Neck heavy guitar....

Discussion in 'Guitar Gear Talk Forum' started by Chikoo2010, Jun 5, 2012.

  1. Chikoo2010

    Chikoo2010 New Member

    Hey ....

    i never played any guitar standing until a month ago.....and couldnt hold it(balance it) properly.....

    and i thought the fault was mine.....coz i was a rookie...and a week back i played my friends fender standard stratocaster......and noticed that the guitar stayed diagonal....and dint go slouching to the ground.....dint go parallel......

    but my guitar's neck is in love with the ground and keeps FALLING to the ground.....

    and I just realised my guitar is neck heavy.....

    what do i do about this??????

    PLZ.....major problem.......what to do??????

    thanks in advance....
     
  2. ss192

    ss192 New Member

    Which guitar you own?
     
  3. alpha1

    alpha1 I BLUES!

    What material is the guitar strap?
     
  4. Chikoo2010

    Chikoo2010 New Member

    its a bc rich warbeast.....and the strap is a 3 inch wide nylon....
     
  5. tirtha2chester

    tirtha2chester New Member

    This is a very frequent problem with superstrats and v guitars... Les Paul style bodies don't have such issues since the body itself is really heavy compared to the neck... The reason this happens is because the centre of gravity of the guitar lies somewhere in the middle of the fretboard as a result, the guitar bends away to the ground... But in case of the Les Paul shaped bodies, the body being way heavier than the neck, the centre of gravity lies in the body itself and as a result the strap can oppose the weight right opposite to it and the neck stas in place...
    However, there are two simple ways to encounter this problem....

    METHOD 1

    This is applicable for all guitars that are carved inward at the base (bottom end of the guitar) like flying Vs, warlocks etc.
    Since your guitar falls in this category, you can try this method....

    How to do?

    Place the carving on your right thigh (if you are a righty) and vice versa. Notice that the guitar locks against your thigh.

    Examples:

    Standing Up:
    https://www.metal-rules.com/zine/images/stories/Interviews/ARCH ENEMY 2008/Michael Amott2.JPG

    Sitting Down:

    https://www.guitarnerd.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/randy.jpg

    Notice how the inward carving of the guitar lock right against the player's thighs on both cases....


    METHOD 2:

    This is applicable for all guitars except for Vs and recommended for those which slouch down while playing.

    1- Shorten you strap greatly so that the when you put the guitar on yourself, your head and your shoulder just barely go through in between the strap...
    Take a look in the picture here:
    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...etrucci_-_02.jpg/220px-John_Petrucci_-_02.jpg

    2- Raise your LEFT leg if you are a RIGHTY and vice vers (note that this is the opposite of that mentioned in method 1) over an object of the height of your knee, say an amp or a platform. See the picture above.

    3- Now place the inward carving below the lower horn of your guitar on the thigh of your raised leg as Petrucci does in the picture.

    4- Adjust the strap (NOT ITS LENGTH, MIND YOU) to change the angle of the fretboard as you prefer...

    That's all...
    Follow the method which you feel comfortable...

    Cheers..
    Have fun playing!
     
    1 person likes this.
  6. Chikoo2010

    Chikoo2010 New Member

    Thanks for a soln, but that works only while standing still......do you have a soln for this if you want to move around a bit.....
     
  7. tirtha2chester

    tirtha2chester New Member

    If you want to hop around the stage like a maniac you gotta take control of your guitar... No matter what kind of guitar you have, be it heavy neck or heavy body, it will naturally be unstable if you jump around... And why do you wan't to do that in the first place? You play punk or something??

    Besides, you can play riffs while walking across the stage but while playing intricate solos, you gotta get into the right position and give 101% concentration or you will **** up notes... Nobody plays solos moving about the stage...
     
  8. guitarplayer729

    guitarplayer729 New Member

    thats angus young
     
  9. tirtha2chester

    tirtha2chester New Member


    Be it Angus Young or Chuck Berry I've never seen them duckwalk during solos... Have you?
     
  10. alpha1

    alpha1 I BLUES!

    Get a rough strap made from sticky material.
    Leather / fake leather ...

    Nylon is too slippery.
    Or sew some extra natural fiber like cotton on the strap (where the strap sits on your shoulder and upper chest/back)

    As rightly mentioned the problem is because of center of gravity of the guitar (which tries to touch the ground).
    So to counter this, usually you have guitar horns designed such that this never happens.

    Obviously guitar makers have less commonsense, and never think about this (or balance while sitting).

    Change the strap.
     
  11. Chikoo2010

    Chikoo2010 New Member

    @alpha: Dosen't work man........i tried using a 2.5" leather(not fancy,plain black)......but not working...........

    What to do?????

    @thirtha2chester: the guitar is unbearably off balance to even play power chords while moving(walking ssllloooowwwlllllyyyyyy).......
     
  12. shubhamAT

    shubhamAT New Member

    I too face the same problem, the final solution for me was to order a Heads-Up Strap from ebay.com ($52 with Shipping), yet to receive it. Other than what has been mentioned, You can run the strap through your trouser/jean's belt on the right side. It will stop the guitar from kissing the ground. Till my HeadsUp arrives, i use the Very Short Strap method which tirtha described. Another method as one guy suggested was to mount the strap nut at the bolt of neck which is towards the player's thumb.
     
  13. tirtha2chester

    tirtha2chester New Member

    if you are interested in moving around the stage, you gotta practice that way to do so.... You are not the only one with this problem... Practice playing standing up, it'll take time but you'll learn how to keep the guitar in equlibrium eventually....
     

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