Shall we try again ?

Philly_Q

Kurtis said:

A two shoulder strap might be good, if such a thing exists. Like a strimmer harness. 

There have been various two-shoulder straps on the market over the years, mostly aimed at bass players, I can't remember any brand names though.  I remember at least one design which involved the guitar/bass attaching to a belt around the waist, but I'd imagine that would hurt the lower back instead of the shoulders. 

Matt Heafy from Trivium uses a two-shoulder strap of some sort.  It attaches to the guitar in an ungainly manner, though.

Philly_Q

Offset

Kurtis said:

A two shoulder strap might be good, if such a thing exists. Like a strimmer harness. 

You'd need to wear a pair of clunky shoes with velcro enclosures to go with it however.

Philly_Q

Rock n fuckin roll eh?

Kurtis

Philly_Q said:

Rock n fuckin roll eh?

It's a bit like how it was uncool at school to wear your back pack over both shoulders. I'm sure that's part of the reason my back isn't good.
That and I never emptied it.

EDIT Plus slouching in those plastic seats for hours each day. 

All when my back was growing into shape!

BillDL

Kurtis said:

It's a bit like how it was uncool at school to wear your back pack over both shoulders.........
EDIT Plus slouching in those plastic seats for hours each day.

Plastic chairs!!  Hah!  In my school days we didn't have the luxury of plastic.  We had to sit on sacks of coal with no cushions, and if they needed your coal for the heating you had to sit on bare floorboards or on your satchel that was made from repurposed draft horse shoulder collars or old miners' boots .... barefoot, while practicing joined-up writing on a slate with a stick of shale.

Standing or walking very slowly is what kills my back.  I'm tall at 6' 5" and all the years of compression on my lower spine has taken its toll.  Sitting for long periods or standing is equally bad for me, so I have to alternate positions and bend my back very regularly.  For me the actual weight of the guitar doesn't really make that much difference (to sustain, tone or my back).  It's more a case of getting the balance and playing position just right that is important to me, and wider straps help.

Kurtis

BillDL said:

Kurtis said:

It's a bit like how it was uncool at school to wear your back pack over both shoulders.........
EDIT Plus slouching in those plastic seats for hours each day.

Plastic chairs!!  Hah!  In my school days we didn't have the luxury of plastic.  We had to sit on sacks of coal with no cushions, and if they needed your coal for the heating you had to sit on bare floorboards or on your satchel that was made from repurposed draft horse shoulder collars or old miners' boots .... barefoot, while practicing joined-up writing on a slate with a stick of shale.

Standing or walking very slowly is what kills my back.  I'm tall at 6' 5" and all the years of compression on my lower spine has taken its toll.  Sitting for long periods or standing is equally bad for me, so I have to alternate positions and bend my back very regularly.  For me the actual weight of the guitar doesn't really make that much difference (to sustain, tone or my back).  It's more a case of getting the balance and playing position just right that is important to me, and wider straps help.

Spinal chord compression? 

BillDL

Compression on the lower lumbar vertebrae, particularly at L4 and L5 just above the sacrum.

Kurtis

BillDL said:

Compression on the lower lumbar vertebrae, particularly at L4 and L5 just above the sacrum.

Not wanting to worry you but any compression in the spine (spinal chord) should be checked out straight away.

Could be arthritis, depending on age (usually). 

Height won't necessarily cause it but could speed up the process if bending a lot. 

Kurtis

GuyBoden said:

I think that most vintage carved archtop guitars are lighter, and have less sustain than most solid body guitars.

And, sound better unplugged.

These: My 1949 Gibson L4c.

Does it djent tho? 

guitarjack66

OilCityPickups said:

guitarjack66 said:

armitaan said:

When did the weight obsession begin ? I bought my first strat in 1987 and pretty sure noone talked about weight then . These days people will literally buy or not because of a few ounces , it's like middle aged blokes with their expensive road bikes , most of which should probably focus more on the extra stones or pounds round their waist line than a few ounces on their bike /guitar.  

I couldn't give a f@ck about tone (if it's electric it's the magnets and pick ups etc anyway!!) but weight does matter if you value your back muscles and spinal system in your latter years. The weight argument of anything is valid for health reasons but not tone when speaking of non acoustic type guitars,imo.
PS Haven't read or watched the link yet.

I have two collapsed discs and some lack of function in my left leg due to trapped nerves ... this is due in part to heavy amps and heavy guitars. Personally I don't want to make it worse. 
It's interesting that if I had been largely a home guitarist who played sat down and only moved their gear once in a blue moon I might have avoided many of the long term issues. 

OilCityPickups said:

guitarjack66 said:

armitaan said:

When did the weight obsession begin ? I bought my first strat in 1987 and pretty sure noone talked about weight then . These days people will literally buy or not because of a few ounces , it's like middle aged blokes with their expensive road bikes , most of which should probably focus more on the extra stones or pounds round their waist line than a few ounces on their bike /guitar.  

I couldn't give a f@ck about tone (if it's electric it's the magnets and pick ups etc anyway!!) but weight does matter if you value your back muscles and spinal system in your latter years. The weight argument of anything is valid for health reasons but not tone when speaking of non acoustic type guitars,imo.
PS Haven't read or watched the link yet.

I have two collapsed discs and some lack of function in my left leg due to trapped nerves ... this is due in part to heavy amps and heavy guitars. Personally I don't want to make it worse. 
It's interesting that if I had been largely a home guitarist who played sat down and only moved their gear once in a blue moon I might have avoided many of the long term issues. 

Absolutely. There is nothing cool about disability in any stage of your life in the pursuit of 'cool.'