cameltoe Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 I've probably only played about 30 P basses my entire bass playing life, and owned about 6, but my Road Worn, which I've owned since 2010, is the lightest bass I have ever played. (I've since realised this is an important requirement for future purchases as it really helps the bass feel at home on me) A quick weigh on the bathroom scales (using the weigh myself with-and-without method) indicates the bass weighs 7lb 10oz. (The bass does have Gotoh Res-o-lites fitted, as it suffered from enormous neck dive) So, although this seems like a light bass to me, is it a 'light' light bass, so to speak, or a relatively common weight for a light P bass? Anybody got a lighter one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 I think that constitutes light over the history of Precisions, and also even in terms of current ones. My 2011 US Standard is about 8.5lbs and previous US/MIM/MIJs I`ve had have all been around 8.10/9.2lbs. That said I also have both an MIM and MIJ at present which are both lighter than the US and these two both originate from early/mid 90s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingus Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Well , generally speaking it's easier to find light Precisions than light Jazz Basses, by virtue of the fact that the offset body shape of the Jazz is a bit bigger. Typical weights for Precisions vary greatly, obviously, mainly depending on the body woods used . A good weight for an alder bodied Precision is around the 8 1/2 pound mark. A lot of the 1960's- era Fender Precisions weigh in around that mark , as do a fair few of the current American Standards. Swamp Ash bodies can be even lighter than that, whereas Northern Ash and White Ash bodies can be very much heavier . The heaviest Fenders generally tend to be from the mid to late 1970's and even into the early 1980's. Anything under 8 pounds will feel exceptionally light, and anything much over 9 pounds will start to feel fairly heavy to most people . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Yeah, about 9lbs-ish seems to be fairly average for a Fender P, although that doesn't sit in the the middle of the range of weights. I suppose 9lbs would be the mode rather than the average. I'd call any anything less than 8lbs in the [i]very[/i] light category. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KK Jale Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 I've got a Squier JV '57 which weighs bang on 8lbs. Very comfy for longer shows... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cameltoe Posted December 7, 2013 Author Share Posted December 7, 2013 I certainly like the way the lightweight feels. It's also very resonant. I had been hankering for a JV, as I prefer the vintage look/feel and had heard, generally, they came in quite light. I just missed out on a P Bass body on ebay that was made from Paulowina, apparently very light, which would have been good for a build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 I've just bought a Nate Mendel which weighs in at 7.8 lbs. The Badass and chunky pickups are possibly going anyhow if I decide to go vintage on it. The light weight of it lead me to the purchase. Sub 9lbs is light for any Fender, sub 8lbs is rare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cameltoe Posted December 7, 2013 Author Share Posted December 7, 2013 [quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1386439318' post='2300190'] I've just bought a Nate Mendel which weighs in at 7.8 lbs. The Badass and chunky pickups are possibly going anyhow if I decide to go vintage on it. The light weight of it lead me to the purchase. Sub 9lbs is light for any Fender, sub 8lbs is rare. [/quote] I tried a Nate Mendel a few weeks ago, which wasn't as light as my RW, but did feel fairly light. Shame it hadn't been set up properly as I couldn't get past that to decide how much I liked it. I suspect the Badass may have attributed to the bad set up. I'm definitely going to find a few more to try as the narrower neck and nitro are right up my street. I'd probably change out the bridge and p'up too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartelby Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Hmmmm, my Steve Harris P weighs in at a lovely 13lbs and that's with an aluminium scratchplate, not the heavier chromed one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 In my experience, on average, expect a Precision bass to be 9lbs and a Jazz bass to be nearer to 10lbs - YWMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 [quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1386442002' post='2300244'] Hmmmm, my Steve Harris P weighs in at a lovely 13lbs and that's with an aluminium scratchplate, not the heavier chromed one... [/quote] Never played a light Steve Harris. Gutted, want a sparkly bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted December 8, 2013 Share Posted December 8, 2013 [quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1386452128' post='2300399'] Never played a light Steve Harris. Gutted, want a sparkly bass. [/quote] The weight is what's put me off buying one. 13lbs is [i]ludicrous[/i]. But then I have upwards of 5 'slipped' (i.e. prolapsed) discs..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telebass Posted December 8, 2013 Share Posted December 8, 2013 (edited) The Precision I recently put together from mix and matching all my Fenders and Squiers creeps in at a shade UNDER 7lb. It's so light that the MIM Fender/Mighty Mite 8.7lb backup feels like it's made of lead! Edited December 8, 2013 by Telebass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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