What do you consider an "acceptable" weight?

[bassbiscuits]

1 minute ago, chris_b said:

What have you got?

A MIJ Fender Mustang (3.5kg), a Fender Precision Bass (3.8kg) and a Yamaha BB604 (3.9kg). 

Ive had some SGC Nanyo Bass Collection basses before which were super light and comfy, and used to have a Mike Lull PJ4 which was about 3.7kg but i never really got on with the sound. 

It's all about the balance too - I had a Jack Casady Bass that was only about 3.6kg but the weight was all in the neck and headstock, making it feel cumbersome despite not actually being heavy. 

[pete.young]

You all need to man up. I used to have a tenor banjo that weighed 12.5 Kg.

[Happy Jack]

Amazed that this thread has reached p.2 without mentioning Hofners. A 500/1 Violin bass weighs less than 6lbs if German-made, less than 7lbs if a Far East model.

For myself, I've found Mike Lull to be the Holy Grail of lightweight, high-quality basses, especially if (like me) you prefer a 35" scale in a fiver.

If I played only 4-string basses then I'd never have moved on from my SGC Nanyo Bass Collection SB320.

 

[MikanHannille]

3.5-4.5kgs.

[Paul S]

7 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

Amazed that this thread has reached p.2 without mentioning Hofners. A 500/1 Violin bass weighs less than 6lbs if German-made, less than 7lbs if a Far East model.

 

Don't think Hofners do a 5er, do they?  

[stingrayPete1977]

The two worst basses I've ever played were also the lightest, a Ric and a Thunderbird, spending all night stopping the headstock wanting to head to the floor have me more back ache and wrist ache than a previous 13lb Stingray 5 I once owned.

[dmccombe7]

Sticking with just my 4 string basses.

My Warwick Thumb NT is a bit heavy and not sure i could do a full 2hr set with it. Think it weighs 4.5Kg 

My Fender basses are fine. Jazz is heavier than my PJ. No idea what weight is tho but full gigs are never a prob.

My recent purchase Sandberg VM4 is brilliant. Think its about 3.9Kg.

Dave

Edited December 20, 2019 by dmccombe7

[Guest]

Given there is so much choice nowadays why put up with a bass that is heavy? There are so many really nice lightweight basses. For me anything under 4Kg is good but the real issue is headstock dive - I took the std Fender tuners off my Japanese P bass and replaced with Hipshot Ultralites. It took about 350g off the headstock and the bass felt about 1-1.5Kgs lighter, and much more comfortable to play. My Dimension V’s are about 4.4Kgs each, wondering whether the Fender deluxe tuners are much heavier than Ultralites as if so, I may swap out with the Y key equivalents (personally I find the elephant ear tuners look far too large on the Dimension anyway).

I once had a Wal Mk3 6-string made whilst Pete was still alive (RIP) - beautiful looking bass, but it weighed in at 5.9Kgs! After one 3 hour gig it was up for sale within the week. It was a long time ago but I think it went for £1,350. If only I’d kept it...

[dmccombe7]

Had a Dingwall NG2 5 string that weighed 8.75 lbs (approx 4Kg) Had no probs with that on a long session. Well balanced too.

[Deedee]

Between 9 and 10lbs is my ideal although my Aria SB-R150 is almost 12lbs but so well balanced it doesn't feel that heavy.

Any lighter than my Stingray Special (at 8lbs 6oz) is too light for me.

EDIT - Although if my long lusted after Status came in at under that weight, I'd learn to live with it.

Edited December 20, 2019 by Deedee
With the exception of.....

[Painy]

I'm lucky enough not to have to worry  too much about the weight of a bass right now - it would probably have to be about 12-13lbs plus before or bothered me even on a long gig. That could obviously all change in future. 

Anything under 8lbs just feels too insubstantial to me though. 

[fretmeister]

On 18/12/2019 at 23:12, ambient said:

The 5 string I’m selling seems incredibly light to me, it’s 9lbs, with a chambered body. I don’t see how you’d get one lighter.

Sandberg Superlight TT5 can be under 8lb. No chambering.

 

[fretmeister]

My main bass is a Sandberg Superlight TT4

It's about 2.9kg / 6.4lb.

My Precision is 7 3/4 lb

My Stingray5 is 8.8 lb - although I have modded that

 

I won't go any heavier than the ray, and I only play that occasionally. No 3 hour shows for that. My post surgery problems won't allow it.

I also won't buy any new bass over 8lb no matter how good it might be. Too painful. 

[Monkey Steve]

On 20/12/2019 at 10:30, FDC484950 said:

I once had a Wal Mk3 6-string made whilst Pete was still alive (RIP) - beautiful looking bass, but it weighed in at 5.9Kgs! After one 3 hour gig it was up for sale within the week. It was a long time ago but I think it went for £1,350. If only I’d kept it...

Around the turn of the century I had a chat in a bar with Pete about this very subject.  He was annoyed about a recent review they'd had which complained about the weight of the bass (I can't remember which model it was, although I was buying a Mk II five string so it may have been one of those).  His response was that the sound of the bass at least partly came from the mahogany core, and that's how much mahogany weighs so if you want a Wal you're going to have to put up with it!

Edited December 24, 2019 by Monkey Steve

[phil.c60]

My tuppence worth, straight from the bathroom scales......!

My main gigging bass, Hot Rod Precision (1999 Natural Ash) 7.5 lbs, Warwick Star Bass (Chinese) a shade over 8 lbs, G&L L2000 (USA, Natural Ash) 8.25 lbs, Precision Bass (1996 Tobacco Sunburst) 9lbs. 

I rarely (if ever) gig with the Tobacco Precision because the difference in weight  is really noticeable compared to the Hot Rod. I had neck surgery 18 months ago which has left me with some residual droop and weakness in my right shoulder (the shoulder it hangs from as I'm left handed) so it makes a huge difference over a two or three hour gig. The interesting thing is I had never weighed the Star bass before, and thought it would be the lightest as it's chambered and it feels very light in the hand. Just goes to show!

Even though the Hot Rod is very light, it sounds good to me and I get regular comments from other people that it sounds good.

[4000]

6 hours ago, Monkey Steve said:

Around the turn of the century I had a chat in a bar with Pete about this very subject.  He was annoyed about a recent review they'd had which complained about the weight of the bass (I can't remember which model it was, although I was buying a Mk II five string so it may have been one of those).  His response was that the sound of the bass at least partly came from the mahogany core, and that's how much mahogany weighs so if you want a Wal you're going to have to put up with it!

Not much use if you can’t though! He obviously can’t have had back problems. 

[Stub Mandrel]

My Thunder 1 is supposedly about 10lbs and is noticeably heavier than my others.

Fortunately my 'dodgy' shoulder is the right (it moans if I wear a rucksack ever since I was in my 20s) but my left seems to manage anything (touch wood).

[Guest]

4 hours ago, 4000 said:

Not much use if you can’t though! He obviously can’t have had back problems. 

He didn’t play bass. Odd too as Ibanez uses mahogany on the premium sound gears and they’re not very heavy - but then again the body on a Wal is probably substantially larger.

[4000]

37 minutes ago, FDC484950 said:

He didn’t play bass. Odd too as Ibanez uses mahogany on the premium sound gears and they’re not very heavy - but then again the body on a Wal is probably substantially larger.

I know he didn’t. I chatted to him once. But odd, and rather short-sighted, not to be aware that it could be an issue for some of his potential customers. Still, my experience is generally that nobody takes it seriously until it happens to them, sadly. In many cases, it’s a life changer. 

Mahogany isn’t generally considered to be heavy, on average. Typically lighter than maple, rosewood etc. Yes, Les Pauls can be heavy, but they have a pretty thick body. A solid maple or rosewood LP would be likely to be a fair bit heavier. 

 

[Paul S]

10 hours ago, 4000 said:

 

Mahogany isn’t generally considered to be heavy, on average. Typically lighter than maple, rosewood etc. Yes, Les Pauls can be heavy, but they have a pretty thick body. A solid maple or rosewood LP would be likely to be a fair bit heavier. 

 

Indeed my Les Paul Jnr DC bass is around 7.5lbs and that is a mahogany slab body, albeit a slim one.

[Stub Mandrel]

11 hours ago, Paul S said:

Indeed my Les Paul Jnr DC bass is around 7.5lbs and that is a mahogany slab body, albeit a slim one.

I've come across two or three LP's  (copies and most recently an Epi) that clearly had chambered bodies... filled with depleted uranium pellets.

[chris_b]

The reason Wal preferred using a mahogany core was the tone. It's a wood with a nice resonance and forms a great tone.

[Woodinblack]

I weighed mine today because of another post. 2 at 8.2lb, 1 at 8.8lb and one at 10.4lb

Didn't weigh the others, but they have to be in the same range I would think.

The 10.4lb is not great to do a 3 hour gig with, but I have done it (and felt if afterwards).

 

Edited December 26, 2019 by Woodinblack

[4000]

18 hours ago, chris_b said:

The reason Wal preferred using a mahogany core was the tone. It's a wood with a nice resonance and forms a great tone.

And yet their ash bodied basses tended, to me, to sound better. 😉

[chris_b]

7 hours ago, 4000 said:

And yet their ash bodied basses tended, to me, to sound better. 😉

. . . . and they would have been very happy to make you one. I bet it would have sounded excellent.