Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

LOL! I see I'm in good company!

How do you play guitar when it's around your knees?!?!

Cole

I too keep my guitars up fairly high but not up by the chin. I adjust my position according to what FEELS best for me, not what looks best. I've often wondered if there are health risks for playing your guitar too low (wait for the explanation, this isn't as stupid as it might sound!).

In the last couple of years, I have developed some problems in the muscles in my forearms which are made worse when playing too much over an extended period (incidentally they are also aggravated by too much keyboarding on the computer). I imagine some guitarists/bassists might also be prone to carpal tunnel syndrome. Doesn't having your instrument slung way down impact any of you in this way? I've never played with mine in this position for any extended period but in the times I have, I notice the pressure in my wrists/forearms as they seem to not respond well to having my wrists bent in -what is to me- an unnatural position. In my case, I would think that playing this way all the time would cause me problems. I recall Paul W. mentioning that his ex-wife specialized in hand physiotherapy. She must have dealt with some musicians Paul? Any comments anybody?

I argue the contrary, that it's the short strappers who have the cool look down.

I'm a Ramone's fan, too, but most of the bands during the skinny-tie resurgence days went back to the '65 look because the mods rejected the Jimmy Page look (okay, so Townshend was wearing his Les Pauls fairly low in '75, too, but not that low.)

I don't care what other look one compares it too, early Elvis in his gold suits, full-blown psyche, or etc. Rock and roll never had a cooler look than mod-era Who, or Mr. Tambourine era Byds.

I'm six four and keep, roughly, the lower third of the guitar right around the belt line. In my heyday I played solid and hollow Ricks, es-125s, and strats. And it worked fine for all.

an example. I'm also a believer in vintage straps (only exception I made is a checkerboard pattern cloth one ala Rick Neilsen, who stole the idea from the Birds...not the US Byrds but the UK band of the correctly spelled name which featured Ronnie Wood.)

Well, let it hang wherever it's most comfortable for you, I guess...

I will say this, though: if it weren't for guys like Hendrix and Page experimenting with 'placement', I doubt the rock-n-roll stage would ever have become the recipient of girlish underthings...

LOL! You have never seen Tom Jones perform, "back in the day."

Middle of the body is waist height. Too low and I get fretting arm ache. Too high and I feel like I'm in the '80's. My belly hasn't got in the way... YET!!! LOL!

Well, Bob, pardon my hair-splitting, but I don't think of the stages that Tom Jones (or Frank Sinatra, for that matter) performed on as 'rock-n-roll' stages...

Not back then, anyway...I think we're all agreed that Tom can be admitted into the Pantheon now...

But I'm hip...your point is well taken: girls were displaying their approval by doffing their panties long before there was such a thing as 'rock-n-roll'...

LOL! They were BIG panties back in those days too!

I like it about at the height you would have it if slouched in a chair playing... above the belt maybe navel high.

Again the personal preference thing - strings, picks/fingers, amps.... boxers or whitey-tighties... the list goes on and on.

I've been playing my basses progressively higher up for the last couple of years. I used to be a midrange guy but especially since I got my 6 string, I've been wearing it higher up and find it is more comfortable.

i watched a video with the blonde one (Billy Sheehan) who said that you generally practice sitting down to get your chops right. When you stand up, the bass is in a different position and sometimes you find that you can't play what you could sitting down. i tried what he said and set my strap so that it doesn't move whether I am standing up or sitting down and it definitely works

Tom...not wanting to come across as a linguistic 'curmudgeon', but I'm fairly sure the correct term is 'tighty-whities'...

If the veracity of our terminology slips away, then I have to ask: just where will we find ourselves?

"Mr. Lincoln...how long should a man's strap be?"

"Long enough to reach his guitar..."

Both ends, of course...

I do the short strap thing always and keep the headstock elevated. I doubt that my left wrist could make it through two songs if I did the long strap/parallel to the floor thing with the neck.

I let a friend play my guitar and he stopped and let out a bunch of length from the strap. I told him that I did it to save my wrist and he said that's great, but he needed to let it out to save himself from being strangled. I thought that was a very funny thing to say.