It doesn’t matter why I like lightweight basses !

[Wesley R]

In 1968 every Thursday morning my shoulder would hurt and being a kid I would complain a little about it. One night my dad looked at me and said something along the line of you had band practice last night. I do not know what a JC Penney's semi hollow bas weighed, but I am guessing it was not light.

 

[mikecd1]

You know the deal is over when the seller replies "Its not too heavy, its ok." Got ebay involved to return a bass after seller quoted me just over 8 lbs for weight and then the bass was just under 9 lbs when it arrived. When asked about the problem he said he didn't know the weight and looked it up online somewhere then complained to me and Ebay that I was scamming him so I could try his bass then return it. All I could say was that if he answered honestly and said "I don't know" I could have made my own decision. I recently picked up a 7 lb 10 oz Lakland and am thrilled! I've got some metal in my back so it really helps...

 

[Liam Wald]

If it doesn't matter, why bother posting about it?

 

[micguy]

I have a bit of an obsession with weight. I build my own instruments, in part because I'm just plain picky about things, but one of those things is definitely weight. My basses are built with Warmoth wood - if you buy one of the bodies they have in stock, you know exactly what you're getting weight wise. The toughest thing about that is you sometimes have to wait months before an appropriate body show up there. I have had the opposite experience, though, - a body that was up there for 6 months before I decided to buy it. I usually do my own finishes, and that one was already finished, which meant I paid a premium for that, but...eventually the fact that it was the right weight meant I caved in and ponied up the cash.

If you know what options to pick when ordering a neck, you can get a very nice neck that's also light (but also hard on your wallet - all the options that make it lighter add cost. All aluminum hardware (including the neck plate and knobs!) and you're gold. My lightest bass is 6.6 pounds - essentially a P bass, though the body is a slightly different shape. My heaviest (I only play that one sitting down) is 7.8 pounds.

If I were to buy a bass, and the seller wouldn't give me an accurate weight, I don't have a problem with that. I just won't buy it. what I really have a problem with is folks who will lie, or use an innacurate scale. I have a postal scale in my shop, and a food scale in my kitchen. They agree to within a gram on the weight of anything I've ever put on them, so I'm pretty sure I have accurate weights of all my basses.

 

[fishdreams]

Well yeah, it is important and you have every right to ask for the exact weight, and you don't owe anyone an explanation as to why. If I happen to like the tone of heavy ash, and I therefore want an 11 lbs 70ties jazz bass, than I would ask the exact same question.

I'll for example pass on a Fender style in low 7lbs range because the balance will probably be off by a country mile, which I really can't deal with-i play up the neck a lot and don't want to have to support the neck with my left hand all the time. (I sold the Jack Casady I got from you for that reason-tone to die for, but just couldn't get with the imbalance :-( )if a bass is hanging on a strap i want it to hang in balance. 8.5-9lbs ,that's about right for me, tone-wise too, depending on construction, hardware etc.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

how did you weigh the bass?

 

[bdplaid]

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.

Here, here! I play better when I wear a lightweight bass, period.

[Rant just beginning...]

 

[Dark Horse]

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.

I guess you’re missing the point. Yeah, weight is a big deal to me personally, but that’s not the point of the thread. The point is that if you’re selling something and a potential buyer asks a question about it, you should do your best to just answer the question with an attitude or questioning why they’re asking. The potential buyer obviously has reasons that they’re asking, and those reasons are clearly important to THEM. It doesn’t matter whether the reasons are important to you, the seller.

 

[CaptainWally]

I guess you’re missing the point. Yeah, weight is a big deal to me personally, but that’s not the point of the thread. The point is that if you’re selling something and a potential buyer asks a question about it, you should do your best to just answer the question with an attitude or questioning why they’re asking. The potential buyer obviously has reasons that they’re asking, and those reasons are clearly important to THEM. It doesn’t matter whether the reasons are important to you, the seller.

Hear, hear.

I mean, if you asked "Has the bass ever been played whilst the player eats raisins....?" Maybe that's a strange question to ask. But weight is such an obvious and objective measurement, and the reasons for asking should be patently obvious. Because the instrument's weight is an important data point for moi.

 

[Dark Horse]

Oh, I do too.
I am just way past the place where I thought people cared if I play a light, a heavy a whatever instrument or where I felt I needed to impress them with my choices.
People don't care, usually. That is not to say that some are not trying to provoke a reaction through comments.
I ignore these comments most of the time.

Missing the point.

I don’t care what people think about what I play, never have.... a bless they’re the person paying my paycheck, then I care.

What I do care about is shopping for a bass, asking a simple question about something that’s important to ME, and having the seller give me attitude and try to tell me why I’m wrong about my needs and preferences.

 

[pcake]

Only read through the first four pages of this, and have not seen my question addressed, so here goes. I have a digital bathroom scale and have found the readings to vary wildly even on successive weighings of the same bass, so it is not a reliable indicator. I do not have a postal scale or equivalent.

But I do have a digital suspension scale, sort of like one fish are weighed with. How reliable is that, with a bass hanging from it? Does it give an accurate enough reading for the purposes discussed here?

i have 2 digital bathroom scales. they show weight to the tenth of a pound. if you get on and off of one of them ten times, it will show the exact same weight ten times if you then pick up a 7 pound bass, it will show you the exact same weight plus 7 pounds. i paid about $20 each for them on amazon. i also sometimes balance basses on my kitchen scale, which is accurate to the tenth of a gram. that's pretty darn accurate! and it shows the same weight as my bathroom scales.

as far as a spring scale, i suspect it depends on the spring scale. we have two - a big one and a small one - and they report the same weights as our digital bathroom scales. one of ours is a fish weighing scale, the other is for hanging and weighing bigger things.

you can only do what you can do. show a pic of the bass hanging from your spring scale that also shows the weight.

 

[obimark]

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.

Do you even lift Bro?

 

[Dark Horse]

If it doesn't matter, why bother posting about it?

You’re missing the point completely.

The point isn’t about weight.

The point is about asking the seller a question...any question... and having them come back at you with an attitude or trying to tell you why you were wrong about having your question or opinions on what you’re looking for.

As a buyer, if you feel it is important enough to “you personally” to ask a question regarding an instrument, that’s all that really matters. The question should just be answered as completely as possible, without judgment.

 

[Dark Horse]

Well yeah, it is important and you have every right to ask for the exact weight, and you don't owe anyone an explanation as to why. If I happen to like the tone of heavy ash, and I therefore want an 11 lbs 70ties jazz bass, than I would ask the exact same question..

Exactly.

It’s not the content of the question that is the subject of this thread. It’s the fact that a buyer (me) asked a question that was important to him personally. And instead of giving an answer, a seller came back and tried to tell the buyer (me) why he was wrong about asking the question.

The most interesting and funniest thing about this is I have probably owned, bought, and sold more basses than about 99% of the people here. I know what I am looking for an instrument, and I also know that if I’m selling something and a buyer asks a question, I am going to answer it to the best of my ability and the question why they asked... or insult them for having that particular requirement.

 

[Doctor J]

Is something black or white?


It's sounds like what you'd accept is "All heavy basses are X, all light basses are Y". It's been a common goal here on TB for years... people want to see a set of rules to simplify making choices.

If you play ten Ash jazz basses and ten Alder jazz basses and don't notice a commonality with the different woods, cool. I usually hear a difference, particularly slapping, which can highlight the attack and decay of the instrument among other things.

Except just like life, it's usually not that simple. Weight is only one component of wood. So is that the only thing that can affect tone? IME no. Yet folks here often set up ground rules based on one measurement while ignoring any other relevant ones.

Weight is a great one. I've seen people state that they can't wear a bass over a tenth of a pound over their limit. If basses were weights that might make sense. But they're musical instruments that you have to wear so I'd think at some point ergonomics factors in. But they don't.

Scale length is another. I had a 34" bass that had a much longer reach to the nut than another 34" scale bass... because the bridge was close to the middle of the body vs. near the edge. But they were both 34" scale so how could they be different when they're the same? Heck, there are still folks who think that the number of frets factors into scale length.


I've owned a lot of custom basses and played even more. I tend to prefer woods that happen to be relatively heavy yet very resonant. I don't have a problem with a lighter bass that sounds great but those in the same vein as my preferred basses are extremely rare. All heavy wood is not the same, neither is all light wood. It took time to figure out what I like and now, if I place an order and I don't experiment with a "next great thing" component it's rare that I won't be very happy with the results. Because I know what I like and how to get there.

Not necessarily black and white but if someone says a lighter body results in a particular sonic characteristic, then all lighter bodies should display that exact characteristic to some degree, no? Everything is a factor, for sure, but to apply a blanket rule to something suggests it covers all permutations. If it doesn't, then it can't be applied as a blanket rule. I didn't make the claim, I queried it as it was a new one to me and was genuinely interested to see if there was any substance to it. I'd accept something which wasn't pulled from the clouds and had some kind of consistency to it, even in the slightest of forms.

 

[bassmanrocke]

If he's asking why, he knows it's too damn heavy. He's probably selling it because he wants something lighter himself.

 

[Lava]

I concur.

 

[Dark Horse]

Do you even lift Bro?

 

[Brad Johnson]

Not necessarily black and white but if someone says a lighter body results in a particular sonic characteristic, then all lighter bodies should display that exact characteristic to some degree, no? Everything is a factor, for sure, but to apply a blanket rule to something suggests it covers all permutations. If it doesn't, then it can't be applied as a blanket rule. I didn't make the claim, I queried it as it was a new one to me and was genuinely interested to see if there was any substance to it. I'd accept something which wasn't pulled from the clouds and had some kind of consistency to it, even in the slightest of forms.

No... that would be black or white. Look at what you wrote. Black or white. Either/or. They're both absolutes, which you say you aren't necessarily stating... immediately followed by you stating an absolute.


I thought my explanation was fairly clear. There are no absolutes in this case. Despite how much some want there to be.

 

[singlemalt]

8lb or under. That’s the rule for me. Closer to 7lb is perfect.

I always ask for an accurate weight, and I appreciate the digital scale picture proof.

I’ve got a spring fish scale, which gets close. I’ll happily take a bass to the UPS store and weigh it if a buyer is concerned.

I’ve got a beautiful, great playing, glorious sounding Cirrus. She weighs just under 8 1/2lb. Combine that with a long reach to the nut, and I’m happier playing it sitting down. If I decide to let it go, weight and reach would be the only reasons.

I state my weight requirements clearly in any correspondence with a seller. In my last series of PM with a seller I said, “If it weighs 8lb or less, send me an invoice.”

Weight matters. If you want to sell a bass, provide the info.