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Putting a dollar amount to how much weight matters, if it does.

Do you value less weight enough to pay more?

  • Option A: $719 / 11.5 lbs

    Votes: 19 10.1%

  • Option B: $849 / 10.3 lbs

    Votes: 5 2.6%

  • Option C: $875 / 9.4 lbs

    Votes: 165 87.3%
  • Total voters
    189
#101
JimmyM said:
You can also make lighter basses with stuff like basswood, and that's how the Glarry bass bodies are made, but I'm very much skeptical of basses made with basswood. Surprisingly though, I'm good with the plywood body on the parts bass. Just hollow one out under the pg, buy the lightest hardware you can get, and it'll probably work out as long as the bass isn't like 10 lbs to begin with.
Click to expand...

Jimmy,
I normally agree with your posts 100%, but I think you may be a bit off on this one, more the fault of sloppy ad copy-writing than you. I don't think the Glarry bodies are basswood; I consistently vote for Paulownia, which is a super-light, super-resonant wood. I bought a Pau body of eBay, not from Guitar Fetish, and it weighs in at 2.5 pounds.
 
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#104
Weight is a dealbreaker for me, and the 6-to-7-pound range is my sweet spot.
Awhile back, I had a parts Jazz that used an Squier VM Agathis body with no finish, Res-O-Lite tuners, aluminum control plate, etc. and it tipped the scales at 5-1/2 lbs. It actually felt too light, so I did find my lower limit.
And yes, you will tend to find the lowest weight basses are also some of the cheapest.
 
#105
Smith357 said:
My tool belt that is worn 8 hours a day, weighs more than most basses. Standard loadout when I was in the Corps was a 60lb load. I ain't no girlie man, so weight issue ain't worth spit. When I get to the point I can't hold 10 pounds while using a shoulder strap, just shoot me.
Click to expand...

But with the tool belt the weight is on your hips. I've known people who could promenade comfortably while wearing a forty pound hauberk made of chain mail, because they belted it at the waist and that took most of the weight off their shoulders.

I think we need to devote ourselves to more in-depth discussions about balance, strap size and material. If some one could design a workable strap that attached around the waist, I'll bet a lot of these weight threads would just
go away.
 
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#106
I own and keep a ~12lb bass that cost me $300. I own and keep a ~7lb bass that cost me $3000. The differences are far greater than just weight, but they are both good instruments, and either could the appropriate bass for certain projects. But I won't try to play the 12 pounder for a full evening's gig.

If I could only own one bass, I'd pay extra for it to be as light as possible without compromising sound, playablity, etc.
 
#107
ebo said:
I bought a Hofner Beatle bass a couple years back for practice just so I wouldn’t have to hold a barbell for 3 hours. It was 4.5 lbs? Crazy light. I did sell it in a thinning the herd moment. I used to like women with big bosoms and playing through a full stack. Go figure.
Click to expand...

But most women with big bosoms don't like big bosoms. As they age, the weight gets bad for their backs.
 
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#110
Weight is very noticeable. I use to gig heavy les pauls in my high school days that wore my shoulders out. Now I only buy basses under 9lbs. I think all mine are in the 8.5 range. I remember I once swapped a vintage bridge to a high mass that was 5 ounces heavier. The first thing I noticed when I picked the bass up was how much heavier it felt. It all adds up. Id rather haul amps and cabs at twice the weight than wear a bass that is 2 pounds heavier for 4 hours.
 
#111
Sid Fang said:
No personal experience, but I knew something like this had to exist...
Hip Strap guitar strap
Click to expand...

Wow! Thanks for this. I have an over-the-shoulder belted Slinger strap but could not get the "hang" angle right for my playing comfort. My only concern with the belt-only version would be if it could only hold the bass horizontally; I prefer forty-five to sixty degrees.
 
#112
beaglesandbass said:
So let's say I have three options for three different models same bass. The price I'm giving is including shipping and after any negotiating. All three are new and come with warranty.

Option A: $719 / 11.5 lbs
Option B: $849 / 10.3 lbs
Option C: $875 / 9.4 lbs

Everything else being equal, the only difference is the weight. How important is lightweight to you?
Click to expand...

Everything is not equal though. I buy the one that feels and sounds best to me.

Regardless of weight.
 
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#113
The days when heavy sound meant heavy weight are long gone.
Technology has advanced to the point where heavy weight longer has a justification to me.
I won't take an amp head over 10 lbs nor a 4 string bass over 8.
It's also not as if light weight comes at a premium:
Equally good light weight gear doesn't seem to be any more expensive to me.
 
#117
beaglesandbass said:
So let's say I have three options for three different models same bass. The price I'm giving is including shipping and after any negotiating. All three are new and come with warranty.

Option A: $719 / 11.5 lbs
Option B: $849 / 10.3 lbs
Option C: $875 / 9.4 lbs

Everything else being equal, the only difference is the weight. How important is lightweight to you?
Click to expand...

Vitally. And 9.4 lbs is a non starter. For me it's between 7 and the high 8s, maybe 9 if I really like it. or I'm looking for something else.
 
#118
beaglesandbass said:
So let's say I have three options for three different models same bass. The price I'm giving is including shipping and after any negotiating. All three are new and come with warranty.

Option A: $719 / 11.5 lbs
Option B: $849 / 10.3 lbs
Option C: $875 / 9.4 lbs

Everything else being equal, the only difference is the weight. How important is lightweight to you?
Click to expand...

9.4 lbs is not “light”, it’s medium weight. In fact, that is the exact weight of my 2000 StingRay, and that is the first bass I’ve ever owned that I’ve ever bothered to weigh, and that only because I was curious. 9.4 lbs is a weight I can sustain indefinitely through a gig. But, 11.5 lbs is not something I’d want to play, even though I believe that, all other things being equal, heaver instruments sound better.

I wouldn’t pay more for a bass lighter than 9.4 lbs, but I definitely would pay less for a bass heavier than 9.4 lbs.
 
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#119
I'm now 67 years old with many of the aches and pains as well as poor leg circulation that go along with advancing age. Heavy basses are no longer something I can tolerate for 4 hour gigs. The last 3 basses I've bought are used Muckelroys. None tips the scales at over 8 and a half pounds. So yes, it's worth every dime I've spent to be able to play all night without being distracted by pain and constantly shifting my bass in search of a little comfort.
 
#120
GretschWretch said:
Jimmy,
I normally agree with your posts 100%, but I think you may be a bit off on this one, more the fault of sloppy ad copy-writing than you. I don't think the Glarry bodies are basswood; I consistently vote for Paulownia, which is a super-light, super-resonant wood. I bought a Pau body of eBay, not from Guitar Fetish, and it weighs in at 2.5 pounds.
Click to expand...
Well they say they're basswood in many ads.
 

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