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Lightweight basses...


Feelgood
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I've just retired my SR5 for the same reason. I have replaced it with a Dingwall which I found cheap on e-bay & took a chance. It's very light and I'm having no issues with the fanned frets until I go above the octave - which isn't often! If funds allow, I'd recommend you try one.
The other option I have is double bass which I find much easier on my neck & back. If that doesn't suit you, an EUB perhaps? Good luck! PTB

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[quote name='Feelgood' post='1158380' date='Mar 11 2011, 10:12 AM']OK, I won't bore you with my medical history,[/quote]
The punch line to a funny joke. :)

Besides weight 2 things I find helpful for neck and shoulder comfort are balance and strap button position. Headless basses put the weight closer to the right hand and leaves the left free to move without having to consider holding the neck in place. Kubicki X-factors can be real comfy in part to this balance.

I also like a strap button to be over the 12th or even 11th fret as that sits the bass with the neck in closer to you than one around the 14th or 15th fret, letting your left arm hang down more than holding it out to the side. This one is important to me and is why I could never play a Spector or Streamer or Thumb :)

Then there's the double strap setup like Alain Caron uses that puts the weight on his hips.

Edited by Vibrating G String
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Like Vibrating G String mentions, it is worth considering balance as well as weight.

A while back I stopped gigging my Jazz because it was becoming uncomfortable for me due to my shoulder/upper back problems. Swapped to my P Deluxe which solved the problem but surprisingly is the heavier of the two instruments.

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and another +1 for the Ibanez SR600 - I bought one back in November 2010, mainly because I was suffering back and shoulder pain due to the weight and neck-heavy balance of my other bass.

My shoulder and back pain were gone within 3 weeks of the SR600 arriving and have not returned.

I've tried both an SR500 and a 600 and I couldn't tell if one was heavier than the other - so as they were roughly the same price I opted for the 600, partly because I read somewhere that mahogany should be avoided for environmental reasons, but mainly (being honest!) because I liked the aesthetic of the light ash against the black t-shirts I always wear when gigging! :)

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[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1160086' date='Mar 13 2011, 02:22 AM']This will bust your budget but scroll down to Superleggero

[url="http://www.biarnel.com/eng/liuteria/scorcio/seriescorcio.html"]http://www.biarnel.com/eng/liuteria/scorci...riescorcio.html[/url]

You can get an under 3 kilo headless short scale.[/quote]

Actually its almost 2.6kgs for the Scorcio 32" Superleggero and less than 3kgs for a four strings bass with headstock, like the Iter.

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[quote name='icastle' post='1158542' date='Mar 11 2011, 02:59 PM']+1

I have an SR505 and, although weight wasn't a deciding factor in buying it, it weighs next to nothing and has one of the most comfortable neck profiles I've experienced.[/quote]


+1000 to that ^ Love mine and sounds great too!

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[quote name='Feelgood' post='1165489' date='Mar 17 2011, 10:18 AM']Thanks for all the comments. Been looking around to see who has some of the recommendations in stock to try out. Not a great success (!) but Digital Village have a Viola and a SR505 (one string too many but should give me a good idea).

Cheers :)[/quote]

Don't look at it as one string too many, look at it as a 4 string with a long thumb rest. :)

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