Weight Of The Bass

[bubinga5]

16 minutes ago, Muzz said:

This. I had a 70s Jazz which weighed a sniff short of 12lbs and sounded dead and brown, all my basses are very very good, and there isn’t one heavier than 9lb. My Dingwall’s the lightest at 7lb 8oz, and is the most resonant of the lot.

There’s waaayyyy too many factors like materials and build quality (and that’s before the pups and eq) to call weight as a major factor.

i know standing around for a couple of hours with  several pounds more than I want round my neck is a huge factor, tho...

12lbs. I could do that sitting in a studio playing, but I really couldn't play a bass that heavy for 2 hours standing. ..This thing sounds like a modern Jazz bass, epic East pre, I just love what it can do. Light weight Jazz for me. Sounds like a Jazz should when in passive.. The sound that comes from this when slapped and popped in active just sounds epic..Has quite a flat radius, so really good for chords etc. Blows the Sadowsky RV5 I had away.  Bartolini's with an East pre are a winning combo ... imo

Edited December 9, 2018 by bubinga5

[discreet]

15 minutes ago, Muzz said:

...standing around for a couple of hours with several pounds more than I want round my neck is a huge factor...

Well it is, but bear in mind she can usually be bribed with cake.

[Muzz]

9 minutes ago, bubinga5 said:

12lbs. I could do that sitting in a studio playing, but I really couldn't play a bass that heavy for 2 hours standing. ..This thing sounds like a modern Jazz bass, epic East pre, I just love what it can do. Light weight Jazz for me. Sounds like a Jazz should when in passive.. The sound that comes from this when slapped and popped in active just sounds epic..Has quite a flat radius, so really good for chords etc. Blows the Sadowsky RV5 I had away.  Bartolini's with an East pre are a winning combo ... imo

I have an East pre in all four of my gigging basses...no coincidence, that 😀

[chris_b]

30 minutes ago, bubinga5 said:

Bartolini's with an East pre are a winning combo ...

I've been listening to someone using Barts with an East pre. One of the best bass sounds I've heard.

 

PS I'm getting pretty close with my Sadowsky J5

Edited December 9, 2018 by chris_b

[bubinga5]

Don't know how Mr East does it, but he's very clever. Ive always loved Bartolini's.Yes Im a DR and Bartolini fan boy. Has anyone ever wondered why the top boutique maker's put Barts in there basses.? Just wondering.

Edited December 9, 2018 by bubinga5

[Happy Jack]

4 hours ago, bubinga5 said:

12lbs. I could do that sitting in a studio playing, but I really couldn't play a bass that heavy for 2 hours standing. 

I can't do it sitting either, and yes - I've tried.

The weight of the bass cut off the circulation in my leg and it all went numb!

Seriously.

 

[Kevsy71]

8 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

Much better to take both basses into Earth orbit and A/B them in freefall. Weight disappears but mass remains. If the bass with greater mass still sounds 'better' (for a given definition of 'better') then you have the opportunity to start a whole new argument!

Another budget option just tested: my son plays bass too and is 2/3 my weight, so my bass is heavier on him than it is on me. We took turns playing the same riff and he sounded miles better. Ergo, heavier basses are better.  

[Happy Jack]

Ah yes, the The Bassic Theory Of Relativity, in which the relative weight of a bass can only be tested by your relatives. 

[Sparky Mark]

We're all getting older and weaker. We all know ceramic speaker loaded cabs, heavy iron amps and anchor weight basses sound best but balsar wood basses, class D heads and neo cabs are the latest fad. I remember when bass players were real men not a bunch of feeble bodied whiners. 

[chris_b]

2 hours ago, Kevsy71 said:

Another budget option just tested: my son plays bass too and is 2/3 my weight, so my bass is heavier on him than it is on me. We took turns playing the same riff and he sounded miles better. Ergo, heavier basses are better.  

Or the actual reason. . . he's a better bass player than you are!

[ambient]

The Overwater 7 string was something like 7.5kg. A huge sound.

[floFC]

Stumbled on that video yesterday. Anybody seen it? That's got to be the ultimate A/B test, anyone care to try with a bass?

 

[thepurpleblob]

I have a five string (USA) Lakland and it's both very light and sounds amazing. The down side is that at well over £2K it was far too expensive. 

However, all round it doesn't leave me unable to get out of bed the next day due to a locked-up back so it was probably worth it. 

[Japhet]

20 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

Much better to take both basses into Earth orbit and A/B them in freefall. Weight disappears but mass remains. If the bass with greater mass still sounds 'better' (for a given definition of 'better') then you have the opportunity to start a whole new argument!

What amp and cab would you recommend for this Jack? I'd say an SVT and an 8x10. Bit tricky recording it though.

[ped]

41 minutes ago, Japhet said:

What amp and cab would you recommend for this Jack? I'd say an SVT and an 8x10. Bit tricky recording it though.

I'd use a wireless connected to someone in a listening station studio on Planet Earth. Cape Canaveral is set up for just such a mission.

[Paul S]

7 minutes ago, ped said:

I'd use a wireless connected to someone in a listening station studio on Planet Earth. Cape Canaveral is set up for just such a mission.

There might be a bit of a latency issue.  Best not use Hound dog.

[bassbiscuits]

I've switched to lighter basses over the last few years (40 is now a distant memory...) and annoyingly the two basses I'd been using that were dead heavy were also great sounding ( a P and a J bass ).

But a bit of trial and error has ended up with me having three basses now all under 3.9kg and all big and full sounding, regardless of their weight.

Weight is one thing, but not everything.

[Paul S]

Can only echo what others have said.  My current squeeze is a Mah-roose-chick 5 string Precision that weighs in at 3.6kg and the tone is everything I could possibly want from a Precision bass.

[B.Flat]

I find all these views of my initial post interesting. The reason I posted in the first place is that I have a 3.6kg and a 4.9kg bass. I love 'em both, I eq them for "my tone", they are great....however they are different, niether can emulate the other. I accept that there are all the usual variables at play, but the heavy one seems to have a more focused, fundamental "presence" in all registers. But this is most noticeable when I switch instruments, after a minute or so the notes played become more important than the tone.

So, those of you who traded down in weight, did you A/B the released heavy against the received light weight in a prolonged and meaningful way ?

Please excuse the verbal you-know -what,  got to go now Matron says it's tea time...............................

[SubsonicSimpleton]

Do both basses have identical neck construction?

Given that the neck is much less stiff than the body, it has a much bigger potential influence over the sound.

[LeftyP]

I started a thread on this forum in early October about the weight of bass guitars and why the manufacturers or dealers don't specify the weights of the instruments.  I've just changed my bass for a lighter model because I have back trouble and even my 9lb Chowny was too much for me after a short while.  My new Italia Cavo (semi-hollow) bass is around 7lb and sounds good with flat wound strings.  It also is much kinder to my 68 year old spine than the Chowny.  I loved the Chowny but my back didn't appreciate its mass.

 

[Muzz]

22 hours ago, B.Flat said:

So, those of you who traded down in weight, did you A/B the released heavy against the received light weight in a prolonged and meaningful way ?

Yep - I had several other basses at the time, and the weight was not a factor in any meaningful way. In fact every time I've let a heavier bass go, I've never compromised tone or sustain to do it. In the case of the boat anchor 70s Jazz, quite the reverse. As somebody stated above, there are good and bad basses which are heavier and lighter; I have simply chosen the lighter ones which are at least as good as the heavier ones, if not better.

[Leonard Smalls]

Certainly in the topsy turvy world of rock and roll, having a good solid piece of wood in your hand is quite often useful.

[Muzz]

Wise words from Mr Ian Faith...

[BigRedX]

23 hours ago, B.Flat said:

I find all these views of my initial post interesting. The reason I posted in the first place is that I have a 3.6kg and a 4.9kg bass. I love 'em both, I eq them for "my tone", they are great....however they are different, niether can emulate the other. I accept that there are all the usual variables at play, but the heavy one seems to have a more focused, fundamental "presence" in all registers. But this is most noticeable when I switch instruments, after a minute or so the notes played become more important than the tone.

So, those of you who traded down in weight, did you A/B the released heavy against the received light weight in a prolonged and meaningful way ?

Please excuse the verbal you-know -what,  got to go now Matron says it's tea time...............................

But how many differences are there between these two basses other than their weight?

This is why the question IMO is mostly meaningless.

The heaviest bass I have owned (Yamaha) sounded good, but I own lighter basses that I think sound better. The lightest bass I have owned (Lightwave) sounded great but I suspect that was down almost entirely to the pickup and electronics than anything to do with the weight. Also there is very little point in comparing the two as about the only things they had in common was that they were mostly made out of wood.