Jazz bass that is too heavy...

[bdplaid]

My experience is that most chinese bodies are paulownia.

 

[Zoot H Rollo]

My experience is that most chinese bodies are paulownia.

got a link?

 

[bdplaid]

Jazz Bass Lightweight Body vintage Sunburst-JAZZ_VSB

 

[Zoot H Rollo]

Jazz Bass Lightweight Body vintage Sunburst-JAZZ_VSB

GF has been out of stock for months if not years

 

[bdplaid]

Note that the bodies from guitarfetish usually have neck pockets that need to be opened up about a mm or so. They claim 2 7/16, but most Fender necks are 2 1/2 in wide.

 

[bdplaid]

GF has been out of stock for months if not years

Too bad. I've bought a couple of bodies from them. Super lightweight, lower in quality, but what can I expect for $50?

 

[Zoot H Rollo]

i just ordered a 920D control plate to replace the J-Retro and a standard Fender bridge to replace the Hipshot A

i know we're talking ounces here, but hey. i prefer passive these days anyway.

selling some stuff to cover the cost of a Warmoth 4lb 3 oz ash body - just have to be patient with the 12 week turnaround.

i bought some Gotoh Res-O-Lite tuners hoping to lighten the neck of my Ash Jazz.

but i don't like the size and i would have to drill new holes. off to Reverb!

 

[Gruff]

A little update, 'cause that's only polite when you've all been so helpful...

I was at my local guitar luthier's today arranging a repair of my acoustic bass. I took the opportunity to discuss the problem with my jazz. She thought the tuners on my jazz bass (Fender brand, larger than usual hole size) could be around 1lb in weight - and are right at the end of the neck. She suggested a couple of options:

* replace the tuners with lightweight alloy / nylon tuners, saving about 8oz
* she could do some custom work converting the neck to headless - she showed me another bass she'd converted and it looked pretty good. I would hesitate to do that to an original instrument, but mine is a bitser anyway.

I'll take it up next week to show her and discuss further.

 

[marchone]

A little update, 'cause that's only polite when you've all been so helpful...

I was at my local guitar luthier's today arranging a repair of my acoustic bass. I took the opportunity to discuss the problem with my jazz. She thought the tuners on my jazz bass (Fender brand, larger than usual hole size) could be around 1lb in weight - and are right at the end of the neck. She suggested a couple of options:

* replace the tuners with lightweight alloy / nylon tuners, saving about 8oz
* she could do some custom work converting the neck to headless - she showed me another bass she'd converted and it looked pretty good. I would hesitate to do that to an original instrument, but mine is a bitser anyway.

I'll take it up next week to show her and discuss further.

Swap the tuners. A half pound lighter is significant. Also see if a lighter bridge can be had. These changes are easily returned to original.

Chambering is another option though more work is involved and isn’t reversible.

 

[vindibona1]

It's hard to believe but I've gone throught EIGHT pages of replies and not one came up with the one solution that is almost guaranteed to work for you (OP). The Gruv Gear Duo Strap (or similar concept). See below.

In most cases it's not the weight, but the DISTRIBUTION of the weight. If all of the bass' weight is on one shoulder, then that shoulder and your entire muscular system down to your core has to resist the uneven distribution on one shoulder. If you can spread the distribution then bearing the weight becomes less difficult. However there is a point where a shoulder strap can only go so wide to spread the focus of the weight out. Some have suggested "sell the bass". Some have suggested lighter tuning keys, etc. I have a Squier VM 70's bass, quite similar to yours that is just as heavy. In my case I'm fine with a PLAIN 3.5" strap (super cheap too). I get good weight distribution with 3.5". The distribution of the plain (unfinished inside) strap is excellent where sometimes padding can focus the pressure rather than take it away. In the case of the plain straps, I don't like the way they press on my neck, so I cut crescent shapes out where my neck is, which can really only be done with one-ply straps. I'll put up a photo below of that.

FWIW, I do like ultralite tuners which can help cure neck dive, but by themselves don't reduce the weight much and for Squier basses probably aren't worth the cost (I paid $125 for a set for my MIM Jazz 5 two years ago. It cured the neck dive but didn't change the feel of the heaviness).

However, if you can put the weight on BOTH shoulders and balance the pull out at the same time, you will feel an exponential lowering of effort to support a heavy bass. The Gruv Gear Duo Strap (see link below) would be an excellent strap to try. Not only will it support the weight of a heavy bass, but if the bass has "neck dive" it will cure that too.

Again, the weight won't be an issue if you deal with the distribution.

https://www.amazon.com/Gruv-Gear-DUOSTRAP-NEO-BLK-DuoStrap-Black/dp/B00DGCM91W

 

[Gruff]

In most cases it's not the weight, but the DISTRIBUTION of the weight.

...

Again, the weight won't be an issue if you deal with the distribution.

Thanks for the reply, I agree completely with what you say.

 

[Gruff]

Swap the tuners. A half pound lighter is significant. Also see if a lighter bridge can be had. These changes are easily returned to original.

Chambering is another option though more work is involved and isn’t reversible.

Yes, going 'headless' is a nuclear option and it would lose the Fender logo and serial number. I'm tending towards swapping tuners. The "high mass" bridge can't be helping, though as @vindibona1 says, I think the issue is in the distribution of the weight more than the absolute weight.

 

[vindibona1]

Yes, going 'headless' is a nuclear option and it would lose the Fender logo and serial number. I'm tending towards swapping tuners. The "high mass" bridge can't be helping, though as @vindibona1 says, I think the issue is in the distribution of the weight more than the absolute weight.

Headless is a crazy different experience. I played a headless bass once and made me feel both headless and handless. Everything was off.

While a maple neck and natural body, I have essentially the same base ass the OP with similar weight, though mine might be a touch heavier. I have a "higher" mass bridge (Gotoh) and I don't perceive any extra weight. But I also didn't experience enough sonic difference to have made the change either. But it looks cool. I also added a drop D, Aguilar noiseless pickups and rewired for both series and parallel (highly recommended). And crazily I don't play this bass often as I've become addicted to 5 strings. It's a shame. It holds its own against basses costing much much more, though a little on the heavy side.

But getting back to the original intent of the thread I stand by what I said earlier.

 

[Zoot H Rollo]

Headless is a crazy different experience. I played a headless bass once and made me feel both headless and handless. Everything was off.

While a maple neck and natural body, I have essentially the same base ass the OP with similar weight, though mine might be a touch heavier. I have a "higher" mass bridge (Gotoh) and I don't perceive any extra weight. But I also didn't experience enough sonic difference to have made the change either. But it looks cool. I also added a drop D, Aguilar noiseless pickups and rewired for both series and parallel (highly recommended). And crazily I don't play this bass often as I've become addicted to 5 strings. It's a shame. It holds its own against basses costing much much more, though a little on the heavy side.

But getting back to the original intent of the thread I stand by what I said earlier.

View attachment 4746495 View attachment 4746496

my 2021 burst CV '70s Jazz is 8.2 pounds.

 

[Zoot H Rollo]

Yes, going 'headless' is a nuclear option and it would lose the Fender logo and serial number. I'm tending towards swapping tuners. The "high mass" bridge can't be helping, though as @vindibona1 says, I think the issue is in the distribution of the weight more than the absolute weight.

i went headless with an EHB-1505 - just under 7 pounds.

definitely the low end of my weight pref.

i had a 4 string version that was 6 pounds - WAY too light.

i still want an 8 pound ash/pine/paul rosewood fb jazz.

 

[vindibona1]

my 2021 burst CV '70s Jazz is 8.2 pounds.

What wood is the body made of? Mine is "soft maple". And it is soft. It got dropped on it's lower bout once and made quite a dent. All fixed now. Perhaps if it were of a harder wood it would be a bit more resonant? But I think the downside of having a lighter body might have some neck dive due to an imbalance? Still it sounds pretty great as is.

 

[Zoot H Rollo]

What wood is the body made of? Mine is "soft maple". And it is soft. It got dropped on it's lower bout once and made quite a dent. All fixed now. Perhaps if it were of a harder wood it would be a bit more resonant? But I think the downside of having a lighter body might have some neck dive due to an imbalance? Still it sounds pretty great as is.

it's poplar and one of the best basses i've owned.

 

[Spiketronic]

Sandberg Superlight TT 4. 5.8 lbs! A primo jazz bass that IMO, puts all of the many Fenders I’ve played in the shade. That old saw about a bass needing to be heavy…..not true.

 

[Gruff]

I (OP though I've since changed username) dropped the Jazz off at the luthier's yesterday. She's going to replace the tuners with the lightest available (8oz), and swap the bridge back to standard 'bent plate' style (4oz). I also discovered I'd added a copper plate underneath the bridge to lift it up which was probably adding another ounce.

It will be a few weeks to get the work done. For my own reference, she weighed it at 8lbs, 14oz.

If this isn't enough she can rout material away underneath the pickguard up to the edge, which would be invisible compared to chambering the rear. Also an option is to change the head stock to move the G string tuner underneath in a "Music Man" style to bring the weight closer to the body - but I wasn't so keen on that idea.

 

[vindibona1]

I (OP though I've since changed username) dropped the Jazz off at the luthier's yesterday. She's going to replace the tuners with the lightest available (8oz), and swap the bridge back to standard 'bent plate' style (4oz). I also discovered I'd added a copper plate underneath the bridge to lift it up which was probably adding another ounce.

It will be a few weeks to get the work done. For my own reference, she weighed it at 8lbs, 14oz.

If this isn't enough she can rout material away underneath the pickguard up to the edge, which would be invisible compared to chambering the rear. Also an option is to change the head stock to move the G string tuner underneath in a "Music Man" style to bring the weight closer to the body - but I wasn't so keen on that idea.

If you like the bass it is definitely worth "improving" on- as long as you don't intend to sell it down the road and eat the cost of the improvements.

The ultralite tuners will knock some weight off and make it balance better. But it may be important to note that balance is perhaps even more important than sheer weight. If you chamber the body it may imbalance it and cause neck dive, the thing that ultralite tuners can cure. Last year I put ultralites on my Jazz 5 which now weighs 10 pounds 6 ounces and because it balances well I don't even notice the weight. I'm an "older" guy and last night I did a two hour gig and didn't even notice the weight (with a proper strap) because the balance is right. Before the tuners it felt heavier because I was fighting the neck dive. When the neck dive stopped I was stunned at how much better I could get around the fingerboard. I didn't weigh my Squier as it is packed away, but if it wasn't a closet queen I'd change the tuners for sure, but not mess with the body. JMO. While I recognize that you and I are not the same I thought I'd share my experience so you could think about the chambering option.