My '93 Streamer 5 is 8.5 lbs light and it sounds killer ... and both of my Ls are even less with 7.9, and these leave no questions open. I pretty dislike gear close to a 10 lbs.
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Heavy or light bass?
- Thread starter Chad Johnston
- Start date
That is a nice looking Ash MMSR4FLP...
Classy!
I also think the new electronics package has a great deal to do with the "Specials" improved sound, as well. Selecting superior tuners that don't add to neck dive is not a huge deal, but something players don't enjoy.
Marketing maybe in the mix too, regarding weight reduction with respect to not being notified that Selective Service is looking at getting females registered now that all combat jobs are open to females. lol
You wanna see a heavy bass?
The Guitar Garage: Concrete Bass Prototype: What is heavier than metal ????
057912
The Guitar Garage: Concrete Bass Prototype: What is heavier than metal ????
057912
I'm 68, and have managed to avoid back problems so far - aside from a brief period when I tweaked my back unloading.
I went out that summer and bought light gear, sold all my heavy stuff. If a bass is over 9 pounds, I'm not interested.
And I'm very happy with that situation. My Genz-Benz Shuttle 6.2 and lightweight speakers put out loads of sound (amp and 12" speaker = 36 pounds) and for small gigs, my Fender Rumble 100 is easy to move at 22 pounds.
May your back still like you when you get home at the end of the night.
I went out that summer and bought light gear, sold all my heavy stuff. If a bass is over 9 pounds, I'm not interested.
And I'm very happy with that situation. My Genz-Benz Shuttle 6.2 and lightweight speakers put out loads of sound (amp and 12" speaker = 36 pounds) and for small gigs, my Fender Rumble 100 is easy to move at 22 pounds.
May your back still like you when you get home at the end of the night.
I have a new Stingray Special 5 HH and let me tell you that it is wonderful.I also have 2 older Stingray 5ers and it is very nice to have a lighter bass with all the kick a** tone of a Stingray in a lighter package.I sing and play bass and the lighter bass is a blessing.
How old are your older ones and do you know the rough weight difference? Just curious. I haven’t weighed this one (probably won’t). It’s a 2005 model and it seems like it’s lighter than my previous SR4 which was, I believe a 2015 or 2016 model. But, I might also remember that wrong. This SR5 is super comfortable, plays great and sounds so good. Really diggin it. I attached a pic post cleaning and fresh strings.
Attachments
Always an interesting discussion. All those old Fenders with the “mojo” were all rather light. Most luthiers would disagree that heavier sounds better and i agree
That reminds me of my first bass (an Epiphone semi-hollow ES-335 type, which was very light). I didn't know anything about bass guitars, learning as I went, but all I knew at the time was I couldn't quite get the sound out of it I wanted. Eventually the strings started to unravel. It turns out they were tape-wound strings, and the tape was coming off. I peeled it all the way off the strings, which freaked me out that I was able to do that, and underneath was a set of roundwounds. The texture freaked me out, and the squeaking sound it made when I moved my fingers freaked me out, but damn, it sounded good. I was finally able to get that tone I'd been missing.
All else equal (assuming it sounds right), I'd rather have a slightly lighter bass. My two main 4 strings (Parts J, Stringray) are both a whisker over 10 lbs, and even with a good strap, I start to feel that on longer gigs. I'm sort of pondering a Sadowsky at this point, because they make killer instruments that are also on the light side. I wouldn't sacrifice tone for weight, but you don't really have to most of the time. Conversely, there are limits to how heavy I'd go for any tone. I played a great 76-77 Fender Jazz a couple years ago that was so heavy, it was uncomfortable SITTING DOWN. Wouldn't buy that at any price
Right? I was originally thinking I’d get a black pick guard because I love the all black on maple look, but dang I like it as is too.
I'm soon to be 68 yrs young and tone for me is the major factor. If one of my basses feels a bit heavy, I just use a wider strap. Yes, a heavy bass will always be a heavy bass, but weight distribution isn't anything to dismiss. Next time you order a new Refrigerator look at the harness strap setup those 2 guys use to carry that unbelievably heavy thing into your house!
ron berry
Commercial User
I have made quite a lot of basses and the lighter bodied ones tend to have an airier sound for want of a better descriptor and with some pickups like bartolinis the midrange honk is nicer and they tend to change more quickly in tone as the note decays (motion), the heavy basses are good when you have more strings like the double course 8 string fretless ones or 5/7 strings with heavy strings where a lighter less stiff bass with less inertia loses definition down there as it reacts too much. I hear heavier basses as having a more compressed sounding envelope with less motion to the tone and slightly more sustain. Slow motion/ heavier works better for fretless and light basses can be better for funk to my ear when you want the top end to have more character.
I won’t argue about what has better tone, as I’ve had tone monsters ranging from 7-13 pounds. What I don’t understand is when bassist talk about needing or getting more sustain. I’ve never played a bass (even cheap plywood stuff) that had notes that just died before I wanted them to, or even faded away faster than I desired. A badass bridge vs a bent plate Chinese piece of junk.... no real sustain difference noticed. And the only time I need significant sustain is when recording the final note of a song, or sometimes during live gigs, when a song ends. So, it’s a non-issue really, nothing a compressor can’t fix.
So my opinions (like they matter LOL): 1) barring a mechanical issue with the instrument, needing increased sustain is a myth. 2) Tone is not a product of weight. If it contributes at all, it’s among the least contributors.
Ok, so, I’m a girl. I’m not a big girl either. My squire jaguar bass is about 10lb and I’ve had it quite a while now. It was my first (and I knew nothing about size at the time )...
Not only is it a beautiful candy apple red and goes with my glassses and fav boots (), it sounds great and I can do a wide range of stuff on it and can expand that further with a good set of flatwound strings. It was also one of a small run of full scale basses in that model. If you look for it now you’ll only find the short scale. I absolutely adore my lady in red!
I have 3 bulging discs in my back and have thought about getting a much lighter rig for gigging with. Instead, I cut up a few straps and sewed them so the strap sits around my waist instead of over the shoulder. There are really expensive ones of these you can buy on the net but I can sew so I’m not spending money! Guitar Strap | Bass Strap | Slinger Straps Ergonomic Guitar Straps
It seems to help. I sing as well and there was a comment earlier about guitar weight and breathing while singing. It makes a HUGE difference having it on your waist instead of shoulders. It also makes a HUGE difference to your posture and takes a load off your neck. If you’re not willing to compromise on weight, have a look for ergonomic straps or better yet, DIY
Not only is it a beautiful candy apple red and goes with my glassses and fav boots (), it sounds great and I can do a wide range of stuff on it and can expand that further with a good set of flatwound strings. It was also one of a small run of full scale basses in that model. If you look for it now you’ll only find the short scale. I absolutely adore my lady in red!
I have 3 bulging discs in my back and have thought about getting a much lighter rig for gigging with. Instead, I cut up a few straps and sewed them so the strap sits around my waist instead of over the shoulder. There are really expensive ones of these you can buy on the net but I can sew so I’m not spending money! Guitar Strap | Bass Strap | Slinger Straps Ergonomic Guitar StrapsIt seems to help. I sing as well and there was a comment earlier about guitar weight and breathing while singing. It makes a HUGE difference having it on your waist instead of shoulders. It also makes a HUGE difference to your posture and takes a load off your neck. If you’re not willing to compromise on weight, have a look for ergonomic straps or better yet, DIY
As I type this, I’m sitting here a week after breaking three or four ribs in the back of my rib cage in a very bad fall on a steep trail. Landed directly on the corner of a protruding 2x8 vertical board. Chronic back pain can happen to anyone, and it is not a matter to be trivialized or chastised.
Here are my $0.019 on bass weights, FWIW.
First, I defy anyone to listen to a recording of a bass guitar and with no other information accurately estimate the weight of the bass from the recorded sound. You just can’t do it, because those two aspects are not strongly correlated.
OTOH, electric basses quite definitely have an interactive feel which will often correlate with the weight, all else being equal. That’s important to the player. But, while it is good to be passionate about your own prefs, it is equally important to be supportive of other players’ different parameters.
A little history. Many of the early and highly prized Fender Basses were built with relatively lighter woods. They tend to have a very resonant interactive response in the player’s hands; and that feel does factor in to the desireability of those instruments. In the late 60’s, CBS took a somewhat more unselective approach to bass construction, and the 70’s instruments can be quite heavy in contrast to the predecessors. Cats like Marcus Miller just incorporated that into their playing styles. Heavier instruments do have a more solid feel to them and produce a more percussive hit. Different strokes.
My prefs run more in the middle where you can get a combo of those two feels. 9 pounds is a decent crude mid point, and where variations in either direction can give a little more of one aspect than the other. I should say that my prefs are generally based on goals related to the instrument’s response vs my back, which is hopefully just a temporary, if extremely painful factor. The point is that if I am plunking down significant coinage, I am keenly interested in getting a particular feel as part of my investment. So, why wouldn’t I want to know the weight?
The main point is that there is a diversity of both players and instruments out there. Disparaging one or the other for their particular characteristics reflects a rather limited understanding of the larger picture. Be kind.
Here are my $0.019 on bass weights, FWIW.
First, I defy anyone to listen to a recording of a bass guitar and with no other information accurately estimate the weight of the bass from the recorded sound. You just can’t do it, because those two aspects are not strongly correlated.
OTOH, electric basses quite definitely have an interactive feel which will often correlate with the weight, all else being equal. That’s important to the player. But, while it is good to be passionate about your own prefs, it is equally important to be supportive of other players’ different parameters.
A little history. Many of the early and highly prized Fender Basses were built with relatively lighter woods. They tend to have a very resonant interactive response in the player’s hands; and that feel does factor in to the desireability of those instruments. In the late 60’s, CBS took a somewhat more unselective approach to bass construction, and the 70’s instruments can be quite heavy in contrast to the predecessors. Cats like Marcus Miller just incorporated that into their playing styles. Heavier instruments do have a more solid feel to them and produce a more percussive hit. Different strokes.
My prefs run more in the middle where you can get a combo of those two feels. 9 pounds is a decent crude mid point, and where variations in either direction can give a little more of one aspect than the other. I should say that my prefs are generally based on goals related to the instrument’s response vs my back, which is hopefully just a temporary, if extremely painful factor. The point is that if I am plunking down significant coinage, I am keenly interested in getting a particular feel as part of my investment. So, why wouldn’t I want to know the weight?
The main point is that there is a diversity of both players and instruments out there. Disparaging one or the other for their particular characteristics reflects a rather limited understanding of the larger picture. Be kind.
B... B... But .... this is the internet. That's not allowed, is it?!?!
A good point well made.
