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Bass build, advice sought about weight

J

Jimmy Pringle

Nov 10, 2017
10
9
#1
Hi
I am considering an MJT body for a p bass project. I have several MJT guitars that I've built and love them.

Can anyone from experience tell me in order to get the finished product to between 8-8.5lbs in total weight, (not including pup covers), what should the total target weight for the unfinished body be as a starting point?

MJT said they could start with a body around 4lbs 8oz. Assuming average weight of the neck, hardware, etc. is that light enough to get me there?

Whats a little puzzling, the MJT quote for a standard body is lighter than what Warmoth quotes for a chambered body. Still trying to sort that out, doesn't add up

Thanks if anyone can comment on this, it would be greatly appreciated!
 
#2
Well I can tell you chambered bodies are not necessarily the lightest, depending on wood used, and the internal rib layout and construction. Some builders would point out that their chambered basses offer different tonal possibilities, and aren’t chambered for weight, but tone.
Edit- hollow bodied basses and chambered basses are different. My lightest bass is a hollow body (violin bass). Those are light!
 
#3
Garret Graves said:
Well I can tell you chambered bodies are not necessarily the lightest, depending on wood used, and the internal rib layout and construction. Some builders would point out that their chambered basses offer different tonal possibilities, and aren’t chambered for weight, but tone.
Edit- hollow bodied basses and chambered basses are different. My lightest bass is a hollow body (violin bass). Those are light!
Click to expand...

I see, well, the other term is "weight relieved" which is the end goal here. Thanks for your input!
 
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#4
I'm not sure that 4 8 gets you in the 8lb range, but a lot depends on hardware choices. I want to say my J was about a 5 lb or a little heavier, and the finished instrument is 10 on the nose (with an active preamp, which probably adds a little weight.

I think the main places to look would be at the neck and tuners. The warmoth necks with steel bars are pretty heavy. The graphite ones probably save close to a half pound. For tuners, Schallers and schaller styles are beasts. I have a set of tuners from MJT and they are every bit as heavy as the Schaller ones. You can shave something like a half pound off a bass with hipshot ultralights.
 
#5
MobileHolmes said:
I'm not sure that 4 8 gets you in the 8lb range, but a lot depends on hardware choices. I want to say my J was about a 5 lb or a little heavier, and the finished instrument is 10 on the nose (with an active preamp, which probably adds a little weight.

I think the main places to look would be at the neck and tuners. The warmoth necks with steel bars are pretty heavy. The graphite ones probably save close to a half pound. For tuners, Schallers and schaller styles are beasts. I have a set of tuners from MJT and they are every bit as heavy as the Schaller ones. You can shave something like a half pound off a bass with hipshot ultralights.
Click to expand...

I will prolly go with Musikraft neck and traditional vintage hardware and tuners, pups etc. I think you gotta get the body weight right first. Thanks!
 

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