Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Weight of basses


Telebass
 Share

Recommended Posts

[quote name='Horizontalste' timestamp='1406373582' post='2510986']
Weight has never been a problem for me (although I understand it is for many), I'm yet to play a bass that's uncomfortable because of how heavy it is.
[/quote]

Neither had I until I owned an Alembic Europa 6 string which weighed a ton. Most of the time I play sitting down so it didn't bother me that much either but it played on my mind I suppose. I have to say I really don't worry about the weight of a bass now.

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/pedullaman/media/Vigier%20and%20Alembic/alembic1.jpg.html][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/pedullaman/Vigier%20and%20Alembic/alembic1.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok I've had a go at this using an average of several wildly varying readings for each bass from a rather unreliable set of luggage scales...

Wal MK3 Six String - 10.4lb
Peterbuilt fretless Jazz - 10.0lb
Fender MIJ Jazz - 9.2lb
Moollon P - 8.6lb

Surprised at the weight of the Peterbuilt...

They all balance just fine though which I would find more of an issue than the weight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1406398893' post='2511238']
The problem is that real wood is a natural material. The density of the specific piece of wood, the closeness of the grain and sizes of knots etc all affect the weight.

If only...
[/quote]Careful Granger, you are close to straying into "Tonewood Debate" territory. I will pile in full force though. It is the density of the wood, not the species that affects the tone. However with magnetic pickups it is only a small part of the tone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think I remember by Peavey T-40 nearly hitting 12lbs. At least 1lb of that was the bridge, the pickups were weighty, body large and no cut aways. Heaviest bass i've ever had.

Conversely my Cort GB75 feels like a feather (same body/neck wood as the T-40), I'll try and weigh it to give some comparison.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1461741359' post='3037186']
Careful Granger, you are close to straying into "Tonewood Debate" territory. I will pile in full force though. It is the density of the wood, not the species that affects the tone. However with magnetic pickups it is only a small part of the tone.
[/quote]
But if you have 2 basses made by the same CNC machine, finished with the same pups, pots bridge and other fittings, but they sound different, what do you have left that's making the difference?

Setup does account for a lot of course. But if there are no intangible differences other than a tweek of the bridge, why do folk bother owning more than 1 precision bass with the same strings?

But back on the subject. I've worked in the wood industry. Different planks of the same timber don't all weigh the same.

Edited by Grangur
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found my Fender Jazz V got really heavy after a while, may be its an age thing - they feel heavier the older we are!- so I bought the Spectorcore semi hollow 5 to try and compensate. It feels loads more comfortable but it's not that much lighter, the Fender is 10lbs the Spector is 8.2lbs. May be the design and balance have a lot to do with it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the interests of international appeal; could I suggest that weights are also given in Kgs?

I'm in the UK and in my 50s; but even I went metric a few years ago. ;)

I'll set the ball rolling with these 3....

Westone Thunder III = 10.18lb / 4.62Kg
Ibanez SR600 = 7.49lb / 3.40Kg
Spector ReBop DLX FM 5-string = 9.56lb / 4.34Kg

Edited by Krysbass
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Adjusted for continentalness:
[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1461682896' post='3036710']
Wal Pro 2E - 4.43kg
Bitsa P bass - 4.34kg
Sire V7 5-string - 4.29kg
Shuker custom 5-string - 4.03kg
Yamaha RBX765A - 3.6kg
OLP Ray - 3.97kg
Ibanez BTB 6-string - 4.43kg
Tanglewood acoustic bass - 2.53kg
[/quote]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1461753083' post='3037295']
But if you have 2 basses made by the same CNC machine, finished with the same pups, pots bridge and other fittings, but they sound different, what do you have left that's making the difference?

Setup does account for a lot of course. But if there are no intangible differences other than a tweek of the bridge, why do folk bother owning more than 1 precision bass with the same strings?

But back on the subject. I've worked in the wood industry. Different planks of the same timber don't all weigh the same.
[/quote] You have it in the last sentence. The variation in density is what affects tone. So if two identical bodies weighed the same, but were from different species, the would sound the same (with the same neck).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

'96 USA F. Jazz 5 string = 10lb. I now find this too heavy for longer than about half an hour even with a 4in wide leather strap.
Spector Spectorcore semi hollow 5 string = 8.5lbs, but this feels much lighter and can be played for relatively long periods without strain.
Is this something to do with design and balance? I know it's sacrilege to suggest a Jazz bass might not be perfectly designed but what do others think?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

I weighed all of mine the other day, as i've got a bit of a bad shoulder at the mo and figured the weight wasn't helping.

I ended up selling on two of my MIA Fenders just cos they were really getting a bit too heavy for me (at 4.2kg and 4.3kg)

Current crop is:

Fender 1970 P bass - 3.8kg
Mike Lull PJ4 - 3.5kg
Epiphone Jack Casady - 3.6kg

Hopefully that's my lot, as i'm skint now! The rest are six string guitars, which are all sub 3.6kg so no probs there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 years later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...