Heavy tends to also mean stiff which means less resonance, in that the wood resonates less. When people say 'resonant tone' in general they mean 'doesn't resonate much' in reality. You hear more of the sound from the strings.
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Does a bass being a lightweight indicate a negative?
- Thread starter FishDub
- Start date
Heavy tends to also mean stiff which means less resonance, in that the wood resonates less. When people say 'resonant tone' in general they mean 'doesn't resonate much' in reality. You hear more of the sound from the strings.
Indeed, it's more about stiffness. An acoustic bass guitar is not very stiff, and tends to have shorter sustain as the energy is being transferred from the string to something you can hear (just about, assuming no one is playing anything louder than a quiet acoustic guitar at the same time
).
Does a bass being a lightweight indicate a negative?
the glarry club (home of uber lightweights) has just concluded that one negative is: lightweight instruments cannot effectively be used as weapons!
that's about it!
the glarry club (home of uber lightweights) has just concluded that one negative is: lightweight instruments cannot effectively be used as weapons!
that's about it!
The AFR weighs just over 7 lbs. The Jazz weighs 10.5 lbs. Both sound great. You can guess which one ends up on stage for a 4 hour gig…
Taking the question on its face I say no. There are many reasons a bass can be light. The most obvious is the wood but often light woods are great tone woods. For example Basswood, paulowina etc.
Another reason is how it is cut. And another reason is construction- ie chambering, integration of other materials etc.
I personally am puzzled by the obsession some folks have here with weight. I completely appreciate that all things equal one would rather have a 9 pound bass and a 13 pound bass. But some people perseverate over very specific weights when there’s so much more involved in making an instrument comfortable such as ergonomics, balance, etc.but I digress.
I’ve had some light basses that have been amazing and some light basses that I have punted quickly. Likewise for heavy basses. In my experience it’s the sum of all the attributes of a bass that make it “good or bad.” And I use quotes because those are just subjective terms at the end of the day. Something that’s a complete turd to me might be a treasure to somebody else and vice versa.
Another reason is how it is cut. And another reason is construction- ie chambering, integration of other materials etc.
I personally am puzzled by the obsession some folks have here with weight. I completely appreciate that all things equal one would rather have a 9 pound bass and a 13 pound bass. But some people perseverate over very specific weights when there’s so much more involved in making an instrument comfortable such as ergonomics, balance, etc.but I digress.
I’ve had some light basses that have been amazing and some light basses that I have punted quickly. Likewise for heavy basses. In my experience it’s the sum of all the attributes of a bass that make it “good or bad.” And I use quotes because those are just subjective terms at the end of the day. Something that’s a complete turd to me might be a treasure to somebody else and vice versa.
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I've never been a disciple of this school of thought. I've seen no consistent evidence to support it, as you demonstrate with this statement:
I rather like the feel of a 10-11lb. bass. 
Sure, fatigue can be an issue, but I am well more aged than many here and neither big nor tall, and I’ve no issues with instrument weight. I don’t know; to me it’s something like a bigger car or truck — a steadiness, a gravitational force, if you will.
Tone? My favorite is my heaviest bass, a near 12lb. StingRay. It just purrs. I also have heavish Nash and Fender basses that sing. And I have great-sounding lightweight StingRay Special, Bongo and Lull basses.
Obviously my mileage varies from most. Peace.
Sure, fatigue can be an issue, but I am well more aged than many here and neither big nor tall, and I’ve no issues with instrument weight. I don’t know; to me it’s something like a bigger car or truck — a steadiness, a gravitational force, if you will.
Tone? My favorite is my heaviest bass, a near 12lb. StingRay. It just purrs. I also have heavish Nash and Fender basses that sing. And I have great-sounding lightweight StingRay Special, Bongo and Lull basses.
Obviously my mileage varies from most. Peace.
One thing to keep in mind in the Classifieds is that a lot of the people who go around in every thread and post "Weight?" are just tire kickers with no real interest in the instrument being offered.
But to whether weight affects tone, maybe we should ask this guy!
I'm not a materials scientist, but anecdotally, I haven't noticed any relationship between weight and tone. One of the basses I've played for years, a Carvin LB75 made of Alder, because of its great tone is probably one of the lightest solid body basses I've ever played. With that said, one thing I notice about my Stingray is you can literally feel weight centered in the neck joint when you pick it up. Maybe it's psychological, but I assume this is an indication of good neck-to-body transference in sound. Also, I truly believe in the adage: "It doesn't matter if you put EMGs in a boat oar or a Strat, it's going to sound like EMGs." That's not to say that instrument construction doesn't affect things like sustain, but IME, all instruments with EMGs sound fairly similar.
Ergonomics of an instrument go a long way too. Take Spectors for example. They usually have some heft to them, but because the back strap button is not centered, the weight is nicely distributed and they don't feel as heavy as they are across the shoulder and back.
But to whether weight affects tone, maybe we should ask this guy!
I'm not a materials scientist, but anecdotally, I haven't noticed any relationship between weight and tone. One of the basses I've played for years, a Carvin LB75 made of Alder, because of its great tone is probably one of the lightest solid body basses I've ever played. With that said, one thing I notice about my Stingray is you can literally feel weight centered in the neck joint when you pick it up. Maybe it's psychological, but I assume this is an indication of good neck-to-body transference in sound. Also, I truly believe in the adage: "It doesn't matter if you put EMGs in a boat oar or a Strat, it's going to sound like EMGs." That's not to say that instrument construction doesn't affect things like sustain, but IME, all instruments with EMGs sound fairly similar.
Ergonomics of an instrument go a long way too. Take Spectors for example. They usually have some heft to them, but because the back strap button is not centered, the weight is nicely distributed and they don't feel as heavy as they are across the shoulder and back.
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For me, weight is nothing more than a comfort parameter. If there is a correlation between weight and sound, it’s difficult to pin down. Im more worried about pickups and strings and things like that.
In conclusion, my anecdote is I just got an 8.4 lb Spector Euro that is a rippin bass with crazy awesome tone. One of the dudliest basses Ive ever owned out of dozens was an 11+ lb ‘81 L1000. It was a complete turd. But I won’t lie, weight wasn’t the distinguishing factor for how either instrument sounded. In my opinion.
In conclusion, my anecdote is I just got an 8.4 lb Spector Euro that is a rippin bass with crazy awesome tone. One of the dudliest basses Ive ever owned out of dozens was an 11+ lb ‘81 L1000. It was a complete turd. But I won’t lie, weight wasn’t the distinguishing factor for how either instrument sounded. In my opinion.
IME, I've found that the neck has more of a bearing on sound and sustain than the body. I don't think that here is much difference in sound between a light weight or heavy weight bass.
I have a 7 lbs 3 oz swamp ash Warmoth P bass with a MIJ Allparts maple/rosewood neck and I have other P Basses in the mid 8 lbs and low 9 lbs range. They all sound like P Basses.
I have a 7 lbs 3 oz swamp ash Warmoth P bass with a MIJ Allparts maple/rosewood neck and I have other P Basses in the mid 8 lbs and low 9 lbs range. They all sound like P Basses.
The “heavier bass is better” sentiment is pretty outdated and has been proven to be false.
I've owned heavy basses ( by many makers ) and lightweight basses ( also by many makers ).
After 30+ years of experience I cannot find ANY correlation between weight and tonal quality
I've had heavy basses that sound epic ( my 98' Warwick Thumb & a few Spector's and others ) & equally as many lighter weight basses that punch sonically well above their weight ( Gibson Thunderbird, Ibanez Ergodyne & my own built Jaguar plus others ).
As I grow older I tend to favour lighter basses and as long as they are built to a good quality standard with decent materials/hardware, they can sound awesome.
Does a good sonic punch/great tone need a weighty slab of wood....... ABSOLUTELY NOT.
After 30+ years of experience I cannot find ANY correlation between weight and tonal quality
I've had heavy basses that sound epic ( my 98' Warwick Thumb & a few Spector's and others ) & equally as many lighter weight basses that punch sonically well above their weight ( Gibson Thunderbird, Ibanez Ergodyne & my own built Jaguar plus others ).
As I grow older I tend to favour lighter basses and as long as they are built to a good quality standard with decent materials/hardware, they can sound awesome.
Does a good sonic punch/great tone need a weighty slab of wood....... ABSOLUTELY NOT.
I've seen no direct correlation between instrument weight and tonal quality.
I think you answered your own question. I've had heavy basses that were crap, and have lighweight ones that sing. And vice versa. Each bass is the sum of it's parts and weight and tone come from whatever that mixture is.
There are a-holes everywhere who believe that there is only "one way" for a bass to sound good. Truth is, there are many way fro basses to be great, and IMO there's no one factor that makes one better than another. if a bass is better than others, it just is.
I'm a devotee of the lightweight basses, but they have to be designed and made for it. Sandberg does it like no other. G&L is good, but they pretty much just put a paulownia body on whatever they have. They can be great, or not. But the Sandberg SLs are designed to be ultralight, like in the 6 lb range, and are consistently very highly rated. I have two and they are smokin good. And my G&L Empress Jazz at 7.5 lbs is also good. And my part built paulownia basses ae also good.
This debate will never end.
I know there just has to be a compromise with my Sandberg superlight. I just haven't found it yet.
