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It doesn’t matter why I like lightweight basses !
- Thread starter Dark Horse
- Start date
drumvsbass
Commercial User
- Aug 20, 2011
- 1,985
- 4,325
- Disclosures
- I work for Long and McQuade Musical Instruments Canada in Sales.
I never used to care about the weight of my bass. Until I got a 10lb stingray... 3 sets and I feel it the next day.
A good strap helps. I've found a wider strap is better.It doesn’t matter why I like lightweight basses. Yeah, I have a medical condition which is my main reason for it. But what if I like the tone of a lightweight bass ? What if I just don’t want to have to stand there every single night, or at least 200 nights a year with a big heavy bass on my shoulder? What if I want to save shipping money on sending it later in the future if I sell it? Who cares why the reason I like a lightweight bass is ?
If I ask you how much your bass weighs and I’m looking to purchase it, Just answer the question. Don’t give me a hard time about it, don’t try and give me an excuse, just answer the question.
Rant over.
I have to agree with this. I’ve bought and sold a lot of basses in my time. Never would have occurred to me to ask what a bass I’m purchasing weighs nor have I ever had a potential buyer ask me for the same. If they did, I have no way of even weighing it - I guess I could run out and buy a scale, but honestly would have to research the right type of scale to buy to get an accurate weight. So I can see why a seller might find it to be an odd request.
Out of all the basses I’ve owned, I only found one to be noticeably heavier than the others - it didn’t sound great so wasn’t around long anyway. All the rest are more or less the same to me - I don’t know what that is. I dunno 8 or 9 pounds?
I honestly found that getting the right strap is more important than shaving a pound off the weight of my bass. With the wrong strap all my basses hurt after a couple hours - with the right strap, none of my basses hurt after a couple hours.
Oh - BTW I have three fused vertebrae in my neck. Others have it worse than me, but most don’t, I suspect.
I am 5’0” tall, 116 lbs. I have had back problems for years. So yes, weight is very important.
Instrument weight is a validated marketing strategy these days.
Chasing the fabled “sustain” of the 70s is long over. Farewell brass hardware...
Chasing the fabled “sustain” of the 70s is long over. Farewell brass hardware...
I hear ya brutha, loud and clear. It cracks me up when guys get annoyed by questions about the weight of an instrument they are trying to sell. It doesn't matter if YOU aren't concerned about the weight, if a potential buyer IS and you can't answer this simple question, guess what...you get to keep it. I have bought and sold WAY too many instruments over the last 10 years and this is the first qualification any new family member has to meet for me, nothing else about it matters if I can't hang it off my shoulder for 4 hours and not have to fight it all night. Years ago I bought myself a digital postage scale (I think I paid $35 for it) and if you buy and sell a lot this is a wise investment.
My favorite bass is an Ibanez SR500 mahogany. It's under 8 pounds. A close second is the SR300EL, black sparkle with Nordy OEM's by Ibanez. I took a gamble on both basses online and it worked out for me. I'm also looking at an Ibanez Taman lefty. If it arrives too heavy it goes back. I just won't tolerate heavy basses. I haven't even when I was packing half pallets of soda from store to store 30 years ago. Doesn't make it more manly or tough to carry heavy gear.
You have one body. Be good to it and it might last you a long time.
You have one body. Be good to it and it might last you a long time.
P.S. I typed my response on a Dell ultraportable laptop that weighs in at about 3 pounds.
Sellers get upset about the weight question because they know that heavy basses don’t sell. Getting rid of a boat anchor is difficult.
Geez. That’s ridiculous . I’m with you, after that I wouldn’t want to bother checking it out either
I actually wasn’t stating anything about the tone of a lightweight bass .... I was simply saying “that could be one of a myriad of reasons that someone might prefer a given weight of bass”, and that the seller really shouldn’t need a reason that the buyer would request the basses weight ...
I probably didn’t make that clear enough
If I request info, I “am” seriously shopping.
But I get that maybe some people aren’t .... they’re just tire kicking. However, many of us who use the classifieds on Talkbass regularly know that the weight question is gonna come up, so even if a “tire kicker” asks the question, to me it’s worthwhile answering and posting the weight .
But that’s just my opinion....
Straps over 2.5” wide are uncomfortable to me, I don’t like the way they sit on my shoulder.
P.S. I typed my response on a Dell ultraportable laptop that weighs in at about 3 pounds.
Have you ever seen Ishtar? It’s not without its flaws, but on the whole, an unjustly maligned film. I think the true brilliance of Ishtar was overshadowed by all the nonsense around the budget, and Elaine May. I honestly think it’s hysterically funny, in an intentional, not accidental way. The scene where Lyle is talking Chuck off the ledge has Warren Beatty delivering one of the best comedy monologues on film. And then, there is Charles Grodin. He just has to show up and it’s funny.
My guess: Nobody - apart from you ,of course
It seems to be a big deal to you however.
Why else would you have started this thread.
Regardless;I do hope you feel better now.
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