This is a generational thing. In the sixties and seventies four-hour bar gigs were the norm.
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Bass weight?
- Thread starter Maku021
- Start date
This is a generational thing. In the sixties and seventies four-hour bar gigs were the norm.
I used to do 5+ hr. gigs that had 85-90 songs. We would do four sets and take a 15 minute break in between each set. I don't know about the rest of the country but 5 hr. shows are not uncommon in Northern Virginia. I was in my mid 40's and I started off with a 5 string. I quickly ditched it and moved to 4 string jazz and precision basses with jazz width necks. The songs we covered were from the 70's and 80's so I didn't really need a 5 string. I also began seeking out basses that were under 9 lbs. just to help get through the fatigue of a 5 hour show. At this point I don't want to be in pain or tired when I'm playing and a lighter bass helps me achieve that.
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Weight is my first question since I have a bad back and messed up shoulders. The lighter the better. If I found my dream bass in every way but weight, I wouldn’t buy it. When I say light, I mean under 9 pounds. I’m looking for that unicorn right now…a lightweight 5 string that doesn’t break the bank.
HA! I'm proved wrong again! Shows how little I know. Thanks for the gentle correction!
Almost all the bar/restaurant gigs I did in Texas between 1994 and 2020 were 4 hour gigs, 9:30-1:30. $400-$800 per night, depending on the band.
Multi-band gigs were not common on the blues scene.
Original music venues, maybe 3 hours.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Thank you so much for this, bulldog. The image of someone giggling a Fender is something I will never be able to unsee.
F@#&_1#_4-ing autocorrect...
I think it breaks down like this:
If you're a bedroom player and you sit for an hour and play a few times a week you don't care.
If you gig and stand with a bass hanging off you for 4 hours, you care somewhere between a little and a lot. If you gig and you're older and/or have back and shoulder problems you care deeply.
The first group doesn't get why it's a big deal, and gets annoyed by the weight? questions. The second group gets annoyed when asked why they care.
Finally, due to the general lack of understanding between the 2 camps, these threads get snippy.
That is my take on this issue. You're welcome.
If you're a bedroom player and you sit for an hour and play a few times a week you don't care.
If you gig and stand with a bass hanging off you for 4 hours, you care somewhere between a little and a lot. If you gig and you're older and/or have back and shoulder problems you care deeply.
The first group doesn't get why it's a big deal, and gets annoyed by the weight? questions. The second group gets annoyed when asked why they care.
Finally, due to the general lack of understanding between the 2 camps, these threads get snippy.
That is my take on this issue. You're welcome.
Depends upon you, your age and physical condition. A bass is too light when it has neck dive and you don't like it. A bass is too heavy when it hurts your back and shoulders and you don't like it. And yes, when I was young, nothing bothered me either
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Just waiting for the the first post telling us to work out
Ask and you shall receive.
Bass Players: How to Practice Bass Guitar Effectively – Berklee Online Take Note
Ductapeman
Ringmaster and Resident Geriatric
I started off in the Tacoma/Seattle club and dance hall scene in the early 1970s, where a 4-1/2 hour night was the norm and shorter jobs almost unheard of. Guess I'm getting old. As far as weight goes, I had played for almost forty years before I found out I was supposed to be concerned with it, I honestly have no idea of the weight of any of my basses, and have always gone for the heaviest pieces of swamp ash I could lay hands on. I'm 70 now, and fortunate that I still don't feel it, and I will still buy the heavier of three identical (Fender-style) basses any day of the week. For God's sake do not tell my wife I said that.
As a hiker, climber, mountaineer who frequently carries a 35lb pack for 8 to 12 hours a day I kinda chuckle at the agonizing over a lb or 2. I am a mechanic by trade and abuse my body on the daily. My bass is the least of my worries. But to each their own. I'm 38 not 70.... I will probably be singing a different tune then, we'll see.
I have no doubt, but I won't be around to see so, have fun while you can.
Yes, some of us prefer as light a Bass is we can stand. You don’t have to understand it and you don’t have to like it. Just don’t impose your value system on me.
Yeah, it’s a thing. May you play long enough to understand!
I am 51 and been playin for over 30 years... is that old enough or long enough lol?
Join a general business group playing weddings, corporate events, private parties, etc. You need a minimum of three hours of music with minimal to no dead air during that time to compete at a high level in that world. Four hours plus a lower key dinner set gigs aren’t uncommon.
