Removing weight from my frankenbass.

[cmackg]

I franken-bassed a HarleyBenton Fretless Jazz neck on to a Squier 40th Anni Jazzbass body. The Benton body weighs a TON, so I saved maybe 1/2 pound with the Squier. Now I'm thinking of routing out under the fingerguard so I can cut more weight out. Anyone have any experience with this approach? The squier body is kind of foxy, gold pickguard and burgundy sparkle finish. I guess I'd give the trick a try on the now neckless benton body.

Might try my hand at thinning the Benton Neck, it's a little boaty. First though, I want to reduce weight.

 

[Beej]

I've found that removing weight from the body doesn't make a huge difference, unless you're removing a lot of it. In my chambered bodies, I generally leave around 3/8" around the edges and carve out the entire thing before capping it on top/back. For a retrofit, like you're talking about, one approach is to plane the body down by 1/4" or so, rout out large chambers in the body and then glue down a new cap, match up roundovers and cavities and then paint it. It's not for the faint of heart though, and depending on your setup, it could be easier to build a new body in the specs you want.

You can also just plane a body down thinner and then match up the roundovers and refinish, but it kind of depends on how much weight you want to remove, and how much work you want to get into.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

How does the bass balance now? A heavy but well balanced bass is better than a light neck diver IMO. If it balances now, get a wide strap and leave it alone. If you take too much weight off the body, it will dive. I haven’t figured out how to predict where the center of gravity will end up ahead of time, but I think it involves the suspiciously math-ey word “Centroids”.

 

[cmackg]

Thanks for the note -- yeah, I'm trying to avoid a complete refinish project, but the more I think about it, the more I feel I can't get rid of THAT much weight w/o doing like you suggest.

It balances for now, but the body weighs ~11 pounds w/o neck and tuners. I feel like the density is holding back my attack on notes. Sustain is covered, for sure......

 

[Beej]

Thanks for the note -- yeah, I'm trying to avoid a complete refinish project, but the more I think about it, the more I feel I can't get rid of THAT much weight w/o doing like you suggest.

It balances for now, but the body weighs ~11 pounds w/o neck and tuners. I feel like the density is holding back my attack on notes. Sustain is covered, for sure......

11 pounds?! Is it made out of lignum vitae? Something's up... no loaded body should weigh 11 pounds, that's pretty wild...

 

[T_Bone_TL]

11 pounds?! Is it made out of lignum vitae? Something's up... no loaded body should weigh 11 pounds, that's pretty wild...

This body (no picture... ) must be Moth Shaped and Very Large...

 

[JIO]

I do not own heavy basses, nor would I want one regardless of how cool they look or frankly how good they sound. (FTR, any bass I do own looks and sounds awesome!) If a bass I own is over my weight limit (getting lighter all the time... currently 9lbs) I do what I can to lighten it by removing wood where unseen. (usually under the pg) Some lose only a little weight, some (custom builds) as much as a pound. 'A little' helps on basses I want to play, so it's always worth it. I don't get fussy about doing this on most any bass as these are my basses to play and if they are lighter - they will get played.
I wouldn't do it on my '66 P-bass, but at 8lbs/6oz - I don't need to.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

I do not own heavy basses, nor would I want one regardless of how cool they look or frankly how good they sound. (FTR, any bass I do own looks and sounds awesome!) If a bass I own is over my weight limit (getting lighter all the time... currently 9lbs) I do what I can to lighten it by removing wood where unseen. (usually under the pg) Some lose only a little weight, some (custom builds) as much as a pound. 'A little' helps on basses I want to play, so it's always worth it. I don't get fussy about doing this on most any bass as these are my basses to play and if they are lighter - they will get played.
I wouldn't do it on my '66 P-bass, but at 8lbs/6oz - I don't need to.

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JIO, you need a pin router.

 

[JIO]

JIO, you need a pin router.

Illustrate? (not questioning your expertise Bruce - I just know the term but have never used one)

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Illustrate? (not questioning your expertise Bruce - I just know the term but have never used one)

Pin Routers: The Old-School Production Workhorses

 

[ardgedee]

I do not own heavy basses, nor would I want one regardless of how cool they look or frankly how good they sound. (FTR, any bass I do own looks and sounds awesome!) If a bass I own is over my weight limit (getting lighter all the time... currently 9lbs) I do what I can to lighten it by removing wood where unseen. (usually under the pg) Some lose only a little weight, some (custom builds) as much as a pound. 'A little' helps on basses I want to play, so it's always worth it. I don't get fussy about doing this on most any bass as these are my basses to play and if they are lighter - they will get played.
I wouldn't do it on my '66 P-bass, but at 8lbs/6oz - I don't need to.

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Man... if that don't trigger the ol' trypophobia.

 

[ardgedee]

OP: Can you provide pics of the bass? I'm among the people here finding it hard to believe a loaded body alone weighs in the range of 11 lbs.

 

[JIO]

Man... if that don't trigger the ol' trypophobia.

Hah! Wasn't aware of that recently coined phobia.

 

[JIO]

Pin Routers: The Old-School Production Workhorses

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That would be nice, but unlikely ATC.

 

[JIO]

OP: Can you provide pics of the bass? I'm among the people here finding it hard to believe a loaded body alone weighs in the range of 11 lbs.

An average neck w/tuners should be around 2lbs and I have heard of 13lb basses, so it's possible.

 

[ardgedee]

An average neck w/tuners should be around 2lbs and I have heard of 13lb basses, so it's possible.

Some of the Alembics, sure. But those are the ones also made of all kinds of super-dense exotic woods.

I've heard plenty of claims of T-45 basses in the 13-15 pound range (and more!) but I've never seen actual evidence of one that weighed more than 12 lb.

 

[JIO]

Some of the Alembics, sure. But those are the ones also made of all kinds of super-dense exotic woods.

I've heard plenty of claims of T-45 basses in the 13-15 pound range (and more!) but I've never seen actual evidence of one that weighed more than 12 lb.

My friend made this fretless out of maple - it weighs 13lbs. It sounded good (G&L Tribute L-2000 guts/parts), but even seated it's heavy on your leg. I did the finish - we called it "creature from the black lagoon".