Bass weight.

[JohnFitzgerald]

I'd never really thought about bass weight much before.
It's never caused me a huge issue, but now I have two or three here, it's become quite apparent the difference in them.

Status Energy 4 string headed. 3.49kg or 7.7 lbs
Squier Pro-Tone 5 string 4.32kg or 9.5 lbs
Harley Benton jb40 fl 5.01 kg or 11.04 lbs


I'm most surprised at the weight of the Harley Benton as I've been most used to cheapies being built from wood which was a bit flyweight.

I'm glad the fretless will be played mostly sitting down.

Have two longer sets coming up soon and the Five will be getting the vote for that, I reckon.

[Twigman]

[quote name='JohnFitzgerald' timestamp='1456923823' post='2993547']
I've been most used to cheapies being built from wood which was a bit flyweight.


[/quote]

Really?

I've always thought cheap = heavyweight....

My old Kay from 79/80 weighed a ton

[CamdenRob]

My Wal has other basses that passed close by in orbit around it...

[JohnFitzgerald]

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1456923974' post='2993552']
Really?

I've always thought cheap = heavyweight....

My old Kay from 79/80 weighed a ton
[/quote]

Fair point.

I had a strat copy a few years back, and the neck dive was phenomenal because the neck weighed more than the body which seemed light enough to be balsa.

[bakerster135]

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1456923974' post='2993552']
I've always thought cheap = heavyweight....
[/quote]

I've played a ton of Alembics, Ken Smiths, etc that totally dispel this idea ...

[Twigman]

[quote name='bakerster135' timestamp='1456925263' post='2993574']
I've played a ton of Alembics, Ken Smiths, etc that totally dispel this idea ...
[/quote]

I'm not saying that heavyweight = cheap......

All I'm saying is that weight probably does not reflect the price of a bass but, in my experience, cheaper basses do tend to be heavier than perhaps is comfortable.

[Happy Jack]

After 10 years of obsessing about the weight of basses, I have established beyond any shadow of a doubt that heavy basses weigh more than light basses.

Weight has nothing to do with quality and [[i]lights blue touchpaper[/i]] precious little to do with tone.

It follows that it always makes sense to buy the lightest bass that also sounds good to your ears.

[lowhand_mike]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1456926652' post='2993604']
After 10 years of obsessing about the weight of basses, I have established beyond any shadow of a doubt that heavy basses weigh more than light basses.

Weight has nothing to do with quality and [[i]lights blue touchpaper[/i]] precious little to do with tone.

It follows that it always makes sense to buy the lightest bass that also sounds good to your ears.
[/quote]

doesnt a heavy bass have more heft?

[Happy Jack]

Yes, but a lighter bass has more lift.

[Urban Bassman]

But aren't heavy basses good for metal?
I'll get me coat.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Urban Bassman

[Grahambythesea]

Having developed a really bad shoulder, my Fender Jazz 5 string started to really hurt after only 1/2 hour of playing. I'd mostly owned P. Basses over the years and never noticed the weight. I also had a semi hollow Gibson EB2 which was noticeably lighter, well it should be with most of the body being air! But it was not the best balanced bass I ever had. The issue has to be having a body heavy enough to stop neck dive without causing shoulder deformation! I bought the Spector Spectorcore 5 string which seems to be a happy compromise and would like to try the Lakland semi hollow to see how that "weighs in". Any one any experience of it? I am also considering an Epiphone Jack Cassady as one of the few truly semi hollow basses which are long scale, pity they don't offer a 5 string version or a 5 string Gibson Midtown.
I really don't get the brigade that claim you need the body weight to get the sustain and tone. These are electric basses and with effects pedals, eq etc you can pretty much dial up any tone you want!

[drTStingray]

Strange old thing, but I never ever gave the weight of an instrument a second thought until I read about it on here - and even then I only really became conscious of it when using a quite heavy example of an SR5 rather far into my 5th decade. Back in the 70s, I recall wanting a certain bass type so when I had saved the money for it I went to a shop with one in stock - tried it to check it worked etc, and bought it. The idea of trying a batch of them never occurred to me (or anyone else I know/knew).

Yes, back pain is no joke to those of us who suffer, but is the subject not, like a lot of other subjects on this forum, not simply indicative of the demographic (the upper side of middle age being fairly well represented?), and largely irrelevant to anyone else?

And similarly, the adage that one must try any instrument before buying is only really feasible if you're a purchaser of one brand (for basses) or two or three for guitars, and are willing to accept someone else's choice of colour and spec. I generally have to order what I want sight unseen otherwise I don't get - I suspect lots of other people are in the same boat!! Not everyone plays THAT brand of bass - indeed these days I rarely see them in use except of the tele or at 'name artist' gigs.

Spookily my heaviest bass (that SR5) has the most body resonance and deepest, most vibrant tone of all my basses - when I first used it for gigs it gave me mild stomach ache ......... which I subsequently realised was caused by the body resonance, particularly the upper horn. I must have got used to it because I don't have that problem now - and because it's such a well balanced bass on a wide strap, whilst I'm standing up, the weight actually has little relevance to the playing comfort anyway. There, I've contradicted at least three known internet bass facts ......... as we all know body wood has no bearing on tone, heavy basses are no good, and playing comfort is entirely derived from the weight of the instrument!!!!

Edited March 3, 2016 by drTStingray

[EmmettC]

I also have a heavy SR5, in fact most of my basses are pretty heavy, but I find them all fine for gigging as long as I have a good strap. I used a borrowed Yamaha at a jam once with a cheap strap and my shoulder was sore within 3 songs.

Incidentally, and unimportantly, the heaviest bass I've owned was a Fender Modern Player Jazz 5, which is the cheapest Fender you can buy.

[rodney72a]

Did a bit of random bass weighing recently...

1964 Fender Precision 8.8 lbs (without covers/thumbrest)
1983 62 RI Fender Jazz 8.8 lbs (without covers/thumbrest)

1987 EBMM SR4 8.5 lbs
1989 EBMM SR5 9.8 lbs
1998 EBMM SR4 9.3 lbs
2007 EBMM SR4 8.2 lbs

[therealting]

My Fender Modern Player was heavy too.

In my current stable, my Yamaha TRB6 is the heaviest by far at 5.02kg (11 lb). The Dingwall Super J5 and the Sadowsky MV4 are around 4kg each.

[uncle psychosis]

A lot of weight "issues" can be solved with a good strap.

I used to find a three hour practice tough, then I bought a well padded neoprene strap and have no issues at all now.

[duffer1]

I don't play a heavy bass - it's a uke bass for me - but I used to carry heavy camera bags around for hours. The strap is everything - if it doesn't spread the load then expect joint problems in later life......

[bakerster135]

AVRI 62 Jazz - 9.5lbs
79 Stingray - 11.2lbs
75 Jazz - 12.6lbs

Play the 75 Jazz the most

[Trueno]

Never thought a lot about the weight. I think the balance is more important and the way the bass sits against the body.
For example, I once bought a Yamaha BEX4 because I was in a 60s cover band at the time. It was quite heavy, but also, because it was a semi-style, the reach of my left hand was really long. I tried it for one rehearsal... the next morning I could hardly move my left arm.
I use a well padded comfort strap most of the time, but I think rehearsals are worse, because you're standing around a long time. I took to playing a short scale Musicmaster for rehearsals (why did I ever sell that one?)

[ebenezer]

A lot of basses now are built using white ash which tends to weigh more than alder and swamp ash!
having said that, the white ash lends its self to better sustain and tone, certainly in the lower mids.

Roger Sadowsky is chambering the bodies on his us line because of the weight issue with timber.

[chris_b]

A legacy of a life in bands (apart from tinnitus) is that my left shoulder is permanently 2 inches higher than my right. And that's from years of playing basses that have mostly been on the right side of heavy.

I have no idea what my short lived Fender Precision Special weighed when I played it in the 80's but even as a fit and healthy 30 something my knees used to buckle after 20 mins.

My Lull is 8.5 lbs, Lakland 9.5lbs, Fender J 10lbs, TF750 23lbs, TH500 4lbs and BF SC 21lbs. My accessories case is the heaviest thing I carry these days. I'm thinking of splitting that into 2 smaller and lighter cases.

When you get a bad back you make sure you know the weight of everything.

[project_c]

I have a decent strap but I actually find the journey to and from public transport a big issue with a heavy bass, the more rehearsals I go to in various parts of London the more I notice it on my 83 p. I keep wondering if I should swap out the body with a lighter one. Would certainly give some insight into the 'how much does body wood affect tone' question.

Edited June 22, 2016 by project_c

[project_c]

sorry double post

Edited June 22, 2016 by project_c

[bassbiscuits]

I bashed my shoulder in quite badly earlier this year, and tho it's slowly getting better, the osteopath i've been seeing reckons there's also cumulative problems from 30 years of having heavy basses resting on it.

So I few buys and sells later, I find myself with a Lull PJ4 (3.6kg and nicely balanced) an Epi Jack Casady (also 3.6kg, but with a tendency to neck dive) and my long-serving old precision bass, (3.8kg).

The the shoulder will get better, i don't want to go back to the old days of heavy basses. I remember i had a Tokai Thunderbird briefly which looked incredible, but i honestly couldn't play it for an entire gig.

[machinehead]

[quote name='bassbiscuits' timestamp='1474906205' post='3141427']
I bashed my shoulder in quite badly earlier this year, and tho it's slowly getting better, the osteopath i've been seeing reckons there's also cumulative problems from 30 years of having heavy basses resting on it.

So I few buys and sells later, I find myself with a Lull PJ4 (3.6kg and nicely balanced) an Epi Jack Casady (also 3.6kg, but with a tendency to neck dive) and my long-serving old precision bass, (3.8kg).

The the shoulder will get better, i don't want to go back to the old days of heavy basses. I remember i had a Tokai Thunderbird briefly which looked incredible, but i honestly couldn't play it for an entire gig.
[/quote]

I have a lifelong back/shoulder problem so I've sold all my heavy basses and kept my US Jazz and US Jaguar, 8.5lbs and 9lbs respectively which are fine - just.

Strangely though, I've also kept my US SUB (Stingray). It weighs about 10lbs but is well balanced and doesn't cause me any problems. I don't know what to make of that?

Earlier this year I bought a Steinberger Sprit XT-2, I think it weighs about 7.5lbs [u][i][b]EDIT it's a smidgin under 7lbs[/b][/i][/u] (lightweight, but heavy for its size!). This was bought to take away in my campervan because a full size bass wouldn't fit in. However, I like it so much that I'm making a folding extension arm from carbon fibre to move the strap button to the 12th fret to make it sit the same as a Jazz or other Fender style bass. If this is successful, I intend to gig it to see how the lighter weight treats my back.

I'll report back here on the results for those interested.

If it's a success, I could be tempted by those Status Streamlines.

Frank.

Edited September 28, 2016 by machinehead