decide to drill a new hole in my beloved bass, but the result looks very good and I'll fill the original hole with another identical Dunlop straplock..

[Tim Bishop]

Originally Posted by Roberto Zecchinelli

Thank you Gareth, that's the idea, (except for the large stomach, I'm slim, instead.
A little example test. Stomach or not if you wear your bass and stand up the bottom edge of your bass will not touch your body..
this won't happen with basses with the straplock in the center of the body like the Yamaha trb6 or I played for long time or almost every bass on the market.
(this is probably why I noticed that)
ok I did some picture to explain my point:

Look at the angle between the bass and the line of the wall behind:
Attachment 314
or the door here (notice Clifford Brown and the Double Bass bridge in the background..)
Attachment 313
I don't have a goniometer here but this is almost 15 degrees

now see the reduced angle after the modification
Attachment 315
Now my bass feels really good on my body..

Then this is a pic of my wrist when playing on the E string with the normal Smith strap position
Attachment 316
you can also see very well that the bass is not straight vertical here, as you can notice when you wear your own Smith

Then here the more healty reduced wrist angle with the new strap position.
Attachment 317

I don't want to look assumptive with that but I've been very careful to posture problems this years after a bad wrist problem and I think this can really help someone.
than my beautiful smith feels so much better and easyer to play now..
Please don't think this is a criticism. I think the Smith is by far the best bass ever built and I just love it.
It was hard to decide to drill a new hole in my beloved bass, but the result looks very good and I'll fill the original hole with another identical Dunlop straplock..

Roberto, I think this is a great idea. I can totally see the benefit this would bring to those with the type of "wrist problem" you are talking about. Actually, I can see the benefit for anyone willing to give it a shot. I don't necessarily think Ken should change the current location of the strap-loc, however, an option made available to those that want it would be very nice! I would have no problem ordering a Smith with the strap-loc re-located to the lower position.

Great idea!

[Roberto Zecchinelli]

Thank you Tim,
I'm glad you appreciate my little mod..
I was waiting for comments like
"!!did you fu&%$ as$&@§% drill a HOLE in a Ken Smith!!?"
I think It would be nice if Ken would put both locks on their basses
so one can choose wich better fits his playing style.
Roberto
(P.S. Tim, I love your collection!!!)

[Tim Bishop]

Originally Posted by Roberto Zecchinelli

Thank you Tim,
I'm glad you appreciate my little mod..
I was waiting for comments like
"!!did you fu&%$ as$&@§% drill a HOLE in a Ken Smith!!?"
I think It would be nice if Ken would put both locks on their basses
so one can choose wich better fits his playing style.
Roberto
(P.S. Tim, I love your collection!!!)

Thank you Roberto, it's a great idea and I like it.

I'm glad you enjoy my collection; I know I do. You only saw a portion, but If you check out my profile you'll see the list of others.

[Steve_M]

For me, the necks are critical. I like the Smith necks, they're chunky and my hand doesn't cramp up as much. However, the action isn't as low as on my other basses though and this is also important as I have a light touch. Maybe I need to get the frets re-dressed or something.

String spacing is important too. I prefer narrow spacing (around 16.5mm at the bridge) but enhancements that let a player customise the set up to their taste have to be a good thing. On one of my other basses I have 'compensated' string spacing where the gaps between the strings stay the same, despite the string getting thinner as they go across the fingerboard. This is a really, really nice bit of design for helping to make the bass feel consistent across the strings. I'd also like a bridge which allows 3d movement of the strings and an adjustable nut like that on Warwick basses.

The other important aspect for me is body width. I'm a big bloke (6'4") although not as big as some, and enough body width allows my forearm to get support when I need it. I accept thats not to everyone's taste but there again Fender Jazz basses are relatively wide and we all know how popular they are.