Lightweight basses under 6lbs?

[hooky_lowdown]

Due to back problems I'm looking to lighten the load with a lightweight bass, must be 6lbs or under, budget upto £300, used or new not bothered.

I'm thinking Hofner Ignition or Club or any Danelectro. But what else is out there???

Edited June 19, 2019 by hooky_lowdown

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Kala ubass, Mahalo STN2031B or similar mini-bass?

[chris_b]

Get one of those stands that Joe Dart uses in the Fearless Flyers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P-y0mD442I

 

[miles'tone]

There's a rumble cat for sale here actually. Good light basses. No affiliation with the seller BTW. 

 

[Marc S]

Good suggestion @miles'tone - that does look a nice bass   (I have no affiliation with the seller either)
@hooky_lowdown - Are you considering short scale, or even super short scale?
I recently picked up an Ibanez Mikro, to keep at the side of the sofa for noodling, and for travelling, acoustic pub jams (with battery amps)
It's very lightweight, and sounds absolutely amazing (you wouldn't know from the sound that it's such a short scale bass)

Other than that, anything acoustic. Like an Ibanez electro-acoustic. I had one a few years back. Sounded great (though you still need an amp for most live situations)
I only parted with it cos my son liked it so much  That was full scale, yet very lightweight

[hooky_lowdown]

@Marc S I know the Mikro is over 7lbs, so little too heavy.

Don't mind short or longscale, but no mini or travel basses please.

Is the rumble cat 6lbs or less? If so I may be interested.

[fretmeister]

The old Washburn acoustic basses were great and come up at about £250 used.

 

Have you got other instruments you can sell off? If you can then the lightest full scale solid body is probably the Sandberg Superlight TT4.

 

They vary of course, but they are 6.5 to 6.8lb most of the time. Superb instruments!

[Marc S]

39 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said:

@Marc S I know the Mikro is over 7lbs, so little too heavy.....

I'm not 100% sure that's correct @hooky_lowdown
I weighed mine at 3Kg on my new digital scales.... and that's the 5 string version (the scales seem very accurate, and were recommended by someone on BC)

If you are looking at super short scale my old Tanglewood Elfin weighed in at 2kg

[hooky_lowdown]

31 minutes ago, Marc S said:

I'm not 100% sure that's correct @hooky_lowdown
I weighed mine at 3Kg on my new digital scales.... and that's the 5 string version (the scales seem very accurate, and were recommended by someone on BC)

If you are looking at super short scale my old Tanglewood Elfin weighed in at 2kg

There are lots of reviews on the Mikro about, all say it comes in 7lbs and over. You must have an ultra light one!

 

Elfin is a mini bass, bit too small, I'm over 6ft so it'll look like a toy.

[Marc S]

1 hour ago, hooky_lowdown said:

There are lots of reviews on the Mikro about, all say it comes in 7lbs and over. You must have an ultra light one!

 

Elfin is a mini bass, bit too small, I'm over 6ft so it'll look like a toy.

Maybe the 5 string is made of a different material? But I wouldn't have thought so.... anyhow, it's definitely light
It's actually around the same scale as the Elfin. But the Elfin is 1 whole kg lighter. 
I'm also 6 feet tall - so yes, it does look small - but no one ever said anything "unkind" - some even thought it looked great
But it was a very pale (+ rather nice IMO) blue, which may add to it looking a bit toy-like to some....

If you don't want very short scale, and you don't want something like a Uke bass, it's definitely going to be a struggle for you to find something
I had a Hoffner Violin bass at one time. I really liked the sound from it, and it was lightweight and compact - but I struggled with the shape of the body. It tended to move about a lot. And I found it rather awkward to play, which I think was partly down to the sharp, bound edges. Also tried a Hofner "shorty" and I didn't get on with that at all, either standing or seated.

Sounds like you need an acoustic / semi-acoustic bass then? A chambered body bass like a Maruszczyk would set you back a lot more than your budget.
Good luck in your search - I'm interested to see what you opt for. I fully understand weight becoming an issue, due to my own advancing years
You spend years, saving for your ideal bass, few basses - only to find you can no longer play them!

[TheGreek]

I have a fretless Spectorcore...not sure if they're available fretted...would be ideal for you.

[warwickhunt]

Aria Sinsonidia

[chris_b]

If you back really won't hold up get one of these. . . .

[TheGreek]

Weight training with stools?? Or just carry it along with your other equipment?? 😉😉

 

[Ed_S]

Sticking with the Ibanez theme, last year I impulse-bought a GSR200b that I picked up by chance in the ex-demo section at my local. No idea why it was languishing - I couldn’t find a mark on it - but it was very light and had a great feeling neck with really nicely finished frets, so for £140ish I had to take a chance on it.

Despite my plans to swap the hardware and pickups for something more reassuringly expensive, when I actually got it home and put some decent strings on it, it turned out to sound really lively, stay in tune and be easy to adjust, so it’s staying exactly as it is!

I know it’s well under 3kg (2.7kg rings a bell but I’d need to confirm that) so cheap, decent, long scale and lightweight solid-body basses are out there, if somewhat rare.

[hooky_lowdown]

19 minutes ago, Ed_S said:

Sticking with the Ibanez theme, last year I impulse-bought a GSR200b that I picked up by chance in the ex-demo section at my local. No idea why it was languishing - I couldn’t find a mark on it - but it was very light and had a great feeling neck with really nicely finished frets, so for £140ish I had to take a chance on it.

Despite my plans to swap the hardware and pickups for something more reassuringly expensive, when I actually got it home and put some decent strings on it, it turned out to sound really lively, stay in tune and be easy to adjust, so it’s staying exactly as it is!

I know it’s well under 3kg (2.7kg rings a bell but I’d need to confirm that) so cheap, decent, long scale and lightweight solid-body basses are out there, if somewhat rare.

If you could confirm weight, that'll be most appreciated?

[mr4stringz]

8 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said:

@Marc S I know the Mikro is over 7lbs, so little too heavy.

Don't mind short or longscale, but no mini or travel basses please.

Is the rumble cat 6lbs or less? If so I may be interested.

Very briefly had an Allen Woody. I’d say over 7lbs, closer to 8, so probs not much use for you tbh. Nice basses though...

 

[AndyTravis]

Cant believe it’s actually under 7lbs. Thought it was about 7.5lbs

Edited June 11, 2019 by AndyTravis

[pete.young]

Quite challenging this. My Bass Collection SB310 is pretty light, but 7.8lbs according to my scales.

[Stub Mandrel]

Allegedly:

Squier VM Jaguar Short Scale Bass 2802 g / 6.18 lbs

My scales suggests nearer to 8.2lbs  but I'm not convinced of the accuracy of the 'weigh me/weigh me + bass' method.

[ikay]

My Hofner Club is 6lbs 10oz with a centre block so an Ignition is a good call being fully hollow. 

[Ed_S]

3 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said:

If you could confirm weight, that'll be most appreciated?

No probs at all! Just got home and had a check - it’s actually 2.85kg, so a little heavier than the figure I had in my head, but not far off.

[Aidan63]

This Hofner Galaxie, nothing to do with me, on ebay is just over 3kg according to the seller

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/183844409700?ul_noapp=true

the mini Jazz basses I had from DV247 were both about 3.4 Kg, the Precisions may be a little lighter

good luck with the hunt; 

[naxos10]

A Hofner Ignition Violin bass should be around the weight you are looking at hooky.

[Stub Mandrel]

For £100 might be worth getting this for rehearsal, even if you use something slightly bigger for gigging?