geoham Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 I've made a slightly surprising discovery this morning. Pre-lockdown, I was doing about 20-25 three hour gigs a year, and often had a bit of lower back pain the day after. During lockdown, I lost some weight and improved my fitness a bit - and had no back pain issues since returning to gigging. Until this weekend! I'd been using the P bass I built on a course with John Shuker exclusively recently. But for a change, I took out my old Mexican built Jazz on Saturday. I used a luggage scale to weigh my basses this morning - it turns out my P only weighs around 7.5lb, while the Jazz comes in at 9.5lb. Given both basses are made of alder, with a maple neck and rosewood fingerboard, I'm surprised at the 2lb weight difference. I guess it's mostly down to natural differences in the wood. Can we infer anything about the quality or (dare I say!) tone of wood from its weight? It's kind of got me gassing for a light-weight Jazz... the wife will be pleased I'm sure! George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Oh God ... he's lit the blue touchpaper ... 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ead Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 (edited) Now hiding behind the sofa... On the lightweight question, My ACG Alder bodied basses have been very light without exception. I think Mr C uses special helium infused Alder though. Edited April 6, 2022 by ead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartelby Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Horse Murphy Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 The answer is yes. And no. Sometimes. Ultimately you just need to buy a new bass. It's what the doctor said. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Nation Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 How thick are the bodies and necks? I'm guessing the P neck is slightly wider than the Jazz. This can add a substantial amount of wood, and also the pickup/control cavities can take a lot out. Also the electronics can add a bit of weight if there's a lot there - 2 active pickups with a battery and 4-5 pots will be a good bit heavier than a simple passive P vol/tone setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Horse Murphy Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 (edited) Jazz bass bodies are actually a fair bit bigger than P bass bodies too. Edited April 5, 2022 by Old Horse Murphy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoham Posted April 5, 2022 Author Share Posted April 5, 2022 5 minutes ago, Joe Nation said: How thick are the bodies and necks? I'm guessing the P neck is slightly wider than the Jazz. This can add a substantial amount of wood, and also the pickup/control cavities can take a lot out. Also the electronics can add a bit of weight if there's a lot there - 2 active pickups with a battery and 4-5 pots will be a good bit heavier than a simple passive P vol/tone setup. The P neck is quite substantial - though the P is the lighter bass. Body thickness is a good point though - it's been hand-made by me, including carving out the curves and stuff - so definitely a huge possibility of there just being less wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoham Posted April 5, 2022 Author Share Posted April 5, 2022 3 minutes ago, Old Horse Murphy said: Jazz bass bodies are actually a fair bit bigger than P bass bodies too. Really? I'd never have thought that - just that they are slightly differently shaped. It may make my goal of finding a lighter Jazz that sounds and feels as nice as my current one - my main gigging bass for about 18 years - a bit of a fools errand! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Horse Murphy Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 5 minutes ago, geoham said: Really? I'd never have thought that - just that they are slightly differently shaped. It may make my goal of finding a lighter Jazz that sounds and feels as nice as my current one - my main gigging bass for about 18 years - a bit of a fools errand! They're definitely out there. My Jazz weighs less than my P Bass by a few ounces. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 "Heavy is good, heavy is reliable. If it doesn't work, you can always hit him with it." - Boris the Blade 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbiscuits Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Given that it would be impossible to play every bass in the world and then make each one both lighter and heavier to compare the tone, we shall never know. I've had good and bad sounds from basses of all weights. It probably influences the sound in some way, but among far too many other variables to tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoham Posted April 5, 2022 Author Share Posted April 5, 2022 15 minutes ago, bassbiscuits said: Given that it would be impossible to play every bass in the world and then make each one both lighter and heavier to compare the tone, we shall never know. I've had good and bad sounds from basses of all weights. It probably influences the sound in some way, but among far too many other variables to tell. I'd tend to agree with you. I've personally always found that strings and pickups have the biggest impact to tone. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 4 hours ago, geoham said: Can we infer anything about the quality or (dare I say!) tone of wood from its weight? Yes. Sadowsky is no good because it is light. I think the weight thing is so popular, because people haven't any other tools to discuss about the reasons some instrument feels or sounds good. How about the wood structure, shapes of the instrument, components... these already include details that are not possible to reduce to one simple number, like weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dclaassen Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 I don’t believe that weight alone matters much. My RD Artist was almost 12 pounds, and felt quite heavy. It did have loads of sustain, but that was also affected by through body stringing. My MPV is about 10.4 pounds, doesn’t feel heavy at all, and sounds great. I had a Electra that was heavy, and sounded like crap…lots of other factors at play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 3 hours ago, bassbiscuits said: Given that it would be impossible to play every bass in the world ... That doesn't prevent people from trying to own every bass in the world. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 18 minutes ago, dclaassen said: I don’t believe that weight alone matters much. For you, if that is the case, you are a lucky man and long may it continue. For me, and many on here, the weight of a bass in the single most important factor. Only once I have established a bass is light enough can I consider all the other things but if it is too heavy it is discarded out of hand. Wide straps, duo straps, balance on the strap, core excercise etc etc all help to a point - beyond which weight is the one and only thing that matters. Various people have various issues - back, shoulder - for me it is a raft of lower back problems. These days if I wear a bass that weighs more than 8.5lbs for more than a couple of hours I pay for it for several days afterwards. It just isn't worth it. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 You could have your favourite bass hollowed out and filled with helium? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Helium is an excellent tone gas. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BabyBlueSound Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 If you believe in heavyweight basses, you can now buy Davie's new diamond play button bass, which is only 9.1kg / 20.1 lbs https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374006218473 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 45 minutes ago, ambient said: You could have your favourite bass hollowed out and filled with helium? Puts a new spin on getting GAS for a heavy bass, maybe? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Sandberg Superlight TT4 (jazz), 6.5lb or sometimes lower! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted April 6, 2022 Share Posted April 6, 2022 Pah, I don't uneerstand this moaning. Compared to a 30 mile speed march with a 60lb bergan, and being made to carry the Gimpy as well because I was the biggest, wearing even the heaviest of basses for a mere gigs length is nothing. We'll be in serious trouble if we ever go to war if this is the state of our nations manhood! (Tongue firmly in cheek! ) 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boodang Posted April 6, 2022 Share Posted April 6, 2022 Sadowsky started to make their bass bodies chambered.... in an interview he reckoned they were not only lighter but sounded better as a result. By accident (long story!) I ended up with a Tobias Toby which has a pine body and is super light. Nothing wrong with the tone and made me realise that you don't need a heavy bass for heavy tone. Chambered pine basses are the future!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 6, 2022 Share Posted April 6, 2022 I’ve played many heavy basses that sounded terrible and light ones that sounded great (and vice versa). IMHO weight has no correlation to good tone. Strings, pickup type and placement have far more influence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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