Lightweight, affordable basses?

[jessicaRabbit]

Part of the reason why I stopped playing bass years ago was that the bass I played was far too heavy for my stature. I'm a slender, 5'6 (okay, 5'5 1/2) woman and I'm looking to make an investment in a solid, lightweight model. I really don't know where to start looking although my mind jumped to a Squire Vintage Jaguar? I faintly remember this model being mentioned by a friend of mine for its lightweight-ness. My budget is up to 400 pounds, preferably around 200 but I'm willing to stretch it to get a decent model that will last me a good while.

Any ideas? Also sorry if this is a redundant topic, I blame my noob status on here preemptively.

[Lozz196]

I was going to suggest Squier Classic Vibe - the Precision I had, being made of basswood, was nice and light. Sounds like the Jag would be worth looking at though, if recommended as being lightweight. They sound good too, I saw a band where the bassist used one of these, and he had a great sound.

[gary mac]

My daughter uses an Ibanez, not sure of the model but lower end of the range. Anyway it's light and sounds good. Has precision and jazz type pickups.

[bertbass]

Any bass by Danelectro. Lighter than a light thing.

[Happy Jack]

Look for an SGC Nanyo Bass Collection, one of the original late 80's or early 90's models. There's a wide range and they come up fairly often both here and on eBay.

Prices hit rock bottom a few years ago and have recovered a bit since, but you can still get an SB310 or similar for less than £250.

These basses were very well made using excellent components, very light and with a tiny headstock which avoids neck dive, offer a very wide range of tones, and are a pleasure to play. Hugely under-rated basses which were expensive at the time but had the brand more-or-less destroyed by later, cheaper imitations using the same name.

[jessicaRabbit]

Thanks all for your suggestions! I'll look into them. Found an [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]SGC Nanyo on Ebay for pretty cheap, but I'll keep a lookout.[/font][/color]

[6v6]

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1363766880' post='2017109']
My daughter uses an Ibanez, not sure of the model but lower end of the range. Anyway it's light and sounds good. Has precision and jazz type pickups.
[/quote]

+1 - I have an Ibanez SR500 and it is very light, any of the SR series would probably suit your requirements and budget - the playability on these is amazing for the money too

[neepheid]

I can't imagine a Cort Curbow weighs too much, having a tiny luthite body. Also +1 on Danelectros being very light indeed. Beware of neck dive though!

[pikeman]

I had a Squier VM Jaguar and traded it as I found it a bit on the heavy side.
A couple of good suggestions already. For really lightweight I can recommend the Ibanez SR500, Really light and a very fast, slim neck.
The CV Precision is nice and light , sounds good from stock and has my favourite precision neck of all time. I've even fitted a CV neck on my JV.
Good luck with the search.

[Paul S]

I need lightweight basses because of a back injury. The best of those I have tried are the SGC Nanyo Bass Collection - there is a stonker 320 for sale on this forum at the moment - or a Fender Precision Lyte. Both come in under 8lbs. Of the two I prefer the Precision Lyte, but I do quite like fenders. It has an absolutely beautiful neck, really slim and shallow. If I didn't already have too many basses I'd be having a look at the Ibanez SR800 that someone is selling on here - looks like a bargain.

Then there are a whole raft of short scale basses - I have an Epiphone EB0 and Fender Musicman which are both lightweight. And Danelectro already got a mention.

Then there is the small headless jobbies - I have a Hohner B2A that is lightweight.

By my favourite is the Precision Lyte.

[Silvia Bluejay]

Warwick Rockbasses. Nuff said

[Musicman20]

Most basswood MIJ Fenders are quite light, although £400+ used.

Squier CV P or J should be basswood, and the P may be lighter?

I would suggest checking out the MTD Kingston basses at Bass Direct. They not only look great, but they are superb value IMO. Even I want one and I don't usually dig modern looking basses.

I used to own a Bass Collection 4 string P/J. It was featherlight, and VERY fast and easy to play. Sometimes I wish I still had it!

[Jellyfish]

I can only recommend the Ibanez SR series of basses for weight, as they're the ones that stood out to me as not being too heavy. I briefly owned a G&L Tribute 5-string and that (if I remember correctly) wasn't heavy either.

[TRBboy]

Ibanez SR300. Great bass for not much money, lightweight and comfortable.

[jessicaRabbit]

So many to choose from. Maybe I'll up the budget from 400 to 10,000 and get all of them? Who needs a car anyway?

I've had a look around and like the look of the Danelectro's, Ibanez SR series and Squier Classic Vibe basses. I've found a few decent models for sale on ebay though I haven't checked the 'for sale' section of this site yet. A quick question if any would care to answer: can precision, jazz type bass models play all kinds of music? I would like to play a lot of metal if possible so am looking for versatility and that 'crunchy' metal sound, I'm not sure what kind of bass would have this as well as being lightweight etc. Sorry if this seems like an easy, common sense question!

[richardjmorgan]

I have an Aria Pro II Cardinal Series; very nice, light and manageable for a guitar idiot like myself. Seem to pop up used from time to time, but whether you'd be into it dependes very much on how you feel about 32" scale and narrow string spacing.

[Silvia Bluejay]

[quote name='jessicaRabbit' timestamp='1363784787' post='2017530']
I would like to play a lot of metal if possible so am looking for versatility and that 'crunchy' metal sound, I'm not sure what kind of bass would have this as well as being lightweight etc. Sorry if this seems like an easy, common sense question!
[/quote]

I believe that the sound is made by the way you play your instrument, and the effects you use - if any - more than by the actual make of bass. Think about this: Metallica's Rob - Warwick. Ex-Metallica Jason - Sadowsky. Megadeth's David - Jackson. Maiden's Steve - Fender... that's quite a varied list. And some of those bassists play with a pick. That, according to Ellefson, helps the bass sound cut through the guitars in the mix, as does upping the treble and mids as opposed to the bass.

Edited March 20, 2013 by bluejay

[jessicaRabbit]

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1363785164' post='2017543']
I believe that the sound is made by the way you play your instrument, and the effects you use - if any - more than by the actual make of bass. Think about this: Metallica's Rob - Warwick. Ex-Metallica Jason - Sadowsky. Megadeth's David - Jackson. Maiden's Steve - Fender... that's quite a varied list. And some of those bassists play with a pick. That, according to Ellefson, helps the bass sound cut through the guitars in the mix, as does upping the treble and mids as opposed to the bass.
[/quote]

Excellent, thank you for your thoughtful reply, I just wasn't sure as I've only ever played big, heavy basses

[deejayen]

I went looking to buy my first bass, and tried a Danelctro, which was very light, although the one I tried was quite slab shaped, with no contours. I think the Danelectro was available in different scale lengths. A more expensive Ibanez SR600 was also light, with a small body and narrow neck - it felt really nice, although for me the small, curved body might not be so good as I'll be playing sitting down. I don't need a light bass, but as a guitarist I was looking for one which wasn't too chunky. I've no idea what they're like, but this morning I noticed a basswood short scale Grestch in the classifieds on here - it looked nice, and was within your lower budget. It'd be good if you could try out a few. I did that, but ended up buying something from the forum here without trying it. However, hopefully I have some idea of what will be turning up having tried out a few styles of bass beforehand!

[bassintheface]

You'd go a long way to find a better, more suitable bass than this at that sort of money -

http://[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/200874-feeler-fs-ft-squier-silver-series-jazz-early-90s/"]basschat.co.uk/topic/200874-feeler-fs-ft-squier-silver-series-jazz-early-90s/[/url]

Yes, I know I'm selling it, but it's an awesome bass for the money!

[Paul S]

[quote name='bassintheface' timestamp='1363789567' post='2017645']
You'd go a long way to find a better, more suitable bass than this at that sort of money -

http://[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/200874-feeler-fs-ft-squier-silver-series-jazz-early-90s/"]basschat.co.uk/topic/200874-feeler-fs-ft-squier-silver-series-jazz-early-90s/[/url]

Yes, I know I'm selling it, but it's an awesome bass for the money!
[/quote]

Hard to argue with that statement - surprised it hasn't sold yet tbh. How light is it? I have a Silver Series P. Bass that is about 8.5lbs - plenty light enough for me. But an E series that is nearer 9.5lbs, a touch heavy. A light-weight Silver Series Jazz probably does most things a bass player can ask of it.

[bassintheface]

I haven't weighed it to be honest, but it's noticably lighter than my 75 RI Jazz and even more so than my Stingray.

Edited March 20, 2013 by bassintheface

[jaakkeeeeeee]

I recently got a Sterling Sub Ray-4 which feels and sounds great and is also the lightest bass i have ever picked up!

[jessicaRabbit]

bassintheface: Shameless advertising there Haha. I couldn't buy it anyway as it is pickup and not delivered. Shame on you! No I understand but still, that is a very nice bass.

[bassintheface]

I'm trying to think if anyone I know is coming to Scotland soon.....

I'm playing in Leeds next thursday......don't think I'll be getting any closer soon........