"Heavy' basses

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='4 Strings' post='1066298' date='Dec 21 2010, 11:28 PM']So, it matters if you have a back or shoulder problem, no surprise there, and for others a pound or two matters not.

I'm very fortunate in that I don't suffer from any physical problems and I sympathise with those that do, but very pleased they carry on with suitable equipment.

So does this mean those who immediately ask 'how heavy' as soon as an old P comes up for sale have a back problem? If so, it explains all.

I note that our late hero in Detroit used a tall stool (sounds rather smelly!) to play for his long, daily sessions, but seemed to have a strap on too.[/quote]

Yep, you've about summed it up and yes if I'm interested in a bass the very first question is "how heavy?". A tall stool (heck a comfy arm-chair would be the ultimate but it'd have to be a neo chair so that I could carry it) would be fabulous but at the moment I can manage with a lightweight bass; ultimately one day an X brace strap and a bar stool may be necessary!

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='4 Strings' post='1066298' date='Dec 21 2010, 11:28 PM']So does this mean those who immediately ask 'how heavy' as soon as an old P comes up for sale have a back problem? If so, it explains all.[/quote]

Not just an old P, of course. Any bass that I'm interested in buying / trading for (eg the Lakland 55-01 in For Sale just now) is actually of no interest at all if it turns out to be, effectively, unplayable because of the weight. I've bought and sold far too many >10lb basses in order to learn that lesson. Not going to play that game any more.

Those of you who are unaffected by the weight of a bass, please don't feel that you are being left out. Your turn will come.

[Lozz196]

My MIA P-Basses are all 8.8 pounds.
My MIM P-Bass is 9.4 pounds, and strangely enough even though I too have a bad shoulder/back, I prefer this weight. But the MIAs sound and play just that bit better, so the MIM is a backup.
I certainly wouldn`t want a bass lighter than 8.8 - I`d feel like it was floating away.

Edited December 22, 2010 by Lozz196

[Paul S]

There are heavy basses and heavy basses - what is heavy to one person is light to another. But one thing is certain - if you have never had a back problem it is impossible to understand how it affects even the simplest of daily tasks. Before it happened to me I used to think that people used 'bad backs' as an excuse and had no conception of how totally helpless it can make you. When the lower back muscles go into spasm, putting on socks becomes an act of torture. Going for a crap - worse still the paperwork afterwards - is a nightmare. Difficult to get your wife to help with that - socks are just about acceptable My 'usual' bass is a Fender Jaguar, which is around 9lbs. My favourite bass is a Washburn Scavenger, which is heavier. usually no problem at all. BUT. I have a recurring problem with a sacroiliac joint - where pelvis meets spine. Since clearing snow a fortnight ago and royally buggering my back again I can't stand with anything heavier than my Hohner B2A for more than 20 minutes. It will get better, and I'll go back to the others, but when a back is bad it is BAD.

[Adrenochrome]

There is just no need for a heavy, unergonomic bass.
I am big, strong, healthy and even I can get back ache over a 3-hour gig, including stripping down and loading our huge PA in the cold night air when you've been sweating buckets under stage lights and your muscles are rapidly cooling. Having a moderately-light, well balanced bass is just another thing that helps reduce the strain. It's no big deal and doesn't reflect badly on those players that want a lighter bass in my opinion.

Jon

[thebrig]

I recently posted a thread on my search for a lightweight bass.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=114357"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=114357[/url]

I've suffered from back problems since my early 20's, and been in and out of hospital countless times, but I've carried on playing the basses of my choice until now.

At 59, it has finally got to the stage where I just can't carry on playing my favourite bass, which is a Warwick Corvette std bubinga (pictured in my avatar).

It is a fantastic bass to play, the build is outstanding, the neck is so tight in the body, it could almost be all 'one piece', the wood finish is fantastic, and most importantly, the sound and playabilty is unbelieveable, and I will probably keep it for ever.

BUT!

Despite all that, it weighs well over 11lbs, and the pain has got so bad that the only way I can carry on, is to get a very lightweight bass, which I did last week when I found myself a second-hand Ibanez SR500, it is only half the weight of the corvette, but it plays and sounds good, and the balance is great, and it means I can hopefully carry on for a little while yet.

I've also just sold my fantastic Ashdown rig, and spent a lot of wonga on a lightweight Genz Benz Shuttle rig (very nice indeed).

So for me, weight is important, but if I was fit and well, then like most people, I would probably think that 'lightweight' is just the latest fad!

[Shaggy]

It often impresses me picking up a 1960's solid-body bass how "modern" they can feel, - especially the Industry-standard basses still around today - and I guess it's because weight has come full circle since then; the '70's and '80's were definitely the era of the [b]heavy[/b] bass (with notable exceptions). I've got a couple of modern basses, but easily the lightest solid body I own is a '65 Thunderbird IV

The ubiquitous '60's short-scale semi-acoustics of course can be featherweight, but will [i]never[/i] feel / sound "modern" - nor should they!

[lozbass]

[quote name='Clarky' post='1066075' date='Dec 21 2010, 07:50 PM']How on earth people manage with some of the 12-13 pound Alembic Series basses I just do not know, unless they bench press![/quote]
I don't benchpress (certainly) but I do sit down. I love the look of small bodied short-scale Alembics but they can be hellishly heavy - especially the cobobolo faced versions - and the balance is weird...for me anyway. I don't let it stop me, I simply play sat down. Alembic will undertake some very smart work that significantly reduces the weight of a Series bass (I have one that's been done and it's incredibly light!)

[MacDaddy]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1066145' date='Dec 21 2010, 08:39 PM']Given that [i][b]High weight[/b][/i] does NOT equal [i][b]Great tone[/b][/i], I can't think of any reason to buy a heavy bass.[/quote]

my custom Iceni was originally built with everything as heavy as possible because the guy ordering thought the heavier the bass the greater the tone.
It had a new neck before it came to me, and I had a new body built (both still by Mike) so I can't really make any point about the weight issue now

[molan]

I owned an 11.5lb bass for a while and it just killed my shoulder and left arm after any length of time spent playing standing up. It sounded wonderful but I just couldn't live with it as a gigging bass

This particular one was built using a very heavy core wood and the only way around the weight issue would have been to cut chambers into the body.

Conversely I've also had a couple of sub 8lb basses and found the body neck balance didn't work for me. I regularly found myself having to use my left hand to support the neck a lot more than I'd really like.

I have experimented with Hipshot ultra-lite tuners and these cured the worst of the neck balance problems though - not sure why more people don't fit these as standard, they can make a huge difference to both balance and total weight.

Overall I reckon the 9lb to 9.5lb mark works best for me these days