Just Curious - Neck Heavy?

[LowDownDave]

Hi everyone. I was just curious. I've often heard the term "neck heavy" thrown about and just wanted to know how one can tell if their bass is "neck heavy"? I recently saw a reply on a thread that someone stated their bass was only slightly neck heavy, and just wondered how they could tell this. I understand the concept, but with my bass strapped on, surely the positioning of the bass would have some effect on whether I need to physically hold the neck up or not when playing. Is the idea that if I strap the bass on, and have a strap made of some material that allows it to slide on my shoulder, if the neck tends to pull downwards then the bass is considered unbalanced and neck heavy? Not that I think mine is, I just wanted to clarify this in my head. Cheers!

[jcadmus]

Originally posted by LowDownDave:

Is the idea that if I strap the bass on, and have a strap made of some material that allows it to slide on my shoulder, if the neck tends to pull downwards then the bass is considered unbalanced and neck heavy?

Yes.

[Gruuve]

Yup, that's right. In moderate amounts, neck-heaviness (also called "neck-diving") isn't a huge problem, especially if you can compensate by just using a wider or grippier strap...if a bass is really neck-heavy (my first bass was!), then that minor amount of effort to hold the neck up can really add up over several hours of playing. Sometimes I think folks mistake lack of balance for heavy weight...both will make you "feel tired" after a long night of rehearsing or playing...especially as you start to get older!

 

Dave

[Tom Capasso]

I view this a few ways. Sometimes the wood/head size of one bass may be heavier than others. The differences here are usually small (unless you include headless). Next is the weight of the neck as compared to the weight of the body. Sometimes a neck/head can be very heavy by comparison to the body. This may not be a "problem", but can be noticed (Arwin will now talk about the lightness of the Rob Allen body).

 

Most important (as stated above) is strap balance (though "lap balance" can be interesting). This has to do with the weight all around, body shape, and strap attachment points.

 

I played an EB3 for many years. On a strap, that thing wants to have the head pointing down to the floor. But it's such a light bass overall, and the neck is pretty small, so it never bothered me to play it. I certainly was holding the neck's weight.

 

Tom

[ATM]

I borrowed a friend's 5-string acoustic/electric and one big thing I noticed was the lack of balance. Thing was so neck-heavy that the fulcrum was somewhere along the 7th fret (of course I jest, but you get the point.)

 

Reading your question, my thought is that when you encounter this, you will know the answer. I prefer a good balance to my basses and won't settle for anything that is anti-upright.

 

ATM

[Mighty Thumb]

My Spectorcore 5 string is definitely in the "neck-heavy/unbalanced" category. A draw back to the semi-hollow body. The tone more than makes up for it though in my book.

 

A wider strap with more "grip" was my solution (until my dog ate the strap ).

[Nicklab]

My Epiphone Jack Casady is also in the neck-heavy category. Unless you've got a strap that has a lot of friction or you just hold the neck, the headstock is headed south a lot of the time.

[ArwinH]

Originally posted by Tom Capasso:

This may not be a "problem", but can be noticed (Arwin will now talk about the lightness of the Rob Allen body).

 

What can I say, after 3 years gigging with a warwick strapped to my back the rob allen is a joy! I suppose I do say a lot about it now

The bass is just a little neck heavy, and I notice it mroe when sitting than when standing. It doesn't really bother me at all though, I only noticed it when I checked it out after someone brought up neck heaviness.