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"How much does it weigh?"

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This WHOLE thread is about people not understanding that some things are important to other people that aren't important to your self. It's typical of humans, but it is slightly arrogant. For real.

My preferred weight is 8.5lbs, and my cutoff is 9.5 even though I'd rather not deal with it. And I've run into a fair number of 8.5lb basses that I have no desire to settle, at all. Why would I? That is what floors me, some people think that I should settle on this? Nonsense, and you fail to see how much nonsense it is. As for exact weight when you are in person, if something is borderline, then I'll pass, but if I knew it was 9.1 lbs and an absolute get playing wise, I MIGHT want to try it out for a while, that is where an exact measurement would come in handy. For the most part, in person I can tell but there is more than one bass out of the 300+ basses that I've 'owned' that I didn't gauge properly on a first whirl only to find out later that it really wasn't gonna do it for me. I got two basses in my ideal weight range, the notion that I'd settle now is redonkulous.

I can understand that a heavier bass isn't important to you, no arguments there. But telling my what my priorities should be is straight up idiotic.
 
Silly is in the mind of the observer. To me, it's not at all silly.

Now this...

...is just generally silly. And in no way pertains to the weighing of a bass. :D


I clearly said "could". For example, you go into said store with your strap and spend a couple of hours checking a bass out. Then ask about the weight. Again, that could be seen as silly.
:cool:

There's something that's usually overlooked in discussions like this... weight is just one facet of an instrument. All basses of a certain weight do not hang the same. So saying you can only wear a 9.5 lb. bass when someone may have built a 10 lb. bass that hangs better on you doesn't make a lot of sense. Weight can get you in the ballpark but it really doesn't tell the entire story on wearability. IME.

Straps seem to be largely ignored by many too. I have no idea why. They're one of the cheaper smart "upgrades" you can do for an instrument.
 
I think you're a bit confused. Please quote the specific post where i state that "weight shouldn't be an issue. "

Let me save you some time. I never said that. I am debating a few sub-arguments, which may be confusing to you.

Do you have a consistent argument to make here, or are you just going to keep changing your argument until you're right?

First, you said that weight shouldn't be an issue. Then, when confronted with several valid reasons for being concerned about the weight of a bass, you revised your argument. Now, you're trying to make some ridiculous point about me not understanding that I can walk into a store and test an instrument for hours...

Let me ask you; wouldn't it just be simpler to simply ask how much the thing weighs, if the weight of the instrument is an issue to a buyer? Oh, but of course you're right, it's better to waste hours in Guitar Center Hell to determine whether or not it's too heavy. Yeah, that makes perfect sense.

As I said earlier, some people just have to be right on teh interwebs. Kudos to you for proving my point.
 
I think you're a bit confused. Please quote the specific post where i state that "weight shouldn't be an issue. "

Let me save you some time. I never said that. I am debating a few sub-arguments, which may be confusing to you.

Oh, we're going to play a game of semantics now? Okay...

You're right, you haven't said those exact words, but I think your feelings on the subject are pretty clear. Here are some of your posts that I think clearly indicate your feelings on the weight issue...

I just keep it simple and don't cater to those with weigh issues.

[Good shoes] and a proper strap and good posture can make heavy basses tolerable for extended periods.

Sorry, but good shoes, a good strap and proper posture are not a panacea for those with back problems.

You even called people who ask:

Personally, I've found that there are some real weight sissies around here.

Weight sissies? So, you know that the people who were asking had no valid reason to ask? I guess they were just being a PITA? See, these are reasons why it appears that you think weight is not important.

And do you post in this condescending, abrasive manner because you think being smarmy will make the person feel small and stop arguing with you, thereby giving you an internet win? Sorry, but ad hominem abusive attacks are not very persuasive...
 
Ah, so the plot thickens. You admit I didn't say what you thought I said, but now you're trying to pretend I have "feelings" different than my written words. Fun.

As I stated in my original post, I do not offer weight to sellers because I don't have an accurate way to weigh the items. Furthermore, I have had three seperate occurences where weight-sensitive buyers have threatened negavitive feedback. Never once have I drawn a conclusion about those desiring light basses. Your " examples"? Even though you took them out of context, they still don't prove the point you are trying to make. The "weight sissies" comment was tounge-in-cheek.

Don't try to read intent into my words. You're out of your league. ;)

Oh, we're going to play a game of semantics now? Okay...

You're right, you haven't said those exact words, but I think your feelings on the subject are pretty clear. For example, you've stated in this thread that when you sell a bass, you don't provide information on the weight. Why?

Here are some of your posts that I think clearly indicate your feelings on the weight issue...





Sorry, but good shoes, a good strap and proper posture are not a panacea for those with back problems.

You even called people who ask:



Weight sissies? So, you know that the people who were asking had no valid reason to ask? I guess they were just being a PITA? See, these are reasons why it appears that you think weight is not important.

And do you post in this condescending, abrasive manner because you think being smarmy will make the person feel small and stop arguing with you, thereby giving you an internet win? Sorry, but ad hominem abusive attacks are not very persuasive...
 
The "weight sissies" comment was tounge-in-cheek.


I'm a "weight sissy".

I wish I could hammer on a Peavey T40 all night long, because I love the sound and look - they're amazing basses for the cash, and since they're easily replaceable, they're great gigging basses....much easier to replace than my vintage Fenders and Mosrite.

Unfortunately, due to my broken neck, heavy basses cause me to get migraines if I play them for more than about 30 minutes - regardless of the fact that I use a comfortable 3" Levy's strap.

I don't need to know the weight down to "the last ounce"...just an approximate - i.e. "the bass is medium weight, probably 9lbs or a bit over", or something like "it's pretty light, lighter than my 9 lb Jazz bass" or whatever.

:)
 
Unfortunately, not all buyers are so reasonable. Some, as in my examples, go bananas over a 1/2lb.

I'm a "weight sissy".

I wish I could hammer on a Peavey T40 all night long, because I love the sound and look - they're amazing basses for the cash, and since they're easily replaceable, they're great gigging basses....much easier to replace than my vintage Fenders and Mosrite.

Unfortunately, due to my broken neck, heavy basses cause me to get migraines if I play them for more than about 30 minutes - regardless of the fact that I use a comfortable 3" Levy's strap.

I don't need to know the weight down to "the last ounce"...just an approximate - i.e. "the bass is medium weight, probably 9lbs or a bit over", or something like "it's pretty light, lighter than my 9 lb Jazz bass" or whatever.

:)
 
Unfortunately, not all buyers are so reasonable. Some, as in my examples, go bananas over a 1/2lb.


'Tis true.

You can only do what you can do.

I definitely understand not being able to get a "down to the ounce" weight - I don't have an accurate postal scale either - I just try to answer the questions to the best of my ability and leave it at that. It's frustrating...and I should go buy a postal scale, as I sell enough items and ship enough things to certainly justify the purchase...but sometimes you just need to explain that "_____ is the approximate weight ...just an educated guess...but remember that a certain weight doesn't guarantee a good instrument...and this is a good instrument" - or something to that effect.

But the seller also has to be willing to accept that to some buyers, weight does indeed matter....and a few ounces can matter. They do matter to me, but as long as a seller gives me a reasonable approximation, it will help me make a better decision on a potential purchase. At least it helps "narrow the field".

Maybe I'll go out and price some postal scales today....

:)
 
I didn't admit anything other than you didn't say those exact words. Now, this will likely come as a shock to you, but people don't always explicitly state how they feel. Sometimes people infer things. But how wonderful your world must be, where everything is so black and white...

They're your words. I didn't use them out of context, and anyone is free to go back and re-read your posts to see if they think that's the case.

So long.
 
There's no talking to a

fdereigs.gif


.....it's simply a waste of time.
 
to you guys who don't feel you should have to buy a scale to cater to weight sissies - you're right, you shouldn't. I will point out though that if you've done any amount of online selling (here, ebay, etc), you've already flushed away way more in Paypal fees than a decent digital scale would cost. Berkeley Digital Fishing scale, referenced earlier; 20 bucks, available on Amazon, and useful for a bunch of other things as well. Kind of a cool gadget to have around, actually.

re weighing a bass at a brick-and-mortar shop - I've done this. I didn't get interested in this weight thing as a hobby; it was driven by my observation that some instruments were causing me problems after a long night on the strap, and some weren't. I got a scale to see if there was any correlation to weight - surprise, there was! After a couple of years and lots of instruments, I've developed a pretty good set of guidelines around what works and what doesn't. It's not always easy to tell that in a shop, especially for a borderline case. The scale is just a tool, for another data point.

Btw, I was in Jimmy Mouradian's shop recently, arguably one of the most "pro" shops in the northeast. I happened to have my fishing scale with me and they were interested in where I got it, how much, etc. They said a lot of their customers ask about weight and thought it would be a good idea to get one for the shop. Go figure.

/rick
 
To take a few words, out of paragraphs that I typed, and them take them out of context to try to infer my "true meaning" is an exercise in futility. I tend to type what I think, and I have mo reason to lie to strangers on the Internet about something so unimportant.

People who go looking for fights tend to find them.

I didn't admit anything other than you didn't say those exact words. Now, this will likely come as a shock to you, but people don't always explicitly state how they feel. Sometimes people infer things. But how wonderful your world must be, where everything is so black and white...

They're your words. I didn't use them out of context, and anyone is free to go back and re-read your posts to see if they think that's the case.

So long.
 
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