Lighten a bass body by routing - Questions

[Jim C]

Is there any common agreement as to what area of a bass body to route for weight reduction that would have the least negative impact on tone / sustain?

As I understand it, folks like Sadowsky use areas at the top of the bass to chamber the body and then cap with thin material.
I assume that if the mission were to remove weight under a pickguard, that staying away from the area between the neck and bridge would also be wise.
Could you loose say 1/2 lb by rounting under the pick guard and not kill tone and sustain?

[Rick Auricchio]

You risk creating a neck-dive situation, because the body would no longer balance properly.

Safe areas to route are the body "wings" to either side of the strings. They're just hunks of wood, as long as you're careful to avoid the area between the pups and controls. If you route the back, there's no need to cover the hollow areas at all.

[Jim C]

I was thinking that taking weight off the bottom of the body would change the center of gravity enough to cause it to be unstable and maybe top heavy. Hadn't considered neck dive do to loosing some counter balance. hmmm

[202dy]

The strap button on many bass guitars is located near the twelfth fret. This is (more or less) the balance point. No matter where the material is removed from the body it will affect the balance. Whether or not it will be a problem remains to be seen.

[ehque]

Could route and replace tuners with ultralight versions...

[Rick Auricchio]

Depending on the type of gigs you play, a handful of helium balloons attached to the headstock...