Building the Ergonomic Guitar

This excellent review by Bass Guitar Magazine’s Ed Friedland covers the craftsmanship, musical aspects and radical design of the Little Guitar Works Torzal Twist Bass. Bass guitar players with wrist problems should take particular note.

The most notable aspect of Jerome Little’s bass guitar is the 35 degree twist in the neck. This design feature results in the fretting hand falling into a more natural position. As the guitarist moves down the neck, the wrist has a tendency to bend – the Torzal neck allows the guitarist’s wrist to remain straighter thus reducing the potential for tendinitis and related injuries.

Another noteworthy feature is the “bridge rotation” made possible by the ramp designed into the guitar body. This contributes to placing the bassist’s picking hand in a more natural position. Take a look at the video and you’ll see what I mean.

Ed, who has suffered from tendinitis, goes on to point out just how important this design is in helping out bassists suffering from Repetitive Strain Injury(RSI) – possibly making the difference between playing and potentially giving up the instrument in the worst cases. Then he makes his most important point:

Hey wait a minute! If I played this bass in the first place, maybe I’d never developed tendonitis or carpal tunnel.

A little prevention anyone? What a concept.

The bottom line? The Torzal Twist Neck Bass Guitar is a light weight custom instrument with premium details that both sounds great and plays great. And, if you’re lucky you might actually be healthier for it.