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Does this make me look heavy?

What's the maximum weight you'll consider when buying a bass in the classifieds?

  • 11 pounds or more

    Votes: 82 19.8%
  • 10 pounds

    Votes: 71 17.1%
  • 9.75 pounds

    Votes: 19 4.6%
  • 9.5 pounds

    Votes: 45 10.9%
  • 9.0 pounds

    Votes: 62 15.0%
  • 8.5 pounds

    Votes: 33 8.0%
  • Equal to a bunch of carrots

    Votes: 102 24.6%

  • Total voters
    414
So far so good,keep those votes coming.

To those folks that post fuzzy pictures, minimal descriptions, no weight, vague shipping and payment options in your TB classified ads, more power to you. You, as the seller, have every right to make your listing as unappealing as possible.

To those buyers/tire kickers that post "if it only was a "x" string" or "if only it had a rosewood board"....

....WHY?!! How is that helping?
 
Bass weight important?

It is to me. I will not consider a bass over 9.5 pounds.

If you don't give me the accurate weight in your ad, I will not give it a second look.

A couple of my basses are 16 lbs or more so your poll did not take such possibilities into account. Obviously it's not a problem for me, but I'm happy to know the weights of potential purchases.
 
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Reactions: DwaynieAD
Late to the party, I know, but the older I get, the more I look at lighter basses for back and hip issues. That said, the balance of a bass is probably more important than weight, because if a 10-pound bass is well balanced, then at least you don't always have to be adjusting your shoulder for neck dive or any other imbalance. Conversely, I don't play a Hofner, in spite of it being feather weight, because I can't stand the neck dive (among other reasons.)
 
I only weighed my MM Stingray due to selling in the classifieds here, otherwise I couldn't care less. I have no clue what my MiM Fender Jazz or Cort A5 weigh, and since I don't play 3 and 4 hour gigs multiple times per week, I simply don't care what they weigh.
 
I have a self imposed limit of 10 lbs. I may fudge that, depending on my desire for any certain bass. I will say, however, I've owned a couple incredibly light weight 5 string basses. Both are Mike Lulls and both are sub 8 lbs. One was sub 7.5 and, frankly it was too light! Although it played and sounded great, it felt like a toy in my hands. I think the sweet spot for me is 9lbs or so. The instrument has a little heft, but not too much as to be cumbersome. I had an Alembic that was every bit of 12 lbs and also a Peavey T-40 that had to be 13 or more. Both made me go to the chiropractor after extended playing. So no more of those!
 
No sweat. I don't waste my time (or yours) unless I'm genuinely interested. But if I AM interested and the weight isn't listed, I'll ask, because it's important to me.
Same here. I ask about the weight when I'm seriously interested. And I have bought basses here after asking the weight. Maybe the folks who say no one ever buys after asking about the weight are (A) generally selling heavy basses or (B) give vague answers.;)

On another note, I find it funny when people with triple-digit feedback numbers say they can't be bothered to buy a scale.
 
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Why not just google it? If I was selling my bass I probably wouldn't think to post the weight in the ad.

I don't know that the results are accurate. For example, googling the Ibanez BTB5 that I have tells me it is 9.5 lbs. That may be true but I know they use lots of different variables so I'm not sure. Then I Googled my Tanatos Claymore. The shipping weight was 17 lbs so I think it is probably 14-16 or so but I'm not sure. But my google search found an ad where someone is selling one on eBay and claiming a weight of 10.5 lbs. I am positive that this person is wrong!

The Ibanez BTB7E is a case in point. If you go to the Ibanez site and check out BTBs, you can click on 'Specs' and the weight is not listed. But the weight IS listed on Amazon.com : 28.1 pounds! (which is listed as both the shipping weight and the item weight) As the owner of two different kinds of BTBs, I am positive this is just as wrong as the 10.5 lb Claymore listing.

So how do we know what is real if we do not have a proper scale?