Can anything else be done for a heavy bass?

[tauzero]

Lekato do wide padded straps with a central narrower bright strap and an outer black part. Wear a black shirt and the central part will be the most visible bit.

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007123451482.html

 

[zbd1960]

As someone who plays bass, and in particular also plays baritone sax (which weighs 8kg) getting straps etc right is important if you don't want neck/back issues in the future. You cannot eliminate the weight of the bass as we have yet to work out how to alter that aspect of physics. With the bari, I cannot take that weight on a strap (I can't with a tenor sax either which is half the weight) as the pressure on the nape of the neck is too much. I also cannot use the usual alternative which is a 'strap' that sits on the shoulders, as it's still too heavy. That means using a harness - there are different types of these, some of which means no weight on neck/shoulders at all (weight is transferred to a hip belt). There are some very expensive options - there is a sax 'stand' that holds the sax in place and you wheel it into position to play (seated). They cost £00s 

 

For bass I use 4" wide straps which have substantial padding, which distribute the weight over a larger area. There are harness type straps but I've never used one so I can't say how good/bad they are.  

[Shambo]

Allow me to pose a question only for arguments sake.

 

So, you have a wooden guitar body that is heavy. Let’s say a 70’s Fender alder body that wasn't seasoned for long enough before it was wrapped in poly.

If you were to strip the body back to the bare wood and place it in a ‘drying chamber’ then wouldn’t the seasoning process resume as the wood slowly loses moisture content and therefore weight? 

Let’s just ignore shrinkage and glued pieces and anything like that.

 

Could you restart the seasoning process on an old piece of wood?

It’s something I’ve wondered about occasionally.

[prowla]

Try one of these?

https://slingerstraps.com/products/harness-strap-guitar-strap

[itu]

10 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

What is there apart from materials?

The maker did all work to cut materials to fit, stiched them together, and finalized the look (colouring of cut marks etc.). I am very happy with the results.

 

I got that Italian thick and flexy leather from a friend of mine. Would have been an expensive piece, but it happened to be an excess from his bigger interior design work. The strap maker said she hadn't used similar leather earlier, but it was also a bit difficult, because of the thickness. The filler is felt. She said natural materials are functional for a longer time than artificial ones. Me happy.

[HeadlessBassist]

I recently picked up a Sandberg Strap from a friend's store for my slightly weighty KingBass MkII 5 stringer. It's similar to the old "Comfort Straps" with the stretching closed-cell neoprene foam arrangement attached to the leather. Highly recommended. 

[Terry M.]

1 hour ago, zbd1960 said:

 

For bass I use 4" wide straps which have substantial padding, which distribute the weight over a larger area. 

Outside of getting rid of the bass this is the solution in my books but the OP doesn't like wide straps so...

[Paul S]

I am surprised that the 'weight deniers' haven't jumped in to disdainfully suggest you simply grow a pair, eat more red meat and go to the gym.  😂

 

Weight is a big issue for me, as it is for many of us.  A wide padded strap makes some difference but, as has been said, at the end of it all a heavy bass is a heavy bass.  I recently bought a Yamaha SB-35 - a quality, rare bass which has zero re-sale value.  Mainly because nobody has heard of them.  Very much a heart over head purchase as I had one before and think they are brilliant.  Anyway, it weighed 4.1kg - not massively heavy but a bit too much for me to comfortably wear for any length of time.  I handed it over to my usual tech guy who (gasps from the back) routed out a cavity beneath the pickguard - reducing the weight by 400g, which was around 10% and has made a difference to how it feels on the strap.  I believe his next move would have been using a biscuit router to delve even further into the body from the same outline but that hasn't proved necessary.  Lightweight tuners can also usually save 200-300g in overall weight.  There are lightweight bridges available.  It all starts to add up.  Or subtract down, if you prefer.

 

I had a '79 Fender Musicmaster for a while and found both a Squier Vista Series Musicmaster and VM Mustang were more to my liking.  But that's me.  Bottom line - it is your bass and you know how much it makes you happy - if you really like it and are not bothered by taking a hit on the resale value - which to be fair is the bottom end of the old Fender market anyway - then it is worth investigating.  You won't be destroying a priceless artifact.

[bremen]

11 hours ago, Geek99 said:

Scotty was actually Canadian. He lost a finger on d day and regularly used a prosthetic finger or proxy hand...

...in order to keep playing despite this handicap, he used light gauge strings and detuned his guitar, thus accidentally creating a life-changing sound that has thrilled millions...

[snorkie635]

2 hours ago, bremen said:

...in order to keep playing despite this handicap, he used light gauge strings and detuned his guitar, thus accidentally creating a life-changing sound that has thrilled millions...

 

[walshy]

I regularly play a Gibson RD Artist (5.2kg) but use the Pinegrove Leather padded strap. About £100 or so but the best ones on the market, look great, you get to smell all manly and leathery for the ladies in the crowd and your back won't hurt. Trust me, they're class

[Stub Mandrel]

Body armour under your t-shirt.

[snorkie635]

2 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Body armour under your t-shirt.

Or over it?

 

 

[RichT]

I can recommend the 4" Leathergraft Softy bass straps. As the owner of an arthritic dodgy left shoulder, I've tried a few different wide/padded straps including Neotech, Planet Waves and other Leathergraft stuff, but haven't yet found anything I prefer to these. They're thick and comfortable with a suedey backing but no sectioned foam padding so it's not obviously unusual looking, they just look like a wide leather strap. Between basses and guitars I must have about 10 of them.

[neepheid]

8 minutes ago, RichT said:

I can recommend the 4" Leathergraft Softy bass straps. As the owner of an arthritic dodgy left shoulder, I've tried a few different wide/padded straps including Neotech, Planet Waves and other Leathergraft stuff, but haven't yet found anything I prefer to these. They're thick and comfortable with a suedey backing but no sectioned foam padding so it's not obviously unusual looking, they just look like a wide leather strap. Between basses and guitars I must have about 10 of them.

 

OP doesn't like wide straps.  You're wasting your keyboard's MTBF.

[Terry M.]

1 hour ago, neepheid said:

 

OP doesn't like wide straps.  You're wasting your keyboard's MTBF.

I've learned what MTBF means only now. Every day's a school day 😂

[Mudpup]

On 08/03/2025 at 12:42, Iheartreverb said:

Nah, not at all, I just don’t like the look of them. Ideally would want something that looks as close to a 2” cotton guitar strap as possible, which the EB strap I’ve got kind of does 

Get a wide squishy strap and don't look at it maybe?

[Rosie C]

On 08/03/2025 at 10:27, Iheartreverb said:

Trying to talk myself out of looking at stupid things like having a massive route under the stratchplate.

 

I have a jazz bass that I was kinda attached to, and yes I had a massive route done under the scratchplate. Along with changing the tuners for alloy lightweight ones and changing the solid bridge for a 'bent metal plate' type - it knocked a pound or so of weight off and made it very playable. Whether it was the best option is debatable - I love the bass and I'm pleased I kept it, but I'd probably have been better selling it and buying something else. 

 

 

Edited 12 hours ago by Rosie C

[bremen]

8 minutes ago, Rosie C said:

 

I have a jazz bass that I was kinda attached to, and yes I had a massive route done under the scratchplate. Along with changing the tuners for alloy lightweight ones and changing the solid bridge for a 'bent metal' type - it knocked a pound or so of weight off and made it very playable. Whether it was the best option is debatable - I love the bass and I'm pleased I kept it, but I'd probably have been better selling it and buying something else. 

 

 

Did it change the sound of the instrument?

[Owen]

My Overwater 6 weighs 10 1/2 lbs. I know there are heavier out there. But I have solved the weight issue by never playing it standing up. I am aware this might not answer your problem.

 

I would go with a JMJ and be done with it. We project so much on to basses (I am the worst) but the JMJ will be functionally the same and you will make some money on the sale/purchase. 

[Rosie C]

1 hour ago, bremen said:

Did it change the sound of the instrument?

 

No, it came back sounding great. 

 

[Terry M.]

2 minutes ago, Rosie C said:

 

No, it came back sounding great. 

 

But did it change it? Whether good or bad?

[jazzyvee]

23 hours ago, SumOne said:

A 'walk up' stand holds the Bass for you. Looks odd though, and must feel quite odd too play like that.

That's what i would do if my bass got to feel too heavy for me rather than sell it. It's rare for me to do a single set on a gig that is longer than about an hour and a quarter so whilst my basses are all heavy they do not give me any trouble at the moment.

[jazzyvee]

7 hours ago, walshy said:

I regularly play a Gibson RD Artist (5.2kg) but use the Pinegrove Leather padded strap. About £100 or so but the best ones on the market, look great, you get to smell all manly and leathery for the ladies in the crowd and your back won't hurt. Trust me, they're class

I have changed all my straps for 4" wide nicely padded Pinegrove Leather ones. I had some custom ones made and they are superb.

( Full disclosure, i'm an endorsee, so if that breaks any BC for posting, feel free to remove the post).

Edited 12 hours ago by jazzyvee

[Geek99]

13 minutes ago, jazzyvee said:

I have changed all my straps for 4" wide nicely padded Pinegrove Leather ones. I had some custom ones made and they are superb.

( Full disclosure, i'm an endorsee, so if that breaks any BC for posting, feel free to remove the post).

You disclosed, don’t see an issue here myself 👍