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I need a light bass. My back is killing me.

#42
I turned the bassist in my band onto the Hohner B2A. These are made by Cort and are NOT half-bad, plus the price is right. Not the BEST-sounding bass, but really good, and it's still a solidbody and 34" scale. They CAN be modded to sound better. Handles well though.

He has thanked me ever since.

The only problem with Hofner's, Turser's, Epi's or any other violin basses is that, while they ARE extremely cool-sounding (and looking), they really cannot handle everything. That is not to say that they won't have universal appeal for some players though.

Seriously, pay attention to your neck and back, or you might pay dearly later.

FWIW- there is also a harness-type guitar strap available, the name of which escapes me. A buddy of mine who has back problems purchased one awhile back. It's cool, and takes the weight off of your back and neck, but it's not something you can just throw on instantly. You have to get "into" it, like an astronaut suiting up for a shuttle launch! :D
 
#43
If you can live with the ipod stylings I can heartedly recommend the Yamaha RBX4 A2 [Invalid or Expired Link Removed].

I have similar problems playing my main bass, a 5 string warwick thumb BO for lengthy sets. After trying out different strap and whatnot, I decided another bass was the way to go.

I had tried the guitar version before and was impressed and when I heard a bass version was coming I was intrigued. The price also turned out to be better than I anticipated.

It is incredibly light and well balanced with a real lively, full bodied tone that can be easily tamed with the tone pot. Yamaha have taken the sensible route of crafting a high quality bass and saving money on easilty replaceable hardware, as such the 2 vol pots could be better as most of their action is in about 10 degrees of turning. That's about the only fault.

I did a 2 hour + show at the weekend and my shoulder and back thanked me for it. I felt absolutely fine. Although I did have a niggle in my left hand which I always get on one bloody song that is so simple to play, but kills me everytime. Loveshack, seriously, a great crowd pleaser but not left hand friendly.

Anyway. Check one out, I love mine.
 
#44
Before buying a new bass, why don't you buy a Pro Comfort Strap and see if that helps. That's all I use. They are wide and very comfortable. That's all I use.

One of the guitar players in my band plays a Gibson Les Paul. He was always complaining about the weight on his shoulder. I had him "try on" my bass to see how effective that strap is. He was amazed, and bought one the next day. I haven't heard a complaint since then. You can usually get them at Guitar Center. They make them for bass and guitar, so make sure you get the "bass" version (it's wider), and don't get anything shorter than their "long" version.
 
#46
Jeff K said:
Before buying a new bass, why don't you buy a Pro Comfort Strap and see if that helps. That's all I use. They are wide and very comfortable. That's all I use.

One of the guitar players in my band plays a Gibson Les Paul. He was always complaining about the weight on his shoulder. I had him "try on" my bass to see how effective that strap is. He was amazed, and bought one the next day. I haven't heard a complaint since then. You can usually get them at Guitar Center. They make them for bass and guitar, so make sure you get the "bass" version (it's wider), and don't get anything shorter than their "long" version.
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I did use the comfort strap for some time on my warwick and couldn't get on with it's inherent stretchyness. It's does help heavy basses more comfortable but does not help neck dive. It's too stretchy for that and has very little grip compared to a suede backed strap. Also the long version IMO is crap for bass, it's far too long. Fine if you're a 6 footer and like playing down by your knees. You need to try them in the shop to find the right length. I used the short one on it's longest setting.

I got an unbranded 4" wide padded leather, suede backed jobby for the Thumb now. The weight is distributed better, it's grips to my shoulder and hold it in place. It's still not a cure for being weighty and neck heavy, but it's a lot better and more manageable. I may yet get some ultralite tuners to shave of some more weight.

Even so, i'll still use the Yamaha for longer sets. My health comes before ultimate tone.
 
#52
Ahh, forget a new bass.....just get out your trusty router and go to town !
 

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#55
ga_edwards said:
If you can live with the ipod stylings I can heartedly recommend the Yamaha RBX4 A2 [Invalid or Expired Link Removed].

I have similar problems playing my main bass, a 5 string warwick thumb BO for lengthy sets. After trying out different strap and whatnot, I decided another bass was the way to go.

I had tried the guitar version before and was impressed and when I heard a bass version was coming I was intrigued. The price also turned out to be better than I anticipated.

It is incredibly light and well balanced with a real lively, full bodied tone that can be easily tamed with the tone pot. Yamaha have taken the sensible route of crafting a high quality bass and saving money on easilty replaceable hardware, as such the 2 vol pots could be better as most of their action is in about 10 degrees of turning. That's about the only fault.

I did a 2 hour + show at the weekend and my shoulder and back thanked me for it. I felt absolutely fine. Although I did have a niggle in my left hand which I always get on one bloody song that is so simple to play, but kills me everytime. Loveshack, seriously, a great crowd pleaser but not left hand friendly.

Anyway. Check one out, I love mine.
Click to expand...

Yeah, these look like a neat idea. I'm tempted to give one a try. Can you change the pots easily with that whole led light setup though??? Also, what does yours weigh in at??
 
#57
ga_edwards said:
...Also the long version IMO is crap for bass, it's far too long. Fine if you're a 6 footer and like playing down by your knees. You need to try them in the shop to find the right length. I used the short one on it's longest setting.


Hmm. That's interesting (regarding the Comfort Strap). Most players biggest complaint with them is that they're not long enough! Personal preference, I guess. I love mine.
Click to expand...
 
#58
NOLA Bass said:
Yeah, these look like a neat idea. I'm tempted to give one a try. Can you change the pots easily with that whole led light setup though??? Also, what does yours weigh in at??
Click to expand...

I've just roughly weighed it on the only scales I own (a set of kitchen scales!) and it comes in at roughly 7lbs compared to the 9.7lbs of my Warwick Thumb. Almost 3lbs lighter! As mentioned, the Yamaha is also well balanced unlike the neck heavy Thumb. So all in all it makes a considerable difference. More amazing to me is how good the Yamaha sounds, nearly as ballsy as the Thumb with the tone rolled off a tad, just a bit smoother. A lot of people think it's active, and not because of the pretty lights.

The pots: Not sure TBH, I'm not an electric aficionado, so couldn't tell you. My guess would be you probably can replace them. The lights don't rotate like on the V-amp, they just dim, so there must be some kind of simple resistance connection to the pot. Actually isn't the pot a variable resistor itself?

Just thinking about it, the RBX4 A2 paired with my MB LMII head and MB traveller 1x12" cab (sometimes with the korg pandora for fx if I can't be arsed to bring my pedal-board to rehearsal) must make my complete rig one of the lightest rigs known to man.
 
#59
If there is a certain bass you like, try calling around to several dealers and see if they can weigh a couple of them for you. This is what I did when looking for another Lakland Skyline JO4........I got lucky and the first place I called (Bass Central) had a 8.25 lb. JO4 that balances like a dream in stock, needless to say it's been my main bass ever since I got it a few months ago. I'm about to put my other Lakland JO4 that weighs about 9.25 lbs. up for sale because I just can't handle it. I thought I could and played it at practice the other day and my back was killing me afterwards so it's gonna be up for sale before too long. 9 lbs. is my absolute max, anything more than that is just too heavy for me.
 

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