If the weight was stated as 9 lbs I’d expect it to be within a pound. If it was stated as 9 lbs 4 oz, i’d expect it within an oz.
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Bass weight. What accuracy do you expect?
- Thread starter aproud1
- Start date
Bathroom scales in general are designed/accepted to be less accurate under the 10lb mark by manufacturers than increments as it goes higher … as they age, that is generally where the variances occur as well … so they are probably the least trusty for 7,8,9lb objects like we use ...
I bought a bass a few years back, because it said to be 7 lbs … I paid a premium price to an established seller right here on TB, because of the light weight … bass showed up right at 9lbs … mentioned it politely to seller, and he was adamant that his (department store) postal scale was accurate (because it cost him $20!!), and mine was wrong … then I sent him a picture of it on my scale … long story short, I used to race sprint cars, and 'light is fast', so every component on the race cars were weighed and machined/replaced to reduce weight … to do that accurately we purchased a $250 (used) HOBART Commercial Scale, calibrated legal for food trade … well, I still have it, and although it is obviously way overkill for weighing guitars and components, it is undisputable in terms of accuracy …
… these are current basses, not the 9lb'er I spoke of above (which is long gone) … suffice it to say the weights I give someone will be accurate …
I bought a bass a few years back, because it said to be 7 lbs … I paid a premium price to an established seller right here on TB, because of the light weight … bass showed up right at 9lbs … mentioned it politely to seller, and he was adamant that his (department store) postal scale was accurate (because it cost him $20!!), and mine was wrong … then I sent him a picture of it on my scale … long story short, I used to race sprint cars, and 'light is fast', so every component on the race cars were weighed and machined/replaced to reduce weight … to do that accurately we purchased a $250 (used) HOBART Commercial Scale, calibrated legal for food trade … well, I still have it, and although it is obviously way overkill for weighing guitars and components, it is undisputable in terms of accuracy …
… these are current basses, not the 9lb'er I spoke of above (which is long gone) … suffice it to say the weights I give someone will be accurate …
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Rich, I meant more the components in the bass... pickups, pots, etc... should have been more clear, my bad.
And don't get me started on operator error...
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These days, I don't think they would bat an eye... unless they look up from their phones.
The bass body can have a design (or blueprinted) weight of say 4.0 lbs. Many may wind up being spot-on at 4lbs. If one of the wood bodies winds up being 4lbs 4oz after CNC work, should the factory toss it out??
When buying a bass, this is what I like to see:
View attachment 3328142
(incidentally, this 7 pound, 3 ounce bass guitar is a 1994 Fender Urge...)
I'm on my laptop and only scrolled to part of the picture (minus the scale) and was trying to see something in the reflection. Is that cleavage? Heh. Then I scrolled a little more and understood.
It’s also possible to have a green bass that weighs 10 pounds or a red bass that weighs 10 pounds even though my red bass weighs 11 pounds.
Weight is also a very important factor to me and I won't buy a bass (especially if its over $300) that touts "weighed on bathroom scale" for the weight and usually ask the seller about the weight in advance especially if its over my target weight. Had a guy on ebay give me a hard time about returning a bass that was 10 ounces heavier than he stated saying I was making an excuse. Ebay was great, but the guy was a turd about taking it back saying he'd read somewhere about the weight, but he never told me he didn't know and just made that up. Don't even think he was a musician. If you make a representation, it should be reasonably accurate and within an ounce or two is what I hope for.
That's nearly a pound over the stated weight. that's too much.
I'm sure many have their reasons why they want a bass to fall within a certain weight limit. And all joking aside, if someone lists a bass at a certain weight and it ends up being 0.5-1.0lb heavier than advertised thats annoying for sure.
I've had major back surgery myself, and none of us are getting any younger, so I get it when others are trying to get a bass within a certain weight range. My personal limit is 10lbs. I had a 70's Fender Precision that weighed exactly 10lbs and I told myself there's no reason, want, need or desire to ever own anything any heavier. My heaviest bass currently is a 9.5lb Classic Vibe 60's Jazz bass. My lightest is an 8.6lb American Standard, and my other basses fall somewhere in-between those two.
I've had major back surgery myself, and none of us are getting any younger, so I get it when others are trying to get a bass within a certain weight range. My personal limit is 10lbs. I had a 70's Fender Precision that weighed exactly 10lbs and I told myself there's no reason, want, need or desire to ever own anything any heavier. My heaviest bass currently is a 9.5lb Classic Vibe 60's Jazz bass. My lightest is an 8.6lb American Standard, and my other basses fall somewhere in-between those two.
If you look at stuff in the showcase section of Warmoth, you'll find that the variation between different bass bodies made from the same species is more on the order of a couple of pounds. So, starting with just a species and a geometry, you can't get a good handle on final weight. However, if you weigh a blank that has a defined geometry, you can know the density of the blank very accurately, and infer the weight of the finished product within an ounce or 2 at most.
Wow! What a variation! I do recall reading that Les Paul's varied from 9 ~13lbs. If a manufacturer or dealer does provide the weight of the actual bass I am buying, I expect it to be accurate within a couple ounces.
That variation is due to variations in wood density plus (the thing you don't see) differences in internal weight relief geometry - a Les Paul can be anything from solid (except the control cavities, wire channels, and pickup routes) to almost hollow - they have a variety of shapes they cnc into the bodies before putting on the cap. Some guys want heavy, solid bodies, some want something light. I think some of them are less than 9 pounds.
A good article on the Les Paul thing:
Link Removed
Begging your pardon but,
The metric system is no more or less accurate than SAE measurements. Ever.
The Metric System is just better.
If you're measuring to the same decimal spaces, Grams is more precise than ounces.
If you're measuring to the same decimal spaces, Grams is more precise than ounces.
When buying a bass, this is what I like to see:
View attachment 3328142
(incidentally, this 7 pound, 3 ounce bass guitar is a 1994 Fender Urge...)
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet but slight differences in wood density can change the weight?
Unfortunately a lot of folks think their bath scales are fine, but I found mine to be off by a whole pound!
That's probably what happened in the OP's case, someone weighed the bass on inaccurate bath scales & in lbs. no less!
