Weight of basses

[ped]

I'm going to have to weigh mine before she gets home and catches me. I will weigh Sybil, too. Last time she was 9.5kg just for your info lol

[ped]

Bass is only 6.6lbs/3kg and Sybil is 9.8Kg

[ped]

[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]

[CamdenRob]

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.

[Chienmortbb]

Firstly, what are these lbs things?

Secondly, even if the scales are not really accurate, the comparisons between basses are valid.

[Chienmortbb]

[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.

[Machines]

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.

[hubrad]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1461703317' post='3037000']

They all balance just fine though which I would find more of an issue than the weight.
[/quote]
Nail>>head. :-)

[Grangur]

[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 April 27, 2016 by Grangur

[Grahambythesea]

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.

[bonzodog]

Played a JHs vintage jazz for ages at 9.5lbs and could not believe the difference when I bought a squier VM 77 jazz. Just over 7lbs. Feels like it's floating when I play it.

Edited April 27, 2016 by bonzodog

[DarkHeart]

Ive just bought a 2nd hand Ibanez ATK200 and it weighs about as much as the Isle of Man!

[Krysbass]

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 May 1, 2016 by Krysbass

[Rich]

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]

[ped]

3kg

[Chienmortbb]

[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).

[Grahambythesea]

'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?

[bassbiscuits]

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.

[Slick Bass]

4 Stringers
 

Tanglewood Rebel 4K - 3.1kg

Washburn Bantam  -  3.2kg

Maverick Nemesis - 4kg

[chris_b]

My Sadowsky Metro RV5 Jazz is 4.3kg, sadly, these days that's right on my upper limit. My Mike Lull PJ5 is a more gig friendly 3.8kg.

2 set gigs get the Metro. For 3 set gigs I have to use the Lull.