TromboneChat

I've recently had carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel surgery on my left arm. I'm interested in reviews of the Ergobone support system, especially from anyone who has actually used it. Thanks so much for your help.

I'd always fought with hand cramping with my Bach 50 bass bone, but after taking a 3 year break from playing, when I returned, aching shoulder was a much worse and immediate problem. I first bought a NeoTech grip which was ok, but difficult to adjust. Then someone recommended an ErgoBone and I bought one.

It took a while to get up and running with it, but sine I was only playing at home for the time being, it was terrific. It freed-up my hands from cramping as well as my shoulder as 95% of the instrument weight rests on the spring-loaded rod. You still need a slight bit of tension to prevent torquing when using position below 3rd/4th. What it also did, was show me very ... plainly how the grip of death on the instrument was killing my tone quality on the instrument. It showed me, that the relaxation it brought to my body was necessary for an open, ringing sound - and many "modern" bass trombone players have a more "dark", muffled sound. I wonder what would happen if they used one. Jay Friedman haas written to this subject of free wound also.

Anyway, with time, I did come away from it because I had problems with setting on with the proper angle necessary for the first note. There is a difference between what we say we do and what we actually do. The stationary quality of the positioning, mostly in angle-to-lips meant that I needed to adjust my neck angle to compensate. Once I was playing, it was less of a problem. I was coming into a bad habit of "asking" myself if this is the right note, instead of being able to hear-set-play in one motion. But it was a blessing for many reasons for the 6-7 weeks I used mine, coming off that 3 year non-playing period. Got me going in the right direction again. If it's right for you, it's terrific.

If you're interested, I'll sell mine for US$100 plus postage.

P.S. - I went back to the NeoTech after trying out just about every other hand grip on the market. I combined that with a regime of playing untuil I started feeling my shoulder, then taking a break of 15-30 seconds and starting again. It was very similar to strength building (Krafttraining) with weights. Not excessive weights, but repetitions until you feel it. Now I rarely feel the shoulder at all and my tone has kept open.

I've used the ergobone pretty extensively in the past and posted about it. Use TTF's search function and type in my user, kbiggs.

I actually have two of them. I bought my first when I was playing an Edwards bass. I bought my second when I had frozen shoulders and was playing both tenor and bass. It helped relieve a lot of the stress and tension in my neck, forearms, wrists and hands due to tendonitis, and using it helped the elbow and wrist joint pain.

It takes a little while to learn how to use it, as does any assistive device. Try moving the clamp up and down the cork barrel to find the balance point. I also found that setting the resting height a smidge high helped with posture, breathing and relaxation.

What has helped most is lifting weights like musicofnote suggests. I have also been using the Sheridan Get-A-Grip now for bass, and I find that I prefer it, but I wouldn't be able to use it if I hadn't done physical theray and rehab. When your doctor and PT say do your exercises, do them!

Feel free to PM me with any questions.

I have used the Ergobone for about 6 years. I had tried other types of devices none came
Close to helping with my problem. I have Parkinson's Disease. The tremor is on the right side. How does help? It allows me relax and have less if not any tremor if any. The only problem I have is replacing the rubber gasket type of stuff. I use a thick kind of tape from Lowe's.


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Thanks Ron

Another vote here for the ErgoBone ! I had a 25 year career in a major orchestra and was forced to put the horn away for 20 years.  My wife discovered the ErgoBone online, bought it for me as a Christmas present and I am back playing again --- not professionally, but almost as well as before the injury.  When the "pivot point" is tightened firmly enough, it is possible to remove both hands from the instrument and the ErgoBone alone will support it ! It did take a relatively long adjustment period, but afterwards the benefits continued to grow. I'm sure that I could not play any of my bass trombones for long without it. Highly recommended, but mileage will vary !   Cheers !!   Bob

I bought mine last Christmas after injuring my left wrist doing push-ups in exercise class. Once my wrist recovered, I put it away.

Recently, I got it out again even though I am not injured. I'm finding that it takes the weight off my left hand/arm/shoulder (obviously) but also my chops (subtle) which now can vibrate more freely and also my right hand/arm, making for smoother slide technique. Really quite sensible, even if you're reasonably strong and fit.

I bought mine last Christmas after injuring my left wrist doing push-ups in exercise class. Once my wrist recovered, I put it away.

Recently, I got it out again even though I am not injured. I'm finding that it takes the weight off my left hand/arm/shoulder (obviously) but also my chops (subtle) which now can vibrate more freely and also my right hand/arm, making for smoother slide technique. Really quite sensible, even if you're reasonably strong and fit.