"On my bathroom scale"

[marchone]

I understand the discussion but damn, it wasn't that long ago we bought the item we wanted with no way of knowing how much it weighed (or whatever).

A lot of us are older now and feel the weight more than we were young. Some have health issues. Four-inch wide straps are more and more common. Consider that amps and cabs have evolved into smaller and lighter offerings. Few want the lead sleds of yore.

I suspect, without evidence, that sellers who do now list the weight of a bass, or fudge it with bathroom scale readings, are either oblivious to weight issues because they are young, or know fully well a sale will be harder with a heavy ax.

 

[TonyP-]

I didn't read the previous 9 pages, but this seems like a very silly thing to be up in arms about. I don't think anyone expects precise measurements when using a bathroom scale. Mine, for instance, goes in 0.2 lb increments. So whenever I tell people the weight using bathroom scale, it's understood that it's a ballpark. I suppose if that .5 lb or so margin of error costs me a sale, oh well.

OP if $10.99 for that fishing scale isn't a big deal for you, I'll PM you my address and you can send it to me. Don't presume that just because people have instruments they can afford to buy better scales. The fact that they don't have extra money may be the reason they're selling in the first place.

This...
There are actually a couple of people on TB that Kvetch
That’s Yiddish for a complainer...

If weight is a real issue for someone and you really like the instrument, just kindly ask them to confirm because you have issue with weight ect...Thats all.

 

[TonyP-]

I suspect, without evidence, that sellers who do now list the weight of a bass, or fudge it with bathroom scale readings, are either oblivious to weight issues because they are young, or know fully well a sale will be harder with a heavy ax.

I mean this with all due respect...(Seriously)

If that is really a concern, I mean really a concern.
Then don’t take the risk of a private sale to save a few bucks. Go we’re this is a return policy or more of a detailed weight.

 

[marchone]

I mean this with all due respect...(Seriously)

If that is really a concern, I mean really a concern.
Then don’t take the risk of a private sale to save a few bucks. Go we’re this is a return policy or more of a detailed weight.

I submit there are many personal issues as to why buyers seek accurate weights.

I took my chances on my only three Fenders and they all weigh 9-9 1/2lbs. I expected it and wasn’t surprised. The one I bought in 1969 weighed almost 10lbs. But at age age 17 it wasn’t a problem to hang the thing around my neck for hours on end.

Many models are no longer available and requires one to seek a private seller. It’s not only to “save a few bucks”. And many if not most people have a hard budget to meet.

Illness is yet another issue. My best friend was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. He’s owned and played a Les Paul for decades. It may be 11lbs. He can’t lift it anymore so he’s looking for a lightweight replacement. His budget’s priority is his meds. So should he not search the used market?

 

[retslock]

Urinating into the wind there mate. Metric is mathematically much simpler and they'll probably adopt it eventually, but it won't be through individuals changing their usage. When you're surrounded by certain kinds of units, you use them in order to function in that place. Even when I drive in the UK now, I think in miles for speed & distance because it's easier to just use what's signposted, even though the speedometer has both mph & km/h displayed.

Yes I guess I knew that it was a waste of time but oh well..... Coming from a country that made the change successfully it’s a mystery why the U.S. sticks to the old overly complex system. I still refer to imperial measurements when I buy American products and occasionally I run across an amusing figure such as 1.75 inches which always gets a smile.

 

[TonyP-]

I took my chances on my only three Fenders and they all weigh 9-9 1/2lbs. I expected it and wasn’t surprised.

Many models are no longer available and requires one to seek a private seller. It’s not only to “save a few bucks”.

Ok forget the “save a few bucks”
If you are buying over the internet and there is shipping involved there is always to some degree even if it’s minute a risk.

Im glad it worked out for you and those weights sound normal to me.

It all depends on how important that attribute is to you.

 

[Matty Koff]

Illness is yet another issue. My best friend was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. He’s owned and played a Les Paul for decades. It may be 11lbs. He can’t lift it anymore so he’s looking for a lightweight replacement. His budget’s priority is his meds. So should he not search the used market?

While I do sympathize with your friend, the problem belongs to him and not an individual listing an instrument for sale. He might not want to respond to ads that list a "bathroom scale weight." That being said there might even be folks out there who are willing to go a little above and beyond to address his concerns.. but I feel like going above and beyond is an accurate description, personally.

 

[Plain Old Barry]

Yes I guess I knew that it was a waste of time but oh well..... Coming from a country that made the change successfully it’s a mystery why the U.S. sticks to the old overly complex system.

As an American, I agree totally. There have been major unofficial switches, though. Most USA made vehicles have been metric for decades, and most other stuff, like bicycles or appliances are usually imported and fully metric.

About the only time I use my SAE sockets and wrenches is on my woodworking machinery that is either old or still built to very old specs. Oddly enough, I have a higher-end imported table saw that uses an arbor nut that is SAE sized to match the USA-spec blade hole and shaft, with the flats being metric.

Although, as a pilot, expressing altitude as 30,000 feet sounds far more impressive than 9144 meters.

 

[Bikeguy57]

Adopt the metric system, and next thing you know, UN stormtroopers will be kicking down the door and confiscating all your guns, and maybe your dog! No way man!!

 

[marchone]

This American lived and worked in Singapore for two years a decade ago. I agree wholeheartedly that the metric system is vastly superior to the Imperial system. The only bit I couldn’t get my head around were accurate temperature conversions. That was a good part of my work there.

 

[marchone]

While I do sympathize with your friend, the problem belongs to him and not an individual listing an instrument for sale. He might not want to respond to ads that list a "bathroom scale weight." That being said there might even be folks out there who are willing to go a little above and beyond to address his concerns.. but I feel like going above and beyond is an accurate description, personally.

No counter argument there. It’s his personal issue yet he’s not a jerk about it and will probably buy new.

 

[Matty Koff]

No counter argument there. It’s his personal issue yet he’s not a jerk about it and will probably buy new.

I hope he finds something that works for him and wish him luck in that regard.

 

[marchone]

I hope he finds something that works for him and wish him luck in that regard.

Thanks. He likely has less than two years to live. Whatever makes him happy (or focused with a short term goal) is more temporary than most of us will ever have to deal with.

In any case, this thread happens to be contemporary:

Getting old

The OP’s issue isn’t the minutiae of bathroom scale inaccuracy but a larger issue overall. He’s getting great advice to go a short scale instrument.

 

[jmlee]

What kind of bait do you use for digital fish?

Computer worms.

 

[BurningSkies]

Every time I see a classified ad for a bass that states, “On my bathroom scale”, I just smile. After all, how much else is the seller wild ass estimating?

I have an Escali Primo P115c digital kitchen scale that weighs in gram increments up to 11 pounds. It was $25 on Amazon. I’m a chef so I need the accuracy.

I have a digital kitchen scale that is accurate as well as fairly easy to use (up to 11lbs). I've only recently weighed my basses...While I don't want a boat anchor, I'm not one who has any strict rule or regulations on bass weight. Mine are all within 8 to 9lbs.

I use a bathroom scale for shipping heavy items and my postal scale for under 5 pound items. Unfortunately most people don't have all the fancy scales if they have any at all. If I was selling a bass and was asked the weight, I'd say I don't know, but if you want I can weigh it on a bathroom scale for a rough idea. If that isn't good enough, they can pass.

I think this is really what's going on. I don't think it's obfuscation.

There's lots of guys who are not flipping basses but might buy or sell every handful of years. I didn't remember weighing any of my previously sold basses, but haven't sold many since 2012 when I did a purge. I just looked up my TB ad for my 1973 P and I literally listed it as "Light (in the 8-something lb neighborhood)" and didn't get any questions about it...just questions about nut width. I obviously wasn't 'hiding anything' because I also included 40 well lit high resolution photos...and the bass sold at my asking price.

Edit:I think I probably only included weight info because many 70's Fenders are known to be very heavy, and this one was not.

I also think there's not nearly as many guys in the bass-landscape that are as weight conscious as are here on TB. On the road I put my Dingwalls into the hands of people at every show (there's always someone who wants to check it out, either other bands' players, venue techs or audience members) and I don't remember anyone commenting on how much it weighs across a bunch of years.

Edit: Also, when I've ordered custom builds weight has not been a spec that I've discussed. I've never asked for a target weight, etc.

I just think there's lots of people who don't have an accurate & appropriate scale at home and aren't going to go out and buy one for selling their instrument.

Here's how I now do it at home:

If people are really going to want accuracy...we should be using the decimal system and report in KG/G.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

It's a cop out.

 

[GregC]

Only on TB have I ever been asked about the weight of an instrument. And NEVER has the TBer who asked for the weight actually bought what I was selling.

TRUTH!!!!

But there are multiple reasons why that might be, in my personal experience.
1. All those people asking for the weight were purely tire kickers.
2. Basses being listed for sale without a specific weight tend to be heavier than basses where the listing specifies the weight. Maybe the seller happens to be someone who doesn't care about the weight of their basses, so they end up with heavier instruments. Or maybe they are not listing the weight because they think it feels pretty heavy and specifying the weight wouldn't help their sale.

As someone who has asked for the weight if it's not provided in the ad--and who actually does buy used basses here--I have found #2 to be true most of the time. It's gotten to the point where I typically assume if the weight is not listed, the bass is too heavy for my preferences. But if it's something I really want, I may give it a shot.

 

[GregC]

OP if $10.99 for that fishing scale isn't a big deal for you, I'll PM you my address and you can send it to me. Don't presume that just because people have instruments they can afford to buy better scales. The fact that they don't have extra money may be the reason they're selling in the first place.

Come on, they have thousands of dollars in gear and a supporting membership on TB but they can't spare ELEVEN DOLLARS for a fishing scale? That's less than a set of strings!

Most of the people who list gear for sale and say they need the money end up listing bass trades they would also accept.

 

[BurningSkies]

I bought a fishing scale at Walmart for $8. When my wife bought a digital scale for the kitchen, the first thing I did was take it down to the man cave and weigh my basses. Pretty close, between the two, but I have more faith in the digital. Maybe because I like the blue led display.

My first bass was a Kramer 450B, walnut and maple with the aluminum neck. I was 18, so what did I care about weight? That thing weighed over 12 lb. I had that bass for 36 years. I'd put it on, take a look at my posture, and take it off. Sold it a few years back.

Nowadays, 8.5 lb is the limit, and only because I already own it, and it's a minty Cirrus. If I'm shopping, I'm looking for under 8lb and would prefer under 7. So, yeah, an accurate weight is going to be a deal breaker. Pretty much only looking at Rob Allen basses these days.

You should try a bunch of hygrometer/humidity gauges. In my bass room I have two that read 5% difference between them. Then the two dehumidifiers we have on that floor also supposedly measure humidity for their auto function...also read differently. I generally just 'triangulate.'

I think most baking/cooking scales are pretty good if they're digital and working in grams. I'd love something that would do an additional decimal, but I'm not that fancy.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

If someone weren't to list their best guess at the weight, they'd get bombarded with emails from all us broke back talkbass users asking "What's the weight?"

Honestly I feel like some people might be setting the bar too high for the "USED" market. If you want a lightweight bass on a budget, shop for an Ibanez. A Soundgear can probably fit that bill, the electronics can be swapped, the body rerouted. Their new headless models regularly clock in at 7-8.5lbs as far as I can tell. If you know what you like you could order a custom build. Or here's an example I can relate too.. I recently purchased a 55-02, seeing an average of about 9lbs 3oz to 10lbs 3oz according to Sweetwater. If weight mattered more than cost, I could've opted for a USA made 55-94 which regularly come in at 8.5ishlbs. I could've ordered from Sadowsky NYC, where they regularly post pictures of basses on a scale clocking in at less than 8lbs. The list goes on.

If you're going to nitpick, by all means do so, but if weight is concern #1 there are bass guitar models that were designed with that consideration in mind.

For me this thread is just one more reason I refuse to list any of my gear for anything other than local sale. I'm not a retailer with a warehouse full of stock that I'll be making a profit on. I'm a bass player who might want to make room for a different instrument or a piece of gear and I'm going to be taking a loss on it without shipping insurance etc etc. It's risky shipping a bass as an individual. I'm more than happy to step on a scale multiple times with and without a bass guitar in my hands and give you an idea of the variations and I will list everything as honestly as I possibly can. From there you can come by and play it.. you can bring your own scale just be aware, you damage it you buy it and there will be video footage. If you give me money, shake my hand, and leave with the bass the deal is then considered finished. I'm more than happy to explain some features you overlooked if you call me and ask.. but beyond that, it's your bass now and you can list it if you don't like it.. or toss it in the fire for all I care, okay that might secretly hurt me a little bit if I found out because I sold you a decent bass that someone could've enjoyed. But it's out of my hands. It's the same exact thing when I go out shopping used locally. I don't feel entitled to more than that from a potential seller.

If you want better service than that you should probably call *insert retailer here*, Guitar Center has always been happy to take a used item back if I wasn't happy with it. Minus shipping as long as it wasn't due to a defect. Seems fair.

Ok, in about the time it took to write one sentence about how unreasonable I am, you could have ordered a digital fish or luggage scale that would provide a very accurate measurement. I’m not purchasing cheap instruments. My purchases are usually $2k and up. I really don’t think an accurate weight is asking too much when it’s so easy to do.