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Heaviest Bass you've ever seen?

#121
PDGood said:
Another vote for the Les Paul Recording bass. Felt like a rock.
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I owned one of those in the early 80s and while it wasn't a featherweight by any stretch of imagination, I don't recall it as being *that* heavy. Many a heavier basses have gone through my hands, without a doubt.

BTW, the "Recording" part is a misnomer. These were simply called "Les Paul Bass", while "Recording" was the guitar of similar design..
 
#124
I had a 77 J which felt like it was made out of lead hiding a bag of rocks inside. Nothing about it justified putting up with the weight so it had to go.

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My current heavyweight champ is this old Roadster. It's got balls, though, and a vastly better bass than the J so I let it stay :D

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#125
I think my '72 Jazz was the heaviest I've owned. I'm guessing upwards of 13 lbs, because I replaced it with an 11 lb Carvin in 1980, and the Carvin felt like a featherweight!

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Contemplating routing out the back of the Carvin as much as possible... If I can shave 2-3 lbs, I can continue to play it! Great neck! But 25+ years of playing this LB50, and the few years with the Jazz have curved my spine! I've lost nearly 2 inches of height!
 
#127
ajkula66 said:
I owned one of those in the early 80s and while it wasn't a featherweight by any stretch of imagination, I don't recall it as being *that* heavy. Many a heavier basses have gone through my hands, without a doubt.

BTW, the "Recording" part is a misnomer. These were simply called "Les Paul Bass", while "Recording" was the guitar of similar design..
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Good to know about the "recording" moniker - thanks. As I learned from working a summer at a sawmill, different pieces of wood of the same species can vary a great deal in weight. The one I played was the heaviest bass I've held in 50 years of playing and I've owned a Dan Armstrong plexi and played T-40s and most of the basses mentioned here (but not the Magnum which is getting a lot of votes). I think part of the deal with the Les Paul is that it's not a large bass, so the weight is concentrated in a small area and just feels uncomfortable.
 
#128
PDGood said:
As I learned from working a summer at a sawmill, different pieces of wood of the same species can vary a great deal in weight.
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No argument there whatsoever.

The one I played was the heaviest bass I've held in 50 years of playing and I've owned a Dan Armstrong plexi and played T-40s and most of the basses mentioned here
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Are you sure it wasn't a custom ordered example crafted especially for the local giant? :roflmao:

I think part of the deal with the Les Paul is that it's not a large bass, so the weight is concentrated in a small area and just feels uncomfortable.
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This.

A 13-14lb Magnum, Jazz or RD has its weight spread much more evenly. Short-scale Les Paul Bass kicking in at the same weight must feel like it was made of Titanium.
 
#129
A Hondo Pro II bass. It had a body outline that was approximately the same as a Melody Maker, a Gibson-style 3-pointer bridge, a Dimarzio P pickup, maple neck and 2X2 headstock. It was a total boat anchor, and a neck diver. Had a total Gene Simmons vibe! It also had the most even, present, consistent and sure-footed P bass tone of any bass I've ever tried. It was so solid and so unwavering that it was like the body and neck were out of the equation, and all you were hearing was a crunchy P pickup sensing the string between two points in space. Quite hard to describe, but the only other instrument I've encountered this 'indifference' on was a Series 1 Alembic bass.
 
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#135
mark beem said:
John Turner's double neck Conklin. 27 pounds IIRC

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What a cool bass! Defintiely not my style, but the contrastg elements and swoop-through that tie the two basses together while showing their differences is really well done.

However, I think the rolled-eyes is actually John concentrating as he tries to estimate precisely how many disks he's herniating at that exact moment.
 
#136
Eilif said:
What a cool bass! Defintiely not my style, but the contrastg elements and swoop-through that tie the two basses together while showing their differences is really well done.

However, I think the rolled-eyes is actually John concentrating as he tries to estimate precisely how many disks he's herniating at that exact moment.
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Actually that's me in the pic and I'm wondering "how fast can I run wearing this?".. :smug:
 
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#137
mark beem said:
Of the ones I've owned.. BassMods K4VV.. I swear this bass was every bit of 15 pounds.

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Is high weight a constant thing with BassMod's instruments? Nearly every review I've read of them seems to come down to some variation of "sounds great, but best played with a back brace."

I've got two weighty instruments in my stable but after my Carlo and Wendler I won't even look at an instrument over 10 pounds and can't imagine purchasing anything over 8-9 pounds.
 

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