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EB-3 neckdive - and attempts to compensate.


fjuk

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Bought this bass for three reasons; I wanted to learn to play, it was so cheap I almost couldn't afford not to - and vanity. I simply thinks it looks cool.

 

The bass does not give the diversity I hoped for, but still have more options sound-wise than the EB-0 and the Thunderbird IV.

It is not exactly easy to play so it's a bit of a hard beginner's bass.

 

However I love it and only one thing truly annoys me: It has a wicked tendency to neck-dive.

 

The reason for this is that it is not exactly a balanced instrument. It has a huge head (which also makes it hard to find a fitting gig bag) and the strap- attachers are placed a bit curious on the body - probably in order not to strain the neck.

 

So one night while I was trying to watch a horrible movie, I figured I might as well experiment on where to move the strap-attachers to in order to give more balance to the instrument and avoid neck dives.

 

I equipped myself with some tape and started placing the strap various places. After that I would test how the bass would hang around my neck.

I tried replacing one end of the strap with tape on the body or neck while the other was sitting in one of the strap attachers. I tried three different positions with both ends, and came op with two usable solutions:

 

1) Attach both ends of the strap to the strap attacher by the neck. This way the bass will naturally seek vertical position. It's not optimal but it will avoid neck dives. Replacing the strap attacher with one more suited for to strap ends is adviceable. It doesn't exactly feel good but one could get used to it. Try it and see how you feel about it.

 

2) Attach the one end to the lowest attacher (on the body) and the other end around the 12th (or less) fret of the bass.

This will give a good balance in the instrument and you can have it hanging from your neck without even holding the instrument. The neck will be in a maybe 30-45 degrees angle from horizontal, which is quite similar to other basses.

I HAVE NOT yet come up with a good solution to how to attach the strap there. The neck is too thin to just move the attacher from bottom of the neck so the most reasonable solution will probably be some sort of gluing an attacher to the neck.

If so it has to be done very well as you don't want the glue to give in. And it will definitely ruin the coat on the neck. And you will have an attacher on the back of the neck around the 12th fret which may be annoying if/when playing on that part of the neck.

 

So: Use the first 'hoop'-solution and have a so-so solution. Use the second and you may face annoyance from the strap coming in the way if you go high on the frets.

 

This will probably stop many from starting to do any customization of the bass and people will just never let go of the neck.

There ARE other methods to balance the instrument, though:

3) reduce weight in the head. Archimedes' physics indicate that it is not a whole lot of weight that needs to be lost. However drilling holes in the head or cutting off parts may compromise the integrity of the wood and you'll end up with a totally ruined instrument. I could be tempted change the tuning keys but they ARE sort of a signature of the brand - and I don't know how much weight could be saved.

Which leaves the last option:

4) Add weight in the other end of the bass. I know I seems controversial actually to add weight to an instrument but I also play the trombone and they are often balanced with weights.

Add as little as 500g in a pouch on the end of the bass and you'll already feel the positive difference. I am a big guy and adding 1kg does not feel as a very big difference in the weight of the instrument for me.

And here's a thought: Why not use this opportunity to buy a wireless system and attach the tramitter-box to the bass with some velcro? In that way you get better balance - and the freedom of wireless.

 

Anyway. These are my thoughts of compensation for the neck-diving problem of an EB-3.

Most people, I guess, will rather just make sure never to let go of the bass with the left hand. As for me as a beginner I find the freedom to let go of the instrument important...

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I just picked up a T-Bird which has pretty awful neck dive, too. What I did was move the strap button to the heel of the neck. It solved the problems, at least for the T-Bird. I happen to like the bass near vertical, but I'm trying to imagine what it would be like to have both ends of the strap in the same place. I can't believe it would be very stable.

 

Once you have moved the neck end button to the farthest part of the body you can find, you could also try moving the bridge end button. I thought about moving it up the body on the T-Bird if I needed to to balance things a bit more, but it turned out to be unnecessary.

 

I wouldn't put a strap button on the neck, simply because you are eventually going to want to play past the 12th fret.

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Thanks for all your thoughts!

 

I agree with not wanting to put strap attachers on the neck.

 

The SG guitar-option Tony Iommi-style was the first thing I tried, but to no avail. The head and neck of the bass is so relatively much heavier than the guitar. So no go.

 

I'd still go for adding weight. Hell. If I get a job I might even try reducing the weight of the head - if it goes **** up I will then be able to afford a new EB-3 :-)

 

 

But thanks for your thoughts!

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A wide strap and the altered strap button location will likely solve your problems. My EB-2 had some minor neck dive issues without a wide strap (very minor) and the Thunderbird still has some problems without a wide strap. If you still have problems using a wide strap and with the altered strap button position, then it is time to add some weight, but not before. A heavy instrument gets uncomfortable after a while, no matter how big your shoulders are.

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I wonder why so many keeps referring to guitars??

The SG guitar-option Tony Iommi-style was the first thing I tried' date=' but to no avail. [/quote']

 

...including yourself.

Whats good for the goose is sometimes also good for the gander...

 

Besides, the LP and SG guitars also suffer from neck dives. Its not just a bass thing.

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