How heavy is too heavy for a bass?

[slapDoctor]

I recently got this beatiful sire v5 with upgraded aguilar pickups and a sadowsky VTC pre installed, all for $469. Its the best sounding bass I've owned, I think the onboard pre sounds better than my v7 setup with the offboard sadowsky, the VTC is pretty useful.

The one thing is... this thing's insanely heavy. By far the heaviest bass I've owned. I would estimate around 11lbs or more. I was using a guitar strap initially and developed some severe neck pain so I had to stop playing it. I got a 4" padded strap now and it helps mitigate some of the issues.

Will new tuners help that much? It would shed off a half lb at most and help w neck dive, hopefully removing the neck dive would make the weight not be distributed so poorly on my neck.

Is it worth getting a lightweight bridge, does anyone know of a drop-in lightweight sire bridge? At this point I might as well get a different bass.

This thing sounds and plays so well though, it's a hard dilemma.

 

[ajkula66]

Let me make sure that I understand correctly: the bass is ~11lbs and it neck dives ?

Trying out lightweight tuners that require no drilling could be beneficial. I'd stay away from a lighter bridge because it might make the neck dive worse even with the tuners swapped...

If I really *loved* everything else about it, I'd resign myself to playing it only when seated.

My $0.02 only...

Good luck.

 

[buldog5151bass]

I played an 11 pound bass for 20 years (when I was younger), and I still have it. Get a wide padded strap.

 

[E2942]

4,444 Grams

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Changing that thin bent-plate bridge will buy you nothing in terms of weight. Tuners might get you around 8oz or so.

But whatever "too heavy" is is up to you.

 

[J Wilson]

Too heavy AND it neck dives. Yikes.

You can swap out hardware all you want, but the answer is sell/trade this thing for something that suits you better. I wouldn't spend a dime on it, it's gotta go. It's just really heavy, dense wood, and no hardware is going to shave much weight off of it, nor change the balance.

 

[tb-player]

I’ve refused basses that were over 9lb. 11lb is heavy. Changing hardware won’t make a noticeable difference at that weight. Plus, doing $200+ worth of mods on an $469 bass doesn’t make much sense. Get a good 4” strap & live with it or get a new bass, if you really need something lighter.

 

[Luckydog]

I had a 77 Fender Jazz that weighed right around 11 pounds. It was never my only bass, but when I used it in the 90s I was younger and in better shape, so I could more easily deal with it for gigs. Now, anything over 9 pounds is hard to get through 3 sets with.

 

[DrBnz]

I try to keep all new procurements under 9.2 to be honest. But my workhorse P-bass is 7.25..... my GO TO J-bass is 8.2 lbs.

 

[GIBrat51]

How heavy is "too heavy"? That's an "it just depends" question. Regardless of how much the bass in question actually weighs; if it's heavier than YOU want a bass to be? Then... never mind anybody else's opinion - it's too heavy. However... for future guidance, you should probably weigh the thing, so you don't make this... mistake... again.
Personally? Well, when I was much younger, and a Combat Engineer, I was the unlucky person that had to lug an M-60A1 machine gun around - along with a couple hundred rounds of ammo hanging out of the feed ramp. Unloaded, an M60A1 weighs about 26lbs. With 200 rounds added on it? About 38 lbs. And, I carried it on an "assault sling", hanging off my shoulder. Which I could do- and often did - all day, for more days than I care to remember. But, at the time? Didn't bother me all that much... Now, at almost 74? I'm definitely paying for it. My '78 Fender P-Bass, which actually weighs just over 11 lbs., is a bass I can't play for very long, any more - regardless of the strap it wears. Kind of a bummer; it's my first bass, and I've owned it for going on 37 years, now...
As for "heavy and a neck diver"? Yeah, that can certainly happen. As it happens, I own one of them, too; a '78, aluminum-necked Kramer 450B. It weighs a hair over 10 lbs., and neck dives like a JU-88 Stuka on a bomb run. Between the weight - and holding the neck up - it's gotten hard to play that one for very long, too. If it wasn't for the way it sounds? It would have been gone a long time ago...
So... bottom line? If the bass is just too heavy for you? There's no shame in that. Just sell it along, and find another bass that suits you better. I own several lightweight basses; they're lots of fun to play. As for neck diving remedies? Yeah, lightweight tuners and wide straps can help; the best cure, though, is a bass that doesn't do it in the first place. And, yes; I own several of those, too...

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

I recently got this beatiful sire v5 with upgraded aguilar pickups and a sadowsky VTC pre installed, all for $469. Its the best sounding bass I've owned, I think the onboard pre sounds better than my v7 setup with the offboard sadowsky, the VTC is pretty useful.

The one thing is... this thing's insanely heavy. By far the heaviest bass I've owned. I would estimate around 11lbs or more. I was using a guitar strap initially and developed some severe neck pain so I had to stop playing it. I got a 4" padded strap now and it helps mitigate some of the issues.

Will new tuners help that much? It would shed off a half lb at most and help w neck dive, hopefully removing the neck dive would make the weight not be distributed so poorly on my neck.

Is it worth getting a lightweight bridge, does anyone know of a drop-in lightweight sire bridge? At this point I might as well get a different bass.

This thing sounds and plays so well though, it's a hard dilemma.

I’d just get a lighter bass as there’s not much you can do to significantly reduce the weight. Sweetwater, Wilcutt, Wildwood and some others list weights which is helpful.

 

[fretno]

11 would be the cut off for me.

 

[Paul New]

How heavy is "too heavy"? That's an "it just depends" question. Regardless of how much the bass in question actually weighs; if it's heavier than YOU want a bass to be? Then... never mind anybody else's opinion - it's too heavy. However... for future guidance, you should probably weigh the thing, so you don't make this... mistake... again.
Personally? Well, when I was much younger, and a Combat Engineer, I was the unlucky person that had to lug an M-60A1 machine gun around - along with a couple hundred rounds of ammo hanging out of the feed ramp. Unloaded, an M60A1 weighs about 26lbs. With 200 rounds added on it? About 38 lbs. And, I carried it on an "assault sling", hanging off my shoulder. Which I could do- and often did - all day, for more days than I care to remember. But, at the time? Didn't bother me all that much... Now, at almost 74? I'm definitely paying for it. My '78 Fender P-Bass, which actually weighs just over 11 lbs., is a bass I can't play for very long, any more - regardless of the strap it wears. Kind of a bummer; it's my first bass, and I've owned it for going on 37 years, now...
As for "heavy and a neck diver"? Yeah, that can certainly happen. As it happens, I own one of them, too; a '78, aluminum-necked Kramer 450B. It weighs a hair over 10 lbs., and neck dives like a JU-88 Stuka on a bomb run. Between the weight - and holding the neck up - it's gotten hard to play that one for very long, too. If it wasn't for the way it sounds? It would have been gone a long time ago...
So... bottom line? If the bass is just too heavy for you? There's no shame in that. Just sell it along, and find another bass that suits you better. I own several lightweight basses; they're lots of fun to play. As for neck diving remedies? Yeah, lightweight tuners and wide straps can help; the best cure, though, is a bass that doesn't do it in the first place. And, yes; I own several of those, too...

We’re the same age, and I flew out of Travis AFB on my 18th birthday. I was a medic though, and opted for medivac after a couple of weeks humpin.

But I always thought that a bass weighs ten pounds plus or minus a couple of pounds. I’m beginning to care a liitle more though. My 8 LB P bass gets played a lot more than the 10 pounder lately.

 

[GrooveCaptain]

11 pounds is ridiculous. Sell it. How a heavy 4 string jazz bass can neck dive is beyond me.
I believe Sire just released a new line of P and J basses that are all 8lbs or under. I'd look there if you love Sires. Otherwise, everybody makes a jazz bass.

 

[Killens84]

I won’t own a bass over 9 lbs.
I’d like to own a Yamaha BBP35, but they’re all too heavy. An 11 lb bass would be a huge deal-breaker for me.

 

[CoughSyrup]

9 lbs is my upper limit, and that better be a damn good bass. There's no way I'm dealing with 11 lbs. The V5 is a great bass, and Sires tend to be on the heavy side, but if you're patient and willing to look, you can find examples much closer to 8 lbs.

 

[ManyMountains]

Weigh the bass on an actual scale then get back to us. Guessing at a weight is not helpful as it might be the balance, neck dive, or strap that is making it feel so heavy.

 

[pcake]

how heavy is too heavy? when i was in my late thirties and forties, 11 pounds was no problem for me. since then? 8 pounds absolute screaming max. but that's me.

i hope that 4" strap works out, but if you play extended gigs and start to feel pain, be cautious or you could cause yourself not just pain but damage that may be with you for a long time.

 

[Pocket Dave]

A little over 8 1/2 lbs is where I draw the line these days, but I separated my strap-shoulder 24 years ago in a wreck, and have had scoliosis forever.

Everyone's got their limit, whether they've hit it or not.

And playing heavier basses seated isn't an option for me - While I sit while playing at home, sitting vs standing at gigs isn't always my call.

 

[Dust2Dust]

Why are the best basses always the heavy basses

I'm in the struggle as well . . .

My Bass: "Pick me up and play me"
Me: "I'm working on it. Give me a minute"