Interested in people’s perspectives on bass body designs for everyday bass playing, specifically on ergonomics. At the one end of the spectrum you have the ergo “wing-bass” designs, which seem more prevalent in jazz and melodic playing, but not very practical for everyday gigging. At the other end, you have your neck-diving, heavy as hell Thunderbirds, Destoyer’s, etc. that “look cool,” but aren’t necessarily the most comfortable. Did the P-bass get it right on design? What is your favorite “practical” design? To be clear, I am just talking about body design, not pickup types/tone, etc.
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I really like the slab body on my Sterling Ray24. I find it really comfortable to play when I’m sitting. I actually like it better than any of the contoured body basses I own.
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Was a bit confused on the topic of this post and it made me think of this….
However, for me, when it comes to design, I’m partial to the P bass design for both practice and live play…
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I like lots of contours. Not a fan of slabs so much.
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What is ergonomic is definitely ymmv. How big are your hands, how long your arms, how big your belly. Different person to person
I’ve been through ergonomic office design and they measure you as part of the process.
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I’ve had a fender std jazz, Ibanez sr300 and a sterling ray24ca.
For me, the most comfortable is definitely the Ibanez. It doesn’t balance as well on your lap (because it doesn’t really have ‘sides’, it’s like an elliptical cross section vs. the jazz body which has a rectangular cross section) but it’s lighter and the weight is distributed more comfortably than the sterling or the fender IMO. Also it doesn’t make my shoulders ache as much.
I find the one ‘edge’ of the Ibanez to be much more comfortable on my thigh than the ‘two’ edges on the classic jazz shape too.
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Probably almost everything that isn’t a les paul or a tele 
I’ve never played a LP bass but I feel like it must be one of the worst for comfort.
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Are we veering off course?
I like curves too
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I play 80-100 year old saxes with what are generally considered the worst ergonomics ever designed (but they are killer horns), so I have not noticed any ergonomic differences in any of the basses I have other the the Gretsch hollow body. I just kinda ignore the whole thing.
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It’s going to depend a lot on whether you play mostly standing or sitting too.
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I’m loving the contours and size of the Warwick thumb body and to be honest all of the Warwicks.
The Rick was very “sharp “ edged which wasn’t an issue unless you wanted to play seated.
The SR is most definitely comfortable to play and certainly made life easy when I started out.
The Fender P has an iconic shape which has been copied so often it must be doing something right
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That took longer than I expected 
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Yeah, this is why I dislike LP’s so much. They look great, sound great, tick all my boxes for features, but punch me right in the solar plexus if I play sitting.
Well ok they are also Gibsons, so roll those dice for quality Lots and lots of gorgeous ones made by others though.
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Fender American ultra(elite) jazz or precision is definitely comfortable to play with the contour neck pocket and light(er) weight. My neck through stingray is definitely comfortable to play but it’s a few ounces too heavy for some.
The surprise is the super ergonomic like the affirma super light and ergonomic but ended up feeling a little lacking to me, as I couldn’t find a comfortable place to rest the forearm especially for someone like myself who likes the bass to be flat and horizontal sit or stand. I notice that you @Old_WannaBe like more vertical position this style of bass body design would serve you well.
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Yep . . . otherwise everyone around the globe wouldn’t be trying to copy them
I like the Jazz the best of all, its body contours fit me very well and it’s comfortable to hold.
Cheers
Joe
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If I had to pick only one style of bass it would be a jazz bass. It’s a tough choice but I just think it’s the most versatile.
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I want something lightweight and with an upper horn that reaches far up the neck to make the first 5 frets more accessible without contorting my wrist too much. Headless to minimise neckdive. A D-shaped neck profile. Pickups should be closer to the neck than they are to the bridge. One volume button and a passive/active button are sufficient (to get passive you will have to press it down, to get active you pull up). Don’t really care what it looks like with the one exception that it’s not pink.
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@HowLowCanYouGet, I have it on good word that Santa has noted your (detailed) request, and is checking to see if you are on the naughty or nice list before proceeding. 
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