Anybody prefer heavy basses?

[remainthesame]

I use a levy 4 1/2 strap.

that helps too love my levy

 

[tplyons]

I prefer a heavier bass, but on longer gigs and sets, I'll settle for a light one.

 

[jim777]

Heavy or not, I do like a physically large bass. I would certainly take a gift of a Steinberger, but a big wide bass just feels good to me. Like she always says, the more wood the better

 

[Bongolation]

Invalid Link Removed, so the whole question is moot, but I cordially hated heavy basses -- though most of my best sounding basses were on the heavy side.

Now that I just record, it doesn't matter.

 

[Crowella]

I would prefer a heavy bass if it was a Peavey T-40 otherwise I'm really not all that bothered by weight. Mind you, my gigging basses aren't exactly heavy.

 

[IGotGas]

I'm a big dude (6'3" 298lbs). I'm physically quite strong too. So, generally, instrument weight does not really effect me very much. Even on long live gigs.

I've almost always preferred heavier basses, and frankly, I'm not sure I can articulate why. I feel like the dense body wood effect tone and sustain, but I've no empirical data to support such. Two of my Alembics are very heavy. My next custom is going to be a Fender style Pbass that will be purposefully heavy. And the builder is well know for making spectacular sounding light weight basses. This may turn into an interesting build!

 

[cfsporn]

It depends on the wood the bass is made of. I love the midrange heavy sound of heavy ash (My ESP Surveyor II weighs over 14 pounds), and I love the trebbly bite of hard rock maple bodied basses (My Spector NS-JH5 only weighs 8 pounds but it is tiny, my Rickenbacker 4003FL probably weighs 9.5-10 pounds). However, I don't like the tone of heavy mahogany (I much prefer the tone of my Alembic Persuader to the tone of my Alembic Epic) or alder basses.

For those "wood doesn't matter" people, while I respect your opinion, I feel like I can tell a difference. This feeling has been corroborated with correctly guessing tonewoods blind.

 

[Red_Merkin]

I like a nice 10+ lb Jazz Bass, not for tone or anything - I just like a large bass that fights back a little.

 

[GreaserMatt]

yes

 

[4OnTheFloor]

Don't care. I have never liked a light bass, not saying that I wouldn't, if it had great tone.

 

[Jim C]

I prefer lighter basses and have not found that heavy = better tone or more sustain.
In the case of 2 Pbasses, the feather weight sustains longer although it is Pre-CBS and refinished with very little clear stain or nitro.
On passive instruments I believe that a thin finish is more important than weight.

 

[remainthesame]

Okay guys again, there's enough threads out there that contain debates about weight vs. tone. And that's not the intention of this thread.

 

[Matthew_84]

I actually prefer heavier basses. When a bass is too light, it feels funny to me. I can't explain why, it just doesn't feel right. Anybody else like this?

Same here... I was in a music store today trying out a 5 string Squier VM Jazz with a maple body. It was a boat anchor, but it felt really nice. It felt like a well-crafted tool.

I then picked up a $2,500 handmade in Japan, Ibanez SR5005 and it felt like a toy in comparison... Although the construction was top notch, it somehow felt "cheap".

I used to prefer lighter basses because it's easier to handle for a long time, but I think I'm going to have to convert... I know it's just a stupid notion and the Ibanez was very much a well-crafted tool as well, probably more than the Squier, but the heavier Squier just felt right.

For what it's worth, I did not plug in any of these basses. I was comparing their feel alone.

 

[FirewalZ]

I used to prefer heavy basses, I have a 77 Jazz that sounds killer and always thought the weight/density added to the tone. I even had a Warmoth fret-less Jazz made with a solid maple body, its the heaviest 4 string Ive ever wielded. Fast forward 12 years, with lower back and shoulder pain after long sets, i loving my 8.5lb nitro P bass.

 

[Baird6869]

I seem to like everything between 7 and 10lbs. I prefer lighter if I have a choice, but on a 4 hour gig, I don't notice the weight unless it is over 10lbs.

My current gigging basses range from 7.4lbs to 9.8lbs and I gig them all.