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Is it just me or are lightweight basses overrated?
- Thread starter Morgys
- Start date
Yeah, there it is, the oversimplified solution. I've had five lower back surgeries in the past decade. Up till I turned 65 (now 77) I went to the gym 3-4 times a week for weight lifting and aerobics workouts including spin class. When you suffer from degenerative disk disease, lifting weights that cause back strain is the last thing you want to do. I still do upper body strength training and spin class. But my best friends are basses under 9 pounds, as others have also pointed out.
I'm sure that those with orthopedic issue might take issue with your statements.
However, one of my very first basses was a Hagstom I, a short scale bass with a smallish body two piece body held together with screws. It looked like a toy compared to a PB. If it weighed more than 5 lbs l'd be surprised. When I put a new set of string on it, sounded pretty good.
I dunno. Feel is subjective. Tone, is a more of a matter of what your do with the signal coming out of your instrument. I would not expect two instruments sounding exactly the same with the same tone settings, even two of the same make and model.
Of all the factors that contribute to tone, I would say that, especially with regard to basses with preamps, that weight and wood have the least affect. This has been done to death by people who have fashioned "instruments" without any body at all (lots of YT videos) and they sound just fine. Of course, that's a rational argument. People get very irrational about weight and "tone wood" so there is no way to reason with them, and I have given up the attempt.
Play a lightweight Sandberg and you might change your mind . 
As someone who goes to the gym, lightweight basses are still better.
Not a single one of these is heavier than 8 pounds, and I say they're pretty alright instruments.
Not a single one of these is heavier than 8 pounds, and I say they're pretty alright instruments.
The question of whether or not heavy basses allegedly sound better is not relevant to someone who needs a lighter bass for health/injury/disability/ergonomic reasons.
I'm a generally healthy person who has lifted weights most of my life and would be considered "strong" by most people. I've also had serious neck/shoulder issues when playing with a heavy bass over many long sessions and ultimately had to switch to a lighter bass for a time in order for it to be physically possible to continue. After doing that for an extended period things are a bit better, and my playing and rehearsing sessions tend to be shorter and further apart, so I can get away with a mix. Respectfully, anyone who criticizes someone for choosing a lighter bass should count themselves very lucky that they are in a position to not understand why it might be needed.
I'm a generally healthy person who has lifted weights most of my life and would be considered "strong" by most people. I've also had serious neck/shoulder issues when playing with a heavy bass over many long sessions and ultimately had to switch to a lighter bass for a time in order for it to be physically possible to continue. After doing that for an extended period things are a bit better, and my playing and rehearsing sessions tend to be shorter and further apart, so I can get away with a mix. Respectfully, anyone who criticizes someone for choosing a lighter bass should count themselves very lucky that they are in a position to not understand why it might be needed.
most of the TB population isn't gigging regularly, no shade on them, just stating, play 4 gigs of 3 hour length in a row and do this every week in the summer and most of the spring/fall and you'll be at the chiropractor/doctor/masseuse like i was until i switched to a lightweight bass. and no my hofner doesn't sound thin/wimpy/weak due to being light, 95% of the sound is the pickups and hofner pickups are beefy fat warm thick and loud as hell.
In the long, complex list of tone factors, ranked by impact,
weight is very far down the list, somewhere near type of wood.
If you just like the feel of extra weight, that's totally valid.
But don't fool yourself that tone is the reason
weight is very far down the list, somewhere near type of wood.
If you just like the feel of extra weight, that's totally valid.
But don't fool yourself that tone is the reason
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Yes…I get what you're saying…most of my basses are on the heavy side. 2 Warmoth P basses..a Ibanez Roadstar…and other basses are on the heavy side…never really dug the feel of hollow body basses…so yeah I get where your coming from…62 yo bass player
sure, IMO holding a ten pound object on a shoulder strap for a couple hours isnt some form of cruel and unusual punishment and is actually less physically demanding than doing household chores. I carry a gallon or a half gallon of water on a shoulder strap pretty much everywhere I go and I'm not some superhuman
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I hear ya, but if you carry groceries 40-45 minutes at a time, 4-5 times a night, 4-6 nights a week, (My club gig schedule for a while), you might start looking for ways to gain as much comfort as possible.
Overrated can depend on the shoulder of the beholder.
M. M.
M. M.
I thought along those lines for years that a certain amount of mass added to tone.
All these years later and having owned a wide variety of basses, from my experience it's not simply weight, but stiffness, which may or may not be coupled to the weight of a given instrument.
This is what I've felt and heard, inasmuch as how wood can vary greatly. Your results may differ.
All these years later and having owned a wide variety of basses, from my experience it's not simply weight, but stiffness, which may or may not be coupled to the weight of a given instrument.
This is what I've felt and heard, inasmuch as how wood can vary greatly. Your results may differ.
My old ass likes light! But, it must feel right to. I don't care about the wood or if it's pretty, as long as it does the job. Any bass with preferred equipment no matter what it's made of can be made sound right. Your right and mine will be different. With age comes different likes. A10 lb bass isn't one of them unless your young.
I would have played a railroad track back in the day and not given it a thought. As I get older everything has changed. Now, when I play my 6s I give them 2 sets and move to a 5. Basses of "my" choice are different now. Their weight matters. I like to play comfortable. It affects how I play. To each their own.
I would have played a railroad track back in the day and not given it a thought. As I get older everything has changed. Now, when I play my 6s I give them 2 sets and move to a 5. Basses of "my" choice are different now. Their weight matters. I like to play comfortable. It affects how I play. To each their own.
Feel? What does "feel" mean?
"Feel," "solidity," "punch" are at best subjective, and at worst vague to the point of meaninglessness.
Tone? Nope.
Let's get real: There is no objective evidence I've ever seen, or any physical reason, reason why the weight of the instrument would impact the tone overall, certainly not in any consistent way. "Super light" basses are made using different woods and components, different body designs (e.g. some chambered, others not), different pickups... And of course, all of these electric instruments are getting amplified, and the signal chain is responsible for the vast majority of differences in tone.
It's basically just your mind playing tricks on you. That's very typical with such highly subjective judgements.
