Lightweight bass for longer sets

[Handy_Andy]

Howdy friend. I have been on a 2 year mission to get the load down on my back and shoulders now I have some physical disability. I have tried many of the above suggestions.

First recommendation would be a Squier Affinity Bronco (and swap out an ebay 51 style precision single coil pickup if possible) because it is very lightweight, and also easy on the fretting wrist with smaller fret spacing. They are incredibly underrated, capable instruments and the ideal mod platform to make it your own.

Second recommendation is whatever you play, use a Slinger Hip Strap with the Leash accessory.

Third recommendation would be to buy an Irin P bass (chinese crap) and replace the neck with a J neck from ebay like I just have. Lightest wood ever while maintaining full scale and slightly smaller dimensions. Stick a Fender decal on the top and you and your spine will have your own naughty little secret.

Last resorts would be: a Hofner (or copy) if you can stomach the "iconic" tone because they are very very light indeed, or the Squier Mini P which requires a lot of painstaking modding to sound good but even then still looks incredibly dumb on a normal sized adult person. Ditto for U-basses.

And become very anal about fixing neck dive.

All the very best with it.

 

[alexclaber]

Aren't all wattplowers 30 inch?

Short-scale, not full-scale. Brain:hands typing fail! The Fellowship is the long one.

 

[Danksalot]

This is exactly why I've got a Klos on order. The carbon fiber neck helps a bass with a lightweight body balance better. The one I've ordered should come in at 6.5 pounds or less.

 

[Rdore2000]

This is exactly why I've got a Klos on order. The carbon fiber neck helps a bass with a lightweight body balance better. The one I've ordered should come in at 6.5 pounds or less.

I'm fascinated by them as a Status Graphite player

 

[frankie5string]

I have often heard that is the "proper" technique, but it never occurred to be as a contributing factor in how heavy the bass feels while strapped on.

I am too old and set in my ways to change that and my basses are light enough that it is not an issue.

Do you find that you get more right arm fatigue by having to position so that the forearm is not resting on the bass?

No, I don't notice any right-arm fatigue by not resting my arm on the bass. I play a Spector, though, so it's a smaller body, anyway. So I'm not holding my arm up like one might with a high-slung Fender-style bass.

 

[JKovax]

I've got a Westone Rail headless bass that comes in a few ounces shy of 7 pounds with a nylon strap, which I use frequently for non-critical gigs and practices. The Kramer Warlock weighs in at 8 pounds on the dot, also including the weight of a nylon strap. I'm not sure what the Rick ways, but it's a shoulder-breaker, and the Kramer with the aluminum neck and exotic hardwood body makes the Rick feel light.

Then there are weird featherweight headless and bodyless basses such as the MiniStar, one of which (a 5-string fretless) I picked up at a flea market for under $50, and retails for under $200. Just put it on the scale and came up at a shade over 4.5 pounds.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

No, I don't notice any right-arm fatigue by not resting my arm on the bass. I play a Spector, though, so it's a smaller body, anyway. So I'm not holding my arm up like one might with a high-slung Fender-style bass.

I strap my bass relatively low, so even though I am resting my right forearm on the bass, it's not putting a lot of pressure on it. I pluck my strings at more of a 45 degree angle rather than a 90 degree angle.

 

[Jim C]

Today UPS brought me a Sandberg Superlight (J style) 5 lbs. 12 ounces.
It's not too light and sounds and plays great; very happy.

 

[billythec]

I respectfully disagree. Most Spectors I've seen are at least 9lbs.

The RSTs are between 6.5 and 7 lbs often, but the others are indeed all over the place!

 

[GretschWretch]

Howdy friend. I have been on a 2 year mission to get the load down on my back and shoulders now I have some physical disability. I have tried many of the above suggestions.

First recommendation would be a Squier Affinity Bronco (and swap out an ebay 51 style precision single coil pickup if possible) because it is very lightweight, and also easy on the fretting wrist with smaller fret spacing. They are incredibly underrated, capable instruments and the ideal mod platform to make it your own.

Second recommendation is whatever you play, use a Slinger Hip Strap with the Leash accessory.

Third recommendation would be to buy an Irin P bass (chinese crap) and replace the neck with a J neck from ebay like I just have. Lightest wood ever while maintaining full scale and slightly smaller dimensions. Stick a Fender decal on the top and you and your spine will have your own naughty little secret.

Last resorts would be: a Hofner (or copy) if you can stomach the "iconic" tone because they are very very light indeed, or the Squier Mini P which requires a lot of painstaking modding to sound good but even then still looks incredibly dumb on a normal sized adult person. Ditto for U-basses.

And become very anal about fixing neck dive.

All the very best with it.

I have an Irin P on which I placed a fretless neck gifted me by @JRA . No complaints about weight at all, even with stock tuners. I have found, overall quality-wise, that the Irins and Crescents are superior to the Glarrys.

 

[ricknote]

I haven't played a headline set in 5 years and I find that...well, I'm 5 years older! Even my Vigiers at 8 lbs begin to make their presence felt after 2 hours. I have a 5 hour rehearsal to prepare for the set before that.

Is there a lightweight bass (maybe short scale is the way to go) that musicians here have moved to, to help prepare for longer sets with age? My current bass will do the job for now but I'm thinking more long term.

Just get on of those dual straps that goes over both shoulders. I’ve used one for a decade now. Shoulder pain is nonexistent.

 

[alecvbass]

Playing 4x45 min sets back to back a night on a cruise ship now- 2.5 months in, 2.5 more to go.

I use a Dingwall SP1 4 string which is 7.9 pounds. I tried a bunch of wide straps over the years, recently I had Levy’s 4.5” one and Fender Swell neoprene strap. Neotech Mega Bass strap still beats everything for me and is by far the most comfortable I’ve ever tried.

Apart from that - try not resting your forearm on your bass too much, you’re effective adding some weight of your arm to your other shoulder’s load.

Going to the gym, eating well and hydrating helps.

For rehearsals get a chair - nobody in the world is paying enough for you to destroy your body. You can get another band but cannot get another shoulder.

 

[enzodm]

As coach bass I have a Ibanez Mikro that comes slightly under 2.7kg (less than 6lb). However, being short scale stigma inversely proportional to scale, here it's higher (28.6").