roonjuice Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 There, I said it.... I'm good with a 16lb'er........ 1 Quote
CamdenRob Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 I would say they don’t bother me rather than I actively like them... Given a straight choice between two otherwise identical basses, going for the lighter one is a no brainier. Quote
Kev Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 Tone. Every lightweight bass sounds like a lightweight bass. There is something special in the lows/low mids with a heavy body with a good dense bit of wood. 2 Quote
wateroftyne Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 5 minutes ago, Kev said: Tone. Every lightweight bass sounds like a lightweight bass. There is something special in the lows/low mids with a heavy body with a good dense bit of wood. You haven't heard any of mine, then. One of my bands is currently doing 2 x 1hr+ sets. I'd be permanently bent double if I'd used heavyweights. 2 Quote
hooky_lowdown Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 1 hour ago, Kev said: Tone. Every lightweight bass sounds like a lightweight bass. There is something special in the lows/low mids with a heavy body with a good dense bit of wood. I have an 11lb ash body p bass with flats which sounds lightweight, lack of lows/low mids compared to my 7lb basswood body with half rounds, which has tonnes of low-end and growl. My experience is that some basses and strings go together, and some just don't work, weight doesn't seem to be a factor, imho. 4 Quote
fretmeister Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 2 hours ago, Kev said: Tone. Every lightweight bass sounds like a lightweight bass. There is something special in the lows/low mids with a heavy body with a good dense bit of wood. My Sandberg Superlight sounds better than any heavy Fender Jazz I've ever had, and I've had a few. 1 Quote
Beer of the Bass Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 I have one at 12lbs that I'll pull out now and again, but 3 hour rehearsals are no fun with it. Quote
Kev Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 1 hour ago, fretmeister said: My Sandberg Superlight sounds better than any heavy Fender Jazz I've ever had, and I've had a few. ...my bad. Remove Fender from the equation 😂 2 Quote
Paul S Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 3 hours ago, Kev said: Tone. Every lightweight bass sounds like a lightweight bass. There is something special in the lows/low mids with a heavy body with a good dense bit of wood. I think that is nonsense, to be honest. I've had more than my fair share crap heavy basses and currently own some superb lightweight ones. 4 Quote
Deedee Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 I personally prefer basses that have a bit of weight to them purely for how they feel on the strap. However as far as tone/sounds go, my 8.5lb Stingray Special sounds just as immense as my 12lb Aria SB-R150. Not sure I'd fancy 16lbs much though. 😮 Quote
chris_b Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 6 hours ago, roonjuice said: I'm good with a 16lb'er........ That's great. Blokes like us need blokes like you to sell our old basses to. 1 8 Quote
Lozz196 Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 Anything less than 8lbs and I feel like I’m playing some form of fragile toy. I suppose I’m lucky really, current band never likely to do more than an hours set, and even then thats not a regular occurrence, so 9lb basses not that much of a problem. Don’t miss the weight of my 10.5lb 70s Precisions though. 2 Quote
Kev Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 3 hours ago, Paul S said: I think that is nonsense, to be honest. I've had more than my fair share crap heavy basses and currently own some superb lightweight ones. I didn’t mention crap. I said that lightweight basses sound lightweight. The resonance is different, naturally, and the deader deeper tone of a heavy bass can’t be quite replicated, in my opinion. But no, not crap, wasn’t even implied (my main gigging bass I would class as lightweight) Quote
Kev Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 (edited) 7 hours ago, wateroftyne said: You haven't heard any of mine, then. One of my bands is currently doing 2 x 1hr+ sets. I'd be permanently bent double if I'd used heavyweights. I haven’t, what is it about your basses that makes them sound “heavy”? I’d be interested if our definitions are the same. Edited September 10, 2019 by Kev Quote
wateroftyne Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 Just now, Kev said: I haven’t, what is it about your basses that sounds “heavy”? I’d be interested if our definitions are the same. I think you're the one with some explaining to do 🙂 1 Quote
Kev Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 1 minute ago, wateroftyne said: I think you're the one with some explaining to do 🙂 Huh? Quote
wateroftyne Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 Just now, Kev said: Huh? OK. I've been playing bass for 30 years. Heavy ones, light ones. Some have sounded authoritative, rich and ballsy. Some sounded like lettuce leaves being thrown at a bean bag. There's been absolutely no correlation with regards to weight. The ones I have now are on the lighter side, and they sound like the former. That's my take on it. 1 Quote
Al Krow Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Lozz196 said: Anything less than 8lbs and I feel like I’m playing some form of fragile toy. I suppose I’m lucky really, current band never likely to do more than an hours set, and even then that's not a regular occurrence, so 9lb basses not that much of a problem. Don’t miss the weight of my 10.5lb 70s Precisions though. Why do I find myself invariably agreeing with everything you say Mr 196? Must be our age... 😉 We similarly never do more than an hour long single set, although we often do 2 x 1 hours during the course of a gig. Weirdly I actually notice the weight more at home when practising than during a gig. Guess I can put that down to the adrenaline kick + fun of playing live. I do enjoy the lightness of my Ibbys which are a delight to play over a long set. But equally would love not to be denied the opportunity to play some wonderful heavier basses. Currently trying to square the circle by exploring double shoulder straps to lighten the load on the put-upon ol' left shoulder. Edited September 10, 2019 by Al Krow 1 Quote
Kev Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 2 minutes ago, wateroftyne said: OK. I've been playing bass for 30 years. Heavy ones, light ones. Some have sounded authoritative, rich and ballsy. Some sounded like lettuce leaves being thrown at a bean bag. There's been absolutely no correlation with regards to weight. The ones I have now are on the lighter side, and they sound like the former. That's my take on it. Okay, fair enough! Given your own sweeping generalisations on Class D amplification, I’m sure you can forgive a little stereotyping elsewhere It’s just my experience, I’m yet to find a lightweight (sub 8lb) bass that has the depth in tone that a 10lb + bass tends to have. I am sure there are exceptions, clearly from this thread alone, but there you go. Sounds like you have 20 years on me 😂 Quote
wateroftyne Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 Just now, Kev said: Okay, fair enough! Given your own sweeping generalisations on Class D amplification, I’m sure you can forgive a little stereotyping elsewhere It’s just my experience, I’m yet to find a lightweight (sub 8lb) bass that has the depth in tone that a 10lb + bass tends to have. I am sure there are exceptions, clearly from this thread alone, but there you go. Sounds like you have 20 years on me 😂 Yeah. The difference being I've played heavy basses which sound great, but I've yet to play a Class D that does (IMO etc.) 😄 Quote
CamdenRob Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 1 minute ago, wateroftyne said: Yeah. The difference being I've played heavy basses which sound great, but I've yet to play a Class D that does (IMO etc.) 😄 You haven’t heard any of mine then... 😉 1 Quote
wateroftyne Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 Just now, CamdenRob said: You haven’t heard any of mine then... 😉 No, I mustn't have. Quote
Al Krow Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 2 minutes ago, CamdenRob said: You haven’t heard any of mine then... 😉 Are you talking basses or D class amps now then?! 😀 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.