How high or low do you wear your guitar?

[Jimi75]

I always envied those guys who could hang the guitar pretty low, look cool and play like hell...lets say guys like Slash. But hey, those guys gotta have long long arms. I figured pretty soon after getting my firts guitar that the lower I hang my guitar the harder it gets to play up the neck, the harder it gets to play accurate.

How do you wear your guitar?

Seperating the guitar body in three thirds, I like the middle of the lowest third being as high as my belt line with the Strat. The LP goes lower, don't know why, but here the top of the second third on the belt line is okay.

[rkwrenn]

Voted: On the belly.

I adjust my strap so the guitar is in the same general position weather sitting or standing. Still, it seems easier to play seated.

Cheers and HTH,

Bob

[bigG]

When I was giggin', many years ago, I always wore either my bass (Rickenbacker) or my Gibby ES-335 or SG (rhythm guitarist) so that the middle of the body was at the front of my right hip bone. Played so much, I developed a calcium deposit there and took to stuffing a piece of foam under my belt to relieve the situation.

I'm 6' 2", and, at that time, long n lanky, skinny as a rail, or a Keef Richards. That position worked best for me.

Nowadays, I'm either sitting, or strap up around my lower belly.

[hubberjub]

This high.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd105/hubberjub/petrucci.jpg
I feel a lot more in control of the instrument when it's fairly high.

[sunvalleylaw]

I call it belly, and voted so, but it may be a bit higher. Here is a pic, though I lowered the strap just a bit since this pic so as to relax my shoulders a little. Young Will, over to my right with his tele, does the riding low gunslinger thing, and the girls love it.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/sunvalleylaw/P1010285.jpg

[Robert]

I need mine fairly high, almost as high up as hubberjub.

[Algonquin]

I'm not sure how Slash can play like that... I know a lot of kids follow his lead. I like to have it somewhere in the mid section.

[ibanezjunkie]

im a metaller by nature, so i tend to have my ibanez slung low, and my legs spread far apart so i can still solo and get a good grip on the guitar. although, sometimes i go a little bit Tom Morello if im doing FX-rich stuff, and have it high up for easy use of wah pedal.

[pes_laul]

I used to play around my belly but for the last six months or so I think my arms grew :eek: so nowadays I have it really low.

[just strum]

My Strat and Wildkat I have about the same position as SVL's pic of the guy playing the Tele. I play my Dot belly high. I think my higher position is the result of sitting most of the time and carries over to when I am standing.

[R_of_G]

I play sitting down so I suppose it doesn't really matter, though on occasion when I play standing I like to have it up high the way Hubberjub does in that picture. I'd like to look cool with it slung low, but it's much easier to play it correctly up high. I think playing correctly is cooler. :D

[Robert]

So why do jazz guys keep their guitar high up, and metal guys the opposite? I remember the punk dudes always seemed to have their guitars on their knees, that's how low they were.

[rkwrenn]

So why do jazz guys keep their guitar high up, and metal guys the opposite? I remember the punk dudes always seemed to have their guitars on their knees, that's how low they were.

Maybe Jazzers care about how it sounds while metal heads care about how it looks.

As long as you get your point across, it's all good.

Cheers,

Bob

[Jimi75]

Maybe Jazzers care about how it sounds while metal heads care about how it looks.

As long as you get your point across, it's all good.

Cheers,

Bob

:confused:
Does it make any difference in sound, when the guitar is strung high or low, or do you mean low hanging guitar = sloppy playing?

[Robert]

I sure know I play sloppy if the guitar is hung low! Higher up - more control of the instrument. Since I don't have a chance to look cool anyway, with balding hair and glasses, I settle for playing better and keep my guitar high. :D

[Jimi75]

I play sloppy, too when the guitar is hanging low. just watched some videos of Slash....and yeah he seems to manage not to play sloppy and to look cool at the same time with the guitar hanging low.

Some guys are just born to look cool.

[wingsdad]

So why do jazz guys keep their guitar high up...
Because it approximates the reach and arm angles in the sitting position.

...and metal guys the opposite? I remember the punk dudes always seemed to have their guitars on their knees, that's how low they were.
So they can offer an unobstructed view of their sock-laden codpiece.:rotflmao:

[Ro3b]

I wonder if there's any correlation between height of the player and where s/he wears the guitar? I have a friend who's about 5'2", and she wears her guitar about mid-thigh. Wearing it any higher puts uncomfortable stress on her right wrist. Whereas I'm 6'1" and I like my guitar about belly level, maybe a little higher.

[aeolian]

I pick at belt level.

http://home.comcast.net/~kitn13/photos/belt.jpg

[marnold]

I'm a metal guy and have never understood how some guys play with their guitars slung so low. BTW, most of my guitar heroes don't. You'll also notice that when Slash solos he often props the guitar neck-up to put it in a better position.

[tunghaichuan]

I wear mine up under my armpits like I wear my pants. Now you kids get off my lawn. :D

tung

[rkwrenn]

:confused:
Does it make any difference in sound, when the guitar is strung high or low, or do you mean low hanging guitar = sloppy playing?

Sorry for the unclear wording. IOW, Jazzers are more concerned with their sound and will position the instrument to be as advantageous as possible. How it looks is unimportant.

Cheers,

Bob

[Tibernius]

As low as I can and still easily reach the highest frets.
For me it's more comfortable that way, particularly with power chords/barre chords at the lower frets.

[MichaelE]

Mine is on my belly, but like the others have said, I don't feel like I have control over the instrument with it hanging below my belt.

I've never figured out how anyone can play with an instrument hung around their knees. Any lower and they'd have to start fretting the neck from the top.

[tot_Ou_tard]

Nearly as high as Hubberjub. I always play standing up, even though I only play for myself at home.

[ibanezjunkie]

in response to the metal thing...

i have my guitar low, but i stand sort of...wide stanced so i can solo pretty easy,

sometimes i kneel down and have the guitar across one knee while i tremolo pick or do some weird whammying riff.

i wish i could say 'while i sweep like a god' but i cant sweep so meh.

[IronMaiden666]

i usually play sittin down.... but sometimes i attempt at standing...i usually have it like angus young. and my theory on the differences between jazz and metal players hold them at different heights is bcuz in metal, the distortion allows you to cheat alot and take shortcuts, therefore you dont need to play as accurate as you would if you were playing clean

[deeaa]

4 me, it's a compromise between ease and looks. I wear them as high s i can without looking stupid, nd to me that means so it hides the belt well.

[Commodore 64]

I'm still struggling to figure out what fits me best. I have long arms and am 6'3". I think I tend towards the hip level.

[Brian Krashpad]

Usually around belt level.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v26/BrianKrashpad/BooFest05BKwithspareaxes.jpg

[tjcurtin1]

And a pick the size of a tea saucer, by the looks of it!:poke

[Moander]

Remember, Jimmy Page, Eddie, they slung low, but, they play the articulate stuff with the neck pointing upwards at average a 45 degree angle.....when they're laying back over some power chords, they flatten it out....

I agree with the sitting method. Sit, and play normally. There is your starting place. Adjust your strap, stand up, and you should feel fine.

Over time, lower it a bit. When the slop factor sets in, you know you're at your limit, but, try playing with the neck pointed up....maybe you can do it, maybe you cant.

Jazz guys dont care about looks, they play, and the guitar is where it plays best, at the expense of all else..

Here's a good one...

http://static.open.salon.com/files/nugent1221147961.jpg

Is he slung high or low? :) Ted Nugent, btw....

He's about center on the belt buckle...tho I'm sure he's not buckling his axe ....

Here's Eddie slung higher than normal.....

http://qubicstore.com/img/Justin/EddieVanHalen.jpg

and ....Eddie's typical neck angle... though I can't find one of him in the older days....

http://www.jeffcaron.net/images/eddie_van_halen_biography.jpg

http://www.zoilus.com/documents/Jimmy_Page.jpg

Note Pagey's neck angle.... typical... like they're launching ICBM's... :)

[deeaa]

Heh, I just posted this old pic of mine in another thread:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_6nk96PAbWiI/Rp9ZQ4a1GNI/AAAAAAAAAHI/hUgPsMXRh8c/21.jpg

I suppose I hung the Les quite low in those days. Young and agile still ;-) circa '92. Nowadays, it's smack in the middle over my belt. And no more heavy LP's either...

[Moander]

Nice Les Paul.. that a Burgundy Standard?

[deeaa]

Nice Les Paul.. that a Burgundy Standard?

I think it was just some red...in bright light it was clearly bright red, showing some wood grain. Same colour has been used in studios etc. as well a lot.

[mainestratman]

Normally belt buckle area for me... I started wearing it like that because when I was playing strats, the plastic bit on the back for tremolo access would absorb the brunt of the damage if I was wearing a belt (tucked in shirt or not).

That, and due to my height (6'4"), that's as far as most standard straps will reach.

[ZMAN]

It depends on which guitar I am playing. LPs and Strats, compared to Semi hollow. I basically have two straps one for my Strap locks on my LP Standard, and another for the rest. I recently noticed that my 335 is much higher thane the stadard mid stomach, when I use this strap. I will probably have to get a strap for the 335.

[Katastrophe]

I'm a short guy with sorta stumpy arms (but long fingers, go figure!). I gotta wear my guitar a smidge higher, solidly on the belly.

Anytime I borrow someone else's guitar, I have to use my strap or shorten theirs.

[ryan99]

i try to make it feel like it does when i sit down, so just play around with it until it u can cover every area comfertably,

[andyguitar85]

A nice comfortable height for me like most of the people in the poll. Tried playing lower, but it has a negative effect on my play