Bass Weight Obsession.

[Jack Butler]

I have a couple of Geddy Jazz basses that are right at 10lbs. They sound incredible. I have a friend with a Mike Lull P bass that is about 7-7.5 lbs and he's trying to increase the weight (heavier bridge and tuners) because the bass lacks sustain. I guess what I'm saying here is that I'm more concerned about how a bass sounds than how much it weighs.

My 7.5lb P bass sustains much longer than I'd ever have a use for.

 

[groovaholic]

I see most asked in the Basses for Sale classifieds is “what does it weigh” (it’s one of the first questions I ask too), I’m curious to know if this is also a concern of the bass heroes we all follow... I wonder how much of a concern....
Does anyone have any insight into this?

My reason to care about this is I played football and wrestled in high school, then wrestled and played rugby in college.
By my senior year, I needed surgery on my shoulders.

If my bass is too heavy (or neck dives) my left arm will start tingling and go numb in the space of 10-15 minutes, so to me a bass' weight and balance are a BFD.

 

[sears]

Didn't Garry Tallent play a Longhorn for those epic 4 hour sets in the 70s?

And for those prattling on about "worrying about a couple of ounces" -- shame on you.

There. I participated in a troll thread.

 

[Mastermold]

I've had light basses feel heavy and heavy basses feel lighter. This is all due to the ergonomics. How it's contoured and how it hangs on the strap. ....

Yeah my heaviest bass is a 12.5 lb Fender P but it's super comfortable, hangs nice, and I've never minded the heft. But I wouldn't go looking for it either.

 

[JazznFunk]

A light bass makes long sets a lot more bearable, or when standing and recording in the studio for hours on end, but as long as I have a strap that properly disperses the weight and is well-padded, I don't really care too much. I swear by Comfort Strapps. I never purchased basses (or returned them) based on weight alone. I just got on with whatever it happened to be. My lightest bass is my Lakland 44-02 Deluxe at about 7.8lbs. My heaviest bass is my SBMM 'Ray34 Natural/Roasted Maple which tips in just under 12lbs. I will say this - the resonance of some of my heavier basses appears to be more pronounced than with my lightest basses, at least in how I feel the bass un-amplified vibrating into my body (or even on the stand). I have no idea if there's any specific science behind that, as one would think that something more dense/heavier would resonate less.

 

[Ulf Buck]

I play 150 -200 shows a year so weight is important to me. Plus I am not a young whippersnapper so after a few nights in a row I am feeling it.

I think the used market and the market in general sees light weight as a benefit with a dollar value. I have heard people say heavier instruments sound better but I have never experienced this.

If it isn't important to you, it can be a huge benefit. I am a Spector freak and I see heavier basses languishing on reverb whereas the sub 8 pound ones seem to mover much much faster. Use the heavy weight as a point of negotiation.

 

[Smith357]

Do you wear your tool belt looped over one shoulder for 3 hours at a time?

I wear it around my waist for 8 hours a day.

 

[E2942]

driving warranty returned audio gear into resonance so we could scrap it

Resonance in an Electrical circuit is usually good, in a Mechanical structure, often not, especially bridges.

 

[micguy]

All I know is this :

All of the professional bass players I know claim their heavy 5 string, boutique bass, Rick, big jazz bass or whatever is the best, especially when they are sponsored.

But, eventually, when they get older, they buy a small light bass and then they just whispering it to a few people and play them in secret in their basement.

Somehow, as I’ve gotten older, and my basses have gotten lighter, I’m playing to much larger audiences. My world and yours are quite different.

 

[crucislancer]

Yo. Absolutely not fun when you're halfway through a set and you realize you can't stand anymore. I feel your pain... literally!

Mine boiled down to a really fancy version of "it's all in your head." I mean, it's not, but it is.

MRI showed nothing. Epidural did nothing. XRay showed nothing. I would be given PT exercises that would help for a bit, until they didn't. Chiropractic adjustments and massages and tens machines and theraguns offered momentary relief but didn't fix it. A whole lot of Physical Therapists/Physios in NYC and Scotland looked at me and not only couldn't find what was wrong, were dumbfounded by how flexible and in shape i was. But it hurt.

Turns out for some unknown reason, either my hip was sending errant warning messages, or my brain was overreacting to the warning messages and causing pain. It's similar to putting your hand near a fire. It's hot and hurts as a warning before it actually burns you. My nerves or brain was misinterpreting me standing in a certain way as dangerous and told me it hurt to get me to stop doing it. I finally found a PT who knew what was what and since i saw him i've gotten it pretty much in check. Not healed. But i can prevent it from happening 90% of the time. PT said often it starts when you injure yourself a certain way and then get better, but your nervous system is extra cautious, but really could be anything, and you just have to retrain your nerves & brain not to overreact to the stimulus and it'll realize "Hey, standing is fine. It's just standing. I'm not getting damaged."

So i joke it's a fancy version of "all in your head." Or a more complicated "It hurts when i do this. Don't do that." I found the standing posture that causes the pain, and now i stand differently.

The PT also gave me the only exercise that has consistently helped: Heels no more than 1.5" away from the wall. Try to touch the wall with the small of my back so you can't slide a hand between it and the wall, while simultaneously getting my shoulders against the wall, while simultaneously getting my head against the wall & tucked chin & stretched neck. 90+ seconds a couple of times a day, every day for a few months and i couldn't believe the results. Now it's at the point where i just do it when i feel like it's been acting up, or if i've been on my feet too long.

And to bring this back to the OP, it's too easy for a heavy bass strapped over one shoulder for too long to put me in the wrong posture, especially in a gig with a tiny stage where i can't move around and i'm just standing there in one spot for 60+ minutes, exactly like how it all started trying to wash the dishes, except now there's a 12lb bass too. It ain't worth it. Don't care how good the bass sounds or how tough people who like heavy basses think they are. I'm gonna ask how heavy a bass is before i buy it.

I am going to give that exercise a try! I have quite a few exercises that I do, but they either help for a brief time or not at all. Sometimes, getting old is a drag!

 

[Sam Evans]

I'm sure that for people who are genetically blessed with strong core strength, bass weight (within reason) is not really an issue. Then there are those of us who can give ourselves a back sprain just eating a sandwich.

I find that white bread has a brighter tone than wheat bread.

 

[E2942]

tb user "E2934."

and Acoustical Physicists everywhere

 

[mikeswals]

I'm in my 50s now, work in a diesel repair shop day job so heavy stuff all day, and am a busy weekly player 3+ hrs nights. One of my favorite gigging basses is 11.5 lbs and balances in perfect playing position and has never bothered me. Most of my fleet is 9-1/4 to 10 lbs which is ideal range to me.
Dragging tube amps doesn't bother me either.

 

[Mike Vee]

I only care about myself. I must have under 9lbs BUT it must also balance well. Not an "obsession" but a strong preference.

 

[JimmyM]

and Acoustical Physicists everywhere

Right. That’s why nobody plays acoustic guitars anymore.

 

[Parzival]

I don’t know what my basses weigh.
The P is heavier than the J.

 

[Jack Butler]

I wear it around my waist for 8 hours a day.

I could tough it out and gig a 15lb bass for a 4 hour gig if I needed to. But I don't need to, because there are 7.5lb basses that sound just as good.
I don't know what your tool belt weighs, but let's say it's 10lbs and has great quality tools you love. Then you tried on your co-workers tool belt and it was 15lbs, but had the same tools and were of no better quality. I assume you'd prefer having the 10lb rig around your waist for 8 hours, even if you are a strong dude in your prime.

 

[Killing Floor]

Resonance in an Electrical circuit is usually good, in a Mechanical structure, often not, especially bridges.

Just so we’re clear, we had a high powered vibration table and used resonance to destroy amplifiers, cameras, speakers. There was nothing “good” that came from it. It was Awesome!

 

[FullumMusic]

I commend you on not giving up on treatment$! It can be tough on the psyhe when you are faced with chronic pain and lack useful clues to a solution. It is depressing when you have to put down your instrument after just a short time right when the music has taken you over.

You make an important point: once hurt twice shy.

So, even when you recover you are not the same as when you were pristine, fresh and clueless.

Obsession in the thread title is hyperbole and incorrect. A weighted criterion is not obsession.

Thanks. I'm a stubborn MFer and refused to accept "Just be in pain. We don't know why" for the rest of my life. Heheh. Especially since i'm otherwise healthy and in shape. And i agree 100%. Almost worse than the pain was how psychologically draining the constant pain is. Just kept trying different things and seeing different professionals until someone figured it out.

And to the "Once hurt; Twice shy"... It's definitely part of what causes the pain. But also, part of my recovery is kinda retraining my brain not to be shy of the things that aren't actually detrimental. Like, if i'm standing too long and i can feel the precursor to pain, i start doing the stretches & exercises, maybe jog in place, hop around the apartment, squats... basically tells my brain, "Look. Everything still works fine. There's nothing physically wrong" and the pain will subside. That said, still not about to test retraining my brain by strapping a heavy bass over one shoulder.

I am going to give that exercise a try! I have quite a few exercises that I do, but they either help for a brief time or not at all. Sometimes, getting old is a drag!

Dude... this exercise changed my life. I tried to find a good picture of it online but they all have arms up and do other weird things, which isn't what i do. But, yeah, i did this exercise a bunch and it strengthened the muscles enough that i was eventually able to just stand and walk with that posture too, which helps prevent the pain from even happening in the first place.

Like i said in the other post (with a few more explanations so hopefully i explain it clearly and it helps):
- Feet no more than 1.5" away from the wall.
- Feet stay flat on the floor.
- Arse against the wall but "Tuck your pelvis", in other words, don't stick your booty out. Rotate the pelvis in the opposite direction of sticking your booty out so you can...
- So you can press the Small of your back against the wall, or as close as you can get it. You want to be able to prevent someone from sliding their arm between your back and the wall.
- shoulders back against the wall and down, with your arms down at your sides.
- Head against the wall, but chin in & down, and neck tall; not leaning back with chin up.
- Hold for 90 seconds at a time, a few times a day.

It's actually surprisingly tough to do in the beginning. But in a few weeks you'll get stronger at it and it'll hopefully be when you really start feeling improvements. (If it's the right exercise for you. Of course, i'm not a health care professional.)

Hope it helps!

 

[Ant B 2023]

I never used to contemplate weight. In my younger days sound, aesthetic and G.A.S. were my main drivers.

Now I haven’t shaken the G.A.S., but advancing years coupled with sciatica means a lighter bass should be my go to.
I have a 73 P bass that’s slightly over 8lbs. Stingray that is around 10lbs, a Jazz around 9lbs and likewise, a Yamaha BBP 34. Truth is. They all bloody hurt. Wider, flex straps help a lot, but this is the price I’m going to have to pay here on in. Sucks. But for me, better than the alternative.