Lighten the load…

[bassfootballguy]

I have a Fender Mod Shop P bass. It sounds great and plays great. But it’s about 8 ounces to a pound heavier than my old, surgically repaired back and neck can handle.
Are there any bona fide means of reducing the weight that are worth doing?

 

[Lammchop93]

You could drill out holes under the pickguard. Hard to say how much it will save you though.

also, depending on the tuners it has in it currently, Hipshot ultralights will shave off 4-5 ounces from my experiences.

 

[alembicbones]

I don't think I'd do any drastic mods to your bass. If the weight is too much, you might just have to sell it and find another option. There are plenty of light weight options out there that should deliver the playability and sound you are looking for.

That said, if you really like the bass, finding the right strap might do the deal. A really wide strap disperses the weight nicely, probably as effectively as modding to shave off a few ounces.

Best of luck.
Bones

 

[Ghastly]

I don't think I'd do any drastic mods to your bass. If the weight is too much, you might just have to sell it and find another option. There are plenty of light weight options out there that should deliver the playability and sound you are looking for.

That said, if you really like the bass, finding the right strap might do the deal. A really wide strap disperses the weight nicely, probably as effectively as modding to shave off a few ounces.

Best of luck.
Bones

I'll second that. Most of my straps are supple 4" wide padded leather. But weight doesn't bother me much (yet). A few of my basses are close to 10 lbs.

 

[steveinohio]

I have similar issues.

Take off a tuning peg or two. If that seems to solve your problem I would search for new tuners. I’ve used Gotoh style tuners with great success on some parts basses. The two issues you may run into are aesthetic and size. Also you could consider changing the control knobs to plastic and/or switching out the bridge. I like the babicz full contact. You give up some sustain but get a better weight and action that is easier to dial in.

If you go with all of these changes you could easily get in the area you want.

 

[2saddleslab]

Light weight tuners, Hipshot or Gotoh [I use both], will save you 8oz and due to the reduction all the way at the headstock it will make more of a difference than if weight was reduced at the body. Also helps w/ neck dive, always a plus.

 

[Killing Floor]

I'll second that. Most of my straps are supple 4" wide padded leather. But weight doesn't bother me much (yet). A few of my basses are close to 10 lbs.

I’ll be outlier here, I find on my heavier basses like older P or MM I prefer narrow “rockabilly” straps. Reason being they position the weight further away from my neck/collar whereas my wider straps crowd my neck.
Try wider and padded but it might not be the answer for everyone.
Also know there are body harness strap options that don’t hang the bass on your shoulder.
Good luck.

 

[JRA]

good luck shaving off some ounces, or maybe even pounds!

(to actually reduce weight) as others have suggested:
- lightweight tuning machines (i've used hipshot ultralites or gotoh res-o-lites, even gotoh carbon-o-lites).
- lightweight bridge (i favor hipshot: aluminum).
- lightweight knobs (trade in those brass knobs for some resin knobs, or aluminum, or plastic).
- aluminum neckplate.

this 6 lb. P-bass also has the benefit of a lightweight paulownia body: it has a heavy bridge (schaller) but it balances, so i'm leaving well enough alone.

 

[superblues]

Light weight tuners, Hipshot or Gotoh [I use both], will save you 8oz and due to the reduction all the way at the headstock it will make more of a difference than if weight was reduced at the body. Also helps w/ neck dive, always a plus.

Not sure which tuners are stock on the mod shop basses, but if theyre the modern style Fender tuners with small-ish gear tuners, you won't save anywhere close to 8oz, maybe 2 or 3 oz. I havent weighed the newer Fender tuners, but they don't feel particularly heavy. Switching stock MIM tuners for Hipshot Ultralights only saves about 4-5 oz.

If it's got the large plate vintage tuners like what used to be on the MIJ Geddy Lees or the big covered tuners like on the American Standards before 2008 (I doubt it's these bc they stopped making these a long time ago), then yeah, you'll save at least half a pound by switching to Hipshot Ultralights. Those tuners are absurdly heavy.

Be aware, one of the pitfalls of swapping tuners is that deadspots can shift positions or appear in basses that didnt previously have them.

One approach to cutting weight is to play a numbers game. Swapping heavy metal knobs for plastic jazz bass knobs nets you about an ounce each. Weight relieving a body can be done, but usually only gets you a few ounces for all the work. A body swap is easier, but potentially expensive and youve got to be willing to hunt for a bit. Yanking out active preamps and putting in passive will save you a few ounces in batteries and electronics. Tuner swap can be 2-8+ oz depending on what you're starting with. A bent plate Fender bridge will save 8-16 oz over something high mass like a Badass bridge.

This will sound extreme, but even choosing thin nitro or hand rubbed finishes can save a few ounces over the thick poly finishes fender tends to use. Another extreme option is looking for thinner bodies, like the squier affinity series bodies. A body is close to 2 inches thick, if you shave off 1/4", now the body is about 1/8 lighter. For a 2" thick, 5 lb body, shaving 1/4" saves about 10 oz.

Another approach is to find a bass thats close to a weight you can tolerate and start swapping tuners, knobs, and bridges to get it down further.

 

[bassdude51]

Tuners, knobs, bridge (titanium), strap buttons, neck plate (alloy) are items that can be replaced with lighter hardware. Might reduce you 8 oz or maybe more.

If you don't use a tone control, you can delete that pot for reduced weight.

 

[SC Bassboy]

Fellow surgically repaired neck here. I had a neck fusion a while back and I finally broke down and bought a wider, padded leather strap. It definitely helps. As others have mentioned you can replace some hardware and save weight with tuners and an aluminum bridge. I advise against drilling into the body to reduce weight. It won't make much difference considering how little material you can remove from under the pick guard.

 

[pb9717]

Sadowsky basses are light. My verdine white Chinese unit is 8lbs even with the lighter hipshot B aluminum bridge. Very good option.

 

[Gervais Cote]

good luck shaving off some ounces, or maybe even pounds!

(to actually reduce weight) as others have suggested:
- lightweight tuning machines (i've used hipshot ultralites or gotoh res-o-lites, even gotoh carbon-o-lites).
- lightweight bridge (i favor hipshot: aluminum).
- lightweight knobs (trade in those brass knobs for some resin knobs, or aluminum, or plastic).
- aluminum neckplate.

this 6 lb. P-bass also has the benefit of a lightweight paulownia body: View attachment 5491975 it has a heavy bridge (schaller) but it balances, so i'm leaving well enough alone.

Here is the perfect list of ingredients to reduce the weight.

 

[bassfran]

They also have stands that cradle the instrument so that it doesn’t hang on you whatsoever. They’re not cheap but still a possible work around to modding your bass.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

You could drill out holes under the pickguard. Hard to say how much it will save you though.

also, depending on the tuners it has in it currently, Hipshot ultralights will shave off 4-5 ounces from my experiences.

Depending on tuner type, Gotoh carbon fiber can be even lighter, and may not require redrilling.
CBT-01 - G-GOTOH
Even a bridge
CBB-4 - G-GOTOH

 

[jimmydean]

You can use lighter tuners and shave off wood from the back of the body .

 

[buldog5151bass]

There is only so much weight you can remove. You aren't going to lose anything close to a pound.

Get a lighter bass.

 

[MotorCityMinion]

shave off wood from the back of the body .

Find a cheaper bass and do just that. Or get a body blank you can hack up yourself & oil finish cheaply as a test bed. Or....

 

[JimmyM]

I wouldn’t hack into a Mod Shop bass. I would get another body and hollow it out under the pickguard.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Replacing the body or replacing the bass are probably your best bets.