I'm not actually looking . Things like that do not concern me at all . The P bass at 12lb plus is fine for me . It was more of a rhetorical question that may help a few others .
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Lightweight bass with no neck dive - Is it possible ?
- Thread starter johnh89
- Start date
I'm not actually looking . Things like that do not concern me at all . The P bass at 12lb plus is fine for me . It was more of a rhetorical question that may help a few others .
Headless basses have a big advantage here.
Of course, this is heresy to some
Of course, this is heresy to some
Like Sid The Kid I have an Ibanez Affirma 5 string. 8 lbs and it balances perfectly and plays and sounds great.
What great Basses these are! Mine had a hint of neck dive. I corrected it with Gotoh GB350 ultralight tuning machines. Took 3oz off the top and solved my first world problem.
I'm not actually looking . Things like that do not concern me at all . The P bass at 12lb plus is fine for me . It was more of a rhetorical question that may help a few others .
If it doesn’t concern you it at least has crossed your mind! Perhaps you saw a Peavey T40 that looked like Swiss cheese and it disturbed you? You might not be looking for new gear now, but you are on Talkbass so...
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8lbs [including pin stripes] & no neck dive. This was done by replacing the bridge & tuners. I also added a 1/2" nylon spacer [painted black] to the top horn strap button to extend it out. Every little bit helps.
Does he ever post on the forum?
Yep, we're dealing with a first-class lever which is apparently lost on any number of manufacturers.
Riis
If you try to make all of the weight reductions in the body wood, then you will likely have some neck dive. But usually when sitting with the bass on your lap, less of an issue on a strap. Going headless can give you numerous engineering advantages, if you can appreciate the looks. Start with the lightest tuners and bridge that you can find, there will be minimal variation in pickups unless you go something like Lace Alumitone, but you need to like the sound. Go with a "normal" wood for the neck and a lighter weight body, roasted swamp ash can quickly get you into the "lightweight" category. Beyond that, you need to look at short scale versus long scale, body chambering, and don't overlook physics. A wider, more comfortable strap will spread the weight and an extension on the upper horn can radically change the balance of an instrument.
My 5 string fretless weighs a hair over 6 pounds and has no neck dive. The body was chambered to reduce weight. IMHO, upper horn length is a major factor with light weight bodies. If the horn is longer, it changes the center of gravity of the bass therefore lessening neck dive. Light weight tuners also help.
Kluson bass banjo tuners. Although I swapped out the buttons for some low-profile ones.
View attachment 4299764
The whole thing is a big experiment, but a successful one! It’s extremely comfortable, and probably the only long-scale (33”) EB that doesn’t neck dive.
This resolves a few issues- Gibson should be paying attention!
Kluson bass banjo tuners. Although I swapped out the buttons for some low-profile ones.
View attachment 4299764
The whole thing is a big experiment, but a successful one! It’s extremely comfortable, and probably the only long-scale (33”) EB that doesn’t neck dive.
Well done. Thanks.
Two things I've never considered when buying a bass, weight and neck dive. I have a 7.3 lbs bass and one over 10 lbs. Sure, one weighs less, but the other one is bass perfection, so...
Other than that, neck dive is only a problem for those not in the know. It has always been an easily-solved issue.
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2nd this.Headless basses have a big advantage here.
Of course, this is heresy to some
The lightest bass I ever owned was an NS/Stick... 8 string bass that weighed 8lbs (1 lb per string
) and had absolutely zero head dive.
I have a 6.6 pound 4 string P and a 7.25 pound 5 string P. Both are built with Warmoth wood. With either of those, you can take your hands off the bass and jump around all day, and they stay put - not a hint of neck dive.
To do this, you don’t just take weight out of the body; everything has to be light to get to those weights. Aluminum bridges, aluminum neck plates, aluminum knobs, no pickguard ( that weighs something). All of those help with weight.
But... the most important weight reductions are in the neck and...especially the tuners. My necks are roasted maple, they graphite (not steel) reinforcing rods, and all the tuners are Hipshot ultralites. You simply won’t get an ultra light bass that balances well using steel Fender style tuners - they’re too heavy (by quite a bit). Also important - where the upper horn ends up. You can make a Gibson style (short upper horn) balance, but you can make a bass with a long upper horn balance with a lower weight.
To do this, you don’t just take weight out of the body; everything has to be light to get to those weights. Aluminum bridges, aluminum neck plates, aluminum knobs, no pickguard ( that weighs something). All of those help with weight.
But... the most important weight reductions are in the neck and...especially the tuners. My necks are roasted maple, they graphite (not steel) reinforcing rods, and all the tuners are Hipshot ultralites. You simply won’t get an ultra light bass that balances well using steel Fender style tuners - they’re too heavy (by quite a bit). Also important - where the upper horn ends up. You can make a Gibson style (short upper horn) balance, but you can make a bass with a long upper horn balance with a lower weight.
My Wattplower is 6.9 pounds, no neck dive.
My Bacchus WJB Mini is 6.5 lbs no neck dive.
Gotta balance tuners and bridge. The Wattplower has Ultralite tuners, but a giant brass block under the bridge. My WJB Mini has the same tuners but is a bit bottom heavy so it works.
My philosophy is find the right parts and it'll work.
My Bacchus WJB Mini is 6.5 lbs no neck dive.
Gotta balance tuners and bridge. The Wattplower has Ultralite tuners, but a giant brass block under the bridge. My WJB Mini has the same tuners but is a bit bottom heavy so it works.
My philosophy is find the right parts and it'll work.
Most of my basses for the last 30 years have been Fender Jazz basses and have weighed in around 9.2 lbs. I find this weight a perfect balance for me, and I'm not a big guy by any means ( 5' 8", 160 lbs ). I have had heavier and lighter weight basses; the heavier basses gave me back aches, and had neck dive, and I didn't care for the lighter weight ones, they just did not sit right on me, or " feel " right. That 9.2 lb weight seems to be the sweet spot for me, the way I play, the way I stand, etc. Pretty subjective, though.
Headless basses usually don’t have neck dive.
Bottom line is the strap has to be positioned to capitalize on the center of mass which is simple to locate but not so helpful once the strap pins are installed. Probably an easy cheat for a FSO bass is a strap pin extender for the horn. I had pretty heavy dive on a P due to rosewood neck and the Fender strap locks which add almost an inch outside made a big difference.
Bottom line is the strap has to be positioned to capitalize on the center of mass which is simple to locate but not so helpful once the strap pins are installed. Probably an easy cheat for a FSO bass is a strap pin extender for the horn. I had pretty heavy dive on a P due to rosewood neck and the Fender strap locks which add almost an inch outside made a big difference.
I think it depends on the particular bass in question and how light you want to go.
My 7.5 lb. G&L JB (Empress) balances perfectly and makes my 9 lb. Fender seem really heavy.
My 7.5 lb. G&L JB (Empress) balances perfectly and makes my 9 lb. Fender seem really heavy.
