Weight

[Lozz196]

It’s funny how the same instruments can vary so much in this respect, I had a 78 Precision in yellowing Oly White/Rosewood which weighed 10.5lbs, a mate of mine had the exact same bass/year of manufacture, 13.5lbs.

[4000]

2 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

It’s funny how the same instruments can vary so much in this respect, I had a 78 Precision in yellowing Oly White/Rosewood which weighed 10.5lbs, a mate of mine had the exact same bass/year of manufacture, 13.5lbs.

That’s wood for you!

[4000]

5 hours ago, neepheid said:

In the height of my Gibson pomp I was regularly playing a 12lb+ Victory Artist and RD Artist.  A wide, cushioned strap can take you a long way

Not when you’ve got several prolapsed intervertebral discs it can’t. 😉

 

Once upon a time I had basses that weighed 12, 13 lbs and never even noticed. Post prolapses, if I put my 10lb Wal or Alembic on both my legs went completely numb, which is why I sold them. I could have had a strap 4 feet wide and made of helium and it wouldn’t have helped. 

[MothMan]

I've got 10 basses, of which I know the exact weight of one of them. The Mothman weighs in at 15.05lbs. If I remember to put new batteries in my fish scale I'll weigh the rest of the bunch and post results later.

[Hellzero]

A friend of mine had a glorious heavy ash period late 70's Fender Jazz Bass weighting 7.5 kilos (16.53 lbs). I weighted it, because I couldn't believe a four strings bass could be that heavy. Delirious. 🤦‍♂️

[Paul S]

5 hours ago, 4000 said:

Not when you’ve got several prolapsed intervertebral discs it can’t. 😉

 

Once upon a time I had basses that weighed 12, 13 lbs and never even noticed. Post prolapses, if I put my 10lb Wal or Alembic on both my legs went completely numb, which is why I sold them. I could have had a strap 4 feet wide and made of helium and it wouldn’t have helped. 

 

And there's the thing right there.  The weight of a bass isn't an issue right up until it becomes THE issue.  Balance, wide strap, playing stance, core exerises, pilates, yoga all help mitigate the effect of wearing a heavy bass but once you have a back problem the first question you ask is 'Can you please accuratley weigh this bass?' 

[scrumpymike]

I'm now a fully paid-up member of the light brigade and mine are all in the 3.5-4kg bracket - all s-s btw.  The heaviest basses I had and gigged for years were a pair of Gibson Les Paul Triumphs, which were perfectly balanced on the strap.  Don't know the actual weight because, as already stated, weight isn't an issue until it becomes a problem.

 

Edited August 8, 2021 by scrumpymike

[ezbass]

6 minutes ago, scrumpymike said:

I'm now a fully paid-up member of the light brigade and mine are all in the 3.5-4kg bracket - all s-s btw.  The heaviest basses I had and gigged for years were a pair of Gibson Les Paul Triumphs, which were perfectly balanced on the strap.  Don't know the actual weight because, as already stated, weight isn't an issue until it becomes a problem.

 

My heaviest bass is my only SS (Mustang), weighing in at 3.8kg. The lightest is my 35” scale five string that tips the scales at a fraction over 3kg. Go figure.

[TheGreek]

2 minutes ago, ezbass said:

The lightest is my 35” scale five string that tips the scales at a fraction over 3kg. Go figure.

 

Tell us more....

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

Ah, my favourite Rollins album….

 

 

….I’ll get my coat 🤪

[Lozz196]

5 hours ago, Hellzero said:

A friend of mine had a glorious heavy ash period late 70's Fender Jazz Bass weighting 7.5 kilos (16.53 lbs). I weighted it, because I couldn't believe a four strings bass could be that heavy. Delirious. 🤦‍♂️

This really needs an “astounded emoji”

 

Or a button so that Uncle Albert from Only Fools & Horses can do his shocked face.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

6 hours ago, Hellzero said:

A friend of mine had a glorious heavy ash period late 70's Fender Jazz Bass weighting 7.5 kilos (16.53 lbs). I weighted it, because I couldn't believe a four strings bass could be that heavy. Delirious. 🤦‍♂️

Yes, I can't quite get my head around that. Doesn't seem possible, but I believe you 🤷‍♂️

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I tried to weigh my '81 Ash precsion once but it broke the scales

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

My lightest bass at the moment is this Fender 'Dusty Hill' Custom Shop Gold Top at 7.98 lbs. A beautiful slab body P with a lovely J neck. Fender Custom Shop at it's best right there.

 

 

My heaviest, by some margin actually, is this Alembic Spyder at 12.4 lbs. I don't take this one out as the bass in its case is not only huge, but the whole things weighs well over twice what the bass alone weighs.

If there was a sufficiently safe alternative to transporting this around, I might be tempted to rehearse with it occasionally since my rock covers band now has a Who track in the set 😂.

 

 

A normal bass case on top of the Spyder case which I think must be lined with lead or similar.

 

 

Below that weight, I have a couple of NAMM Stingrays that are both 10.5 lbs give or take a couple of ounces

 

 

The rest of my basses are in what I would class as the generally acceptable 8/9 lb weight bracket.

For me balance is more important than weight as I count myself fortunate in not having any issues with my back.

[AndyTravis]

30 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

 

 

 

 

Greedy that 😉

[ezbass]

3 hours ago, TheGreek said:

 

Tell us more....

Left to to right: 3.8kg, 3.0kg, 3.3kg, 3.2kg (rounded up or down).

 

Edited August 8, 2021 by ezbass

[CPCustomdubwise]

17 hours ago, AndyTravis said:

I’ll play, been a while…

 

Bb424x white 10lbs

Bb424x red 9.5lbs

bb414 orange 10lbs

bb350f white 9.5lbs

tune tjx4 - 7.3lbs.

 

and the rest are out of reach so 🤷🏻‍♂️😉

So !!

White paint is 0.5lb heavier than red paint !!

Does this mean it's tone paint ?

[AndyTravis]

10 minutes ago, CPCustomdubwise said:

So !!

White paint is 0.5lb heavier than red paint !!

Does this mean it's tone paint ?

Hmm, .5lb variance in 2 bits of alder…🤷🏻‍♂️, both a little heavier than stock due to bridge upgrade…

[CPCustomdubwise]

Quite so....It was more a not-especially-witty-at-all facetious allusion to the heated internet debates that can arise from the quest to establish where tone comes from.

Apologies if it came across as smartarsey.

[Old Horse Murphy]

I've always been certain that for me to be comfortable, a Bass needs to weigh under 9 1/2 pounds but in all honesty have never recorded the weight of my current basses. Until now:

 

My main P Bass- 9lbs 2oz

American Pro II P Bass- 8lbs 5oz

Fretless- 9lbs 2oz

Music Man Stingray 5 Special- 9lbs

 

None of them are quite as light as I thought, but none cause me any issues at all. Still, maybe I can handle a bit more weight than I realised. I've certainly had basses that weighed significantly more than my current crop (including a 78 P Bass that must've been at least 11 1/2lbs) but they must have been heavier than I thought, given that my black P bass was always my yardstick. 
 

 

Edited September 14, 2021 by Old Horse Murphy

[bartelby]

Fender Steve Harris P - 10.6 lbs

HB 5 String PJ - 10.6 lbs

Aria Pro II SB B&G - 10.5 lbs

Fender/Status Fretless PJ - 10.4 lbs

Aria Pro II SB Elite I - 10.4 lbs

Warwick Corvette (defretted) - 10 lbs

JV Squier P - 8.7 lbs

 

Playing the JV Squier after the others is almost like having a rest...

 

Edited August 8, 2021 by bartelby

[Reggaebass]

4 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I have a couple of NAMM Stingrays 

 

 

 

Those are great looking stingrays hiram 

[AndyTravis]

25 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Those are great looking stingrays hiram 

One of them is mine…

 

*COUGH* 

 

😩

[horrorshowbass]

On 07/08/2021 at 14:14, TheGreek said:

I thought that basses over 9.5 LBs were unusable???

Only on basschat apparently 

[AndyTravis]

2 hours ago, CPCustomdubwise said:

Quite so....It was more a not-especially-witty-at-all facetious allusion to the heated internet debates that can arise from the quest to establish where tone comes from.

Apologies if it came across as smartarsey.

Sorry, replied while at a dinner party In a gazebo while the Manchester “summer” was in full swing.

 

I didn’t think it was smartarsey mate at all. Apologies if my reply seemed terse - was trying to remain interested in the 100th time I’ve heard an anecdote about a 12 hour flight delay to a funeral in Ireland and the hilarious scramble to get there in time to find it was the next day…🙄

 

My wife tells it well, but even this time she looked pained as Mother in law pushed her to tell it again…