At what weight do you consider a bass to be heavy?

[Evil Undead]

I'm curious!

[Hobbayne]

My old 1977 USA P Bass was over 9 pounds! I had to wear a 3 inch leather strap to support it! My Ray feels much better. The VM Jazz is almost featherlite.

[Lozz196]

My Precisions are about 8.8 lbs, and as these are the perfect bass for me, that`s the sortof benchmark I work with. I had a Jazz which was about 9 lbs, and a Les Paul which I think was 4.786 tons (in reality prob about 9.5 lbs) and they just feel that little bit too much. I`d love to try one of those 11/12 lb 70s Precisions, though doubt I`d buy one - my back would go into hate-mode.

[Musicman20]

10.5 + lbs

[Blademan_98]

I have never weighed a bass!

If it 'feels' heavy I don't want to wear it for two hours.

It is about perceived weight for me.

[KiOgon]

As I only ever play seated it's maybe not such an issue, but I'd say 10lbs is as much as I'd want for ease of handling. My '51 P-bass Ri is getting on for 10lb & my heaviest, I know it every time I pick it from the rack

Cheerz, John

Edited August 31, 2011 by KiOgon

[Jerry_B]

My T-40's about 10lb, if not a bit more. I actually prefer heavier basses to lighter ones - the latter tend to make me stoop a bit.

[hillbilly deluxe]

I've had a few heavy basses,worst offenders being,Ibanez Musician fretless,72/3 ? Fender Telecaster bass,and my current 5 string jazz which weighs in at almost 12lb and has been my go-to bass for 10 years or so,i love it and the weight has never been a problem.
The Tele was uncomfortably heavy because of the lack of forearm contour,so had to go even though i loved it.
The Ibanez was probably the heaviest of all and the most unbalanced,numbest sounding over hyped pile of firewood of any price bracket bass i've ever owned.

[Beer of the Bass]

I played a 12 1/2 pound bass for years, and am now using one weighing just a tad over 9 1/2 pounds, which is much more bearable. 12 1/2lbs gives me shoulder problems, 9 1/2lbs doesn't. I think 8lbs or less is light, 9-10 is medium and anything over 10 is heavy.
Come to think of it, my dog weighs 10 1/2 lbs, so I should set up a big set of scales like they use for witches in The Holy Grail. Anything weighing the same or less than the dog would be OK!

[gary mac]

If it's over 10lbs I wouldn't gig with it these days.

[stingrayPete1977]

My Ray5 must weigh a fair bit (over 10lbs easy) but it's not uncomfortable even after a couple of hours, it sits nicely

[Mykesbass]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1358165' date='Aug 31 2011, 10:04 PM']My Ray5 must weigh a fair bit (over 10lbs easy) but it's not uncomfortable even after a couple of hours, it sits nicely [/quote]

Said it before, I personally think that a lot is in the balance. My old Aria cut into my shoulder so badly that I sold it for a pathetic amount on Ebay. Its replacement Cort is exactly the same weight according to the bathroom scales and yet I can gig it for a couple of hours with no problems at all.

[Clarky]

My back has deteriorated - combination of old slipped disc, rotator cuff injury to left shoulder and, most annoyingly, recent lower back muscle damage from my cholesterol lowering medication - so I cannot really go above 9 pounds for a bass if I am to play for any reasonable amount of time (30 minutes plus).

[Ed_S]

10lb for me - that's what my LTD Surveyor 415 weighs. My Precisions are fine at about 8.5lb, but the Surveyor makes my neck ache.

[EdwardHimself]

About 3.5423 kg. Seriously though, i don't know. I suppose i could take a bass strap and hang it on my shoulder with some weights and see at what point i would be unable to comfortably stand up with it for an extended period of time. But then again i don't really give enough of a sh*t to do that so i won't

[warwickhunt]

Anything much over 9lb but there is an allowance for quality of balance (though a 10lb bass is 'too' heavy regardless of balance or strap material/width).

[icastle]

I have and ESP LTD 6 which weighs in at just under 15lbs.
Uncomfortable after a couple of hours but not too bad.

[waynepunkdude]

I had a 16LB 5 string now every bass is light.

[bobbass4k]

My spector is about 5Kg (11lbs to those clinging to the past...), I never considered it heavy but everyone who plays it comments on the weight, the balance is perfect though and i have it at the perfect height. Plus my back is completely f***ed already, there isn't much more damage to be done.

[dc2009]

IMO balance will affect the weight you perceive far more so than the weight itself!

That said, I once played a 73' ash bodied jazz in a shop, had a dead leg after 10 mins.

[daz]

My Farida FJB20 is 5kg (11ib) and feels heavey but well ballanced. My Westfield is 3.5Kg and has neck dive so feels awkward after 20 minutes of standing.

[4000]

[quote name='Clarky' post='1358175' date='Aug 31 2011, 10:12 PM']My back has deteriorated - combination of old slipped disc, rotator cuff injury to left shoulder - so I cannot really go above 9 pounds for a bass if I am to play for any reasonable amount of time (30 minutes plus).[/quote]

Ditto, except it's at least 2 discs in my case, 1 lumbar and 1 cervical.

Balance plays a part, as does how far out the bass sits, whether it balances well or not; my Alembic balanced perfectly but sat out to the left, which meant that more weight was concentrated on my left shoulder. As soon as I put it on my left leg went numb, so I eventually had to sell it.

Nowadays even my Rics are becoming a struggle and they are both arguably the lightest examples I've come across at about 8.5lbs each. I've tried som basses in the Gallery (most recently a particulalry heavy old 'Ray, last time I was there) where my back has gone out as soon as I've put the bloody thing on. Ironic as in the old days I used to easily carry my 100lb Trace 4x10 one-handed.....those were the days!

So, after that waffle , I'd say anything over 8lbs is borderline for me nowadays, but if the ergonomics are good and your back is healthy you'd should be able to happily cope with more.

[Lfalex v1.1]

I'd consider this to be on the heavy side



Comes in just over 15lb.
Caused by a combination of a solid Maple body and necessarily sizeable Wenge neck.
Manageable (for me) with a hefty strap and by virtue of the fact that my job involves a lot of lifting. I wear it quite high and close to me-makes it easier and I agree with the post about lighter basses making you stoop. With this on, you have to stand as though you're in "Man 'O War" or it'll pull you over. I think if I were much taller than I am (5'10"), it might cause issues.

It's a combination of factors, some of which may offset the weight of a heavy bass, not the absolute weight of any given instrument.
I'd rather a heavier bass that didn't suffer from appalling neck-dive than a lighter one that did.
YMMV, especially if you've sustained certain injuries, though.

[BigRedX]

IMO balance and comfort are more important than simply the weight. A well balanced bass that fits you will always feel lighter than one that actually weighs less but won't stay in a sensible playing position or digs into your body uncomfortably.

[JTUK]

I only notice it when it feels heavy.
I have no idea how heavy my basses are.