Help with making my bass light

[darwin-bass]

Wait - you took a vintage '76 Jazz bass and hacked it to pieces just to get it super light?

I don't know where to be impressed or appalled, happy or sad.

 

[ScrewDevil]

Wait - you took a vintage '76 Jazz bass and hacked it to pieces just to get it super light?

I don't know where to be impressed or appalled, happy or sad.

All of the above.

 

[Hevy T]

Inject the pickup cavities with helium!

 

[Sparkl]

I started with an old '76 Fender Jazz I almost never play and swapped out the tuners and bridge for ultra light, but it was still too heavy. So I took off the pickguard and did a big route...basically everything that the pickguard and bridge could cover. I also sanded all the finish off and made a belly cut. I left a thin piece on the back, almost like a thick acoustic. It still seemed heavy so I took the pickguard to a plane sander and got it paper thin. I restrung it with the lightest gauge strings I could find.

Oh...my...god

 

[Jay2U]

This or an airbass.

 

[Engle]

Oh...my...god

Wait - you took a vintage '76 Jazz bass and hacked it to pieces just to get it super light?
I don't know where to be impressed or appalled, happy or sad.

I don't think an actual 76 jazz bass was harmed in the making of this thread

 

[TuneSalad666]

Just screw off the neck!

Usually what weight most.

 

[Stumbo]

DRTWT
Cut the wings off the body ala Steinberger.

 

[Stumbo]

Or lift weights to gain 4 pounds of muscle, then your bass will weigh -.8 lbs or something like that

 

[Diamond_Dave]

 

[Stumbo]

I wanted to get help making my bass lighter. I'm at 3.2 lbs, but wanted to see if I could shave off 4 more ounces to get it below 3 lbs.

I started with an old '76 Fender Jazz I almost never play and swapped out the tuners and bridge for ultra light, but it was still too heavy. So I took off the pickguard and did a big route...basically everything that the pickguard and bridge could cover. I also sanded all the finish off and made a belly cut. I left a thin piece on the back, almost like a thick acoustic. It still seemed heavy so I took the pickguard to a plane sander and got it paper thin. I restrung it with the lightest gauge strings I could find.

It had some neck dive so I sanded the neck and filed down the frets until it felt balanced. Now I'm at 3.2 lbs.

I was thinking of removing some of the extra wire since there is some slack. I don't think that will get me under 3 lbs, though. I really would like to keep both pickups, and don't know if anyone can suggest something lighter than the stock pickups, or if anyone thinks I could get there by removing some of the winds from the coil to get there. I would like to keep the headstock so people know it is a Fender, but that is the only other place I can think to remove weight.

Be careful, the string tension may snap your bass into your face.

Then you can post in the Best Bass Face thread.

 

[xnewyorka]

Better take a closer look at your calendar. April 1st isn't quite here yet.

 

[Magthegrate]

Forget the helium, hydrogen is lighter. Just make sure to shield it well.

 

[Stumbo]

Pics of the floating bass would be nice.

You can route the back of the upper and lower horns and the headstock.

 

[PauFerro]

Could you replace the knobs with something really light, or get rid of them entirely and paint the shaft and nuts so it looks attractive?

Alternatively, just get a 20 pound bass and put it on this:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Mbrace

It makes the weight zero.

 

[PauFerro]

Another alternative is to take off the knobs and wire straight to the output jack -- do any EQ on an amp. This'll blend the pickups, but you have to decide what is more important -- weight or functionality.

 

[craigie]

Could you replace the knobs with something really light, or get rid of them entirely and paint the shaft and nuts so it looks attractive?

Alternatively, just get a 20 pound bass and put it on this:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Mbrace

It makes the weight zero.

I like the paint yer nuts suggestion.
This thread has the makings of epic ridiculousness.

 

[gln1955]

I skimmed. Did anyone suggest going fretless?

How about a titanium truss rod?

 

[James Collins]

Sorry I haven't been able to respond today. I was a bit busy at work today, so I have made no additional progress. All good advice here.

Another consideration I had. When you pluck the strings, energy is imparted to the bass and its mass increases for as long as the strings vibrate by Einstein's general relativity. The knowledge that if you play your bass it will weigh more than it does if you do not makes me sad.

 

[Marley's Ghost]

Here's how to play a steini without neck dive.