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Some basses are too heavy, but are some too light?

#21
Dincrest said:
But does anyone look at a number and think, "Yeah no, that bass is too light for me"?
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Absolutely. There's a certain point where you're just gonna start getting into neck dive, even if it's just the slightest hint of it. Deal breaker for me. And the whole "grippy strap" solution does not work for me. You still end up making micro adjustments all set long so your shirt doesn't end up a lopsided mess. Gimme a 10 lb bass and a wide strap over a 7 lb wonder any day.
 
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#22
Humans adapt. When I got my first very light bass, it seemed very light. I now have three very light basses, and I've forgotten about normal weight basses. That very light bass is now, relatively, the heavy one, and something else is the light one.

If it's in a grumpy mood, the knackered shoulder that made getting rid of normal basses necessary is capable of thinking of any of them as heavy.
 
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#23
I sit.

I sit down on a Queen Anne chair, with an ergonomic dense foam pad atop a dark green, thick terry towel covered with a long haired sheep ski wool side up... (winter is coming).

TBH my handmedown Eames was only slightly better...

A padded chair that Uncle had made special at the Eames company for his lumbar condition... ( insert war story here)... from the 50s and in wonderful condition.
Phenomenal chair... lost in a packed out move to Alaska.
 
#25
i have never found a bass that's too light for me - my lightest is 4.75 (a 24.75 inch scale), my heaviest is 8 pounds, and i've had basses in the last 12 years falling at every weight in between. balance isn't AS important to me as weight due to shoulder issues.
 
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#26
alembicbones said:
This bass when it was originally constructed.

View attachment 7384029

I bought this bass used a few years back. How can you not be impressed by its looks. Kinda surprised why somebody would commission this bass and sell it. Very light body and very heavy tuning machines. The balance was totally off. I lived with it as is for a while because the tone was so great. Then I decided to swap out the tuners with Hipshot Ultralites. What a world of difference. Now this bass is great.

Bones
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hubba hubba - wowzers, that's gorgeous!
 
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#27
alembicbones said:
This bass when it was originally constructed.

View attachment 7384029

I bought this bass used a few years back. How can you not be impressed by its looks. Kinda surprised why somebody would commission this bass and sell it. Very light body and very heavy tuning machines. The balance was totally off. I lived with it as is for a while because the tone was so great. Then I decided to swap out the tuners with Hipshot Ultralites. What a world of difference. Now this bass is great.

Bones
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That is glorious! Looks like you could dive in and swim in it. :drool:
 
#31
I have a bad back and some shoulder issues so this is something I have thought about a lot. In general it's not a yes or no questions as other factors can contribute to comfort. I still have a weight limit of 10lbs. I can get through a gig no problem but I definitely can feel that anything more wouldn't work. I have also had some super light basses but found that the excessive neck dive caused a new set of problems and pain. I can deal with a little bit like on my 8.5lb 21fret P bass. I almost bought a 7lb warwick CV streamer but the neck dive was so extreme that I couldn't imagine it not affecting the comfort.

Overall balance definitely can make a bass feel lighter then it is. My other P bass is 20 frets and a pound heavier, but it feels more comfortable then the one with more neckdive. My F basses are the same way. They hang so nicely on my body that I don't notice the weight.

You overall posture and stage mannerisms can also cause unnecessary pain. I realized I tend to stand kind of crooked and started to focus on more of a power stance that kept my back straighter. I also stopped playing sitting down which sounds counter intuitive, but it stopped me from my typical slouching posture. The other thing was making sure I wasn't bouncing up and down too much all to the beat. It sounds dumb but more of sway or side step has kept my back happier.

The other thing that could be in my head is that super light basses don't sound as good. Total speculation but my heavier basses seem to thunder a bit more then the lighter version of the same bass.
 
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#32
Thank you everyone for the great responses so far (including the photos of many lovely basses).

I definitely agree that light basses are a struggle to play if they neck dive. I've played a Hofner-style bass in a recording studio and it was too light. Felt like toys and the neck dive was horrible; I felt like I was fighting the bass more than playing it. I've also read on TalkBass about people excited about the new pawlonia-bodied Tobias Growlers (many examples of 4's at Sweetwater are under 7 pounds, they have long upper horns presumably for balance) but report that they neck dive because the pawlonia bodies don't counterbalance the necks enough.

I once had a 6-string whose ergonomics were as ideal as it gets for me with a 6-string and its tone was monstrous. I called that green beast Incredible Hulk. Thing weighed somewhere around 12.5 pounds, though. I could not shoulder it for more than 40 minutes or so.

I also once had a Spector Rebop 5 that weighed about 8.75 pounds (but felt lighter), but the compact body, bridge placement, and 35" scale made it balance too horizontally for my liking so the first position "money notes" felt like a miles away reach. The kinda chunky neck didn't help either. I could say the weight of that bass was ideal for a 5-string and the bass sounded tremendous, but its ergonomics didn't suit me.

And like others, my aging shoulder loves my 7.5 pounds bass but my 8.8 pound bass... I find its heft comforting, especially the way it presses just right against my sternum and my shoulder doesn't complain (since it balances nicely). A Fender Aerodyne I used to have (it was about 9 pounds even) pressed into my chest too hard, even though it was an otherwise ergonomically sound bass. I might put a set of Gotoh Res-o-Lites on my 8.8 pounder to move it a little closer to 8.5 pounds (which is close enough to my sweetspot) since that's the bass I reach for more often.

Ergonomics and weight are important for sure (whether due to age, medical issue, body type, etc). But I guess I'm like Baby Bear in that I like everything just right. Balance just right and weight just right (not too heavy, not too light). Heh, and also like Baby Bear I like my neck profiles not too skinny and not too chunky.

(And, for reference, I'm 47 now but I'll probably be singing a different tune when I'm 74).
 
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#33
I don't like light basses. They just don't feel right for me but I'm sure it's 90% psychological. In my mind, basses are supposed to be thundering tools of low end goodness that make things shake. Featherweight stuff seems counterintuitive to that process.

I like my basses between 9-11.5 lbs. Lighter than 9 lbs feels like a toy and heavier than 11.5 lbs feels like an anchor. Balance is crucial regardless of weight.

I'm 53, in decent shape, and play 4-6 hour gigs regularly. I've never had any issues with instrument weight or soreness after shows.
 
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#36
I had a Lakland Skyline, the one with the bartolini stingray and jazz pickups, cherry sunburst with a beautiful top (wish I still had it). It was REALLY light, with the small lower horn it wasn't great to sit and play and had some neck dive.

Standing it felt like the strap was acting as a grip to keep the bass in place rather than simply holding the bass on my shoulders. If that makes sense! Ine of the best sounding basses I've ever played and was my workhorse through uni and cruise ships.

I would much rather a light bass with a little neck dive than a beast that is going to effect my technique and performance and enjoyment of a gig or gigs.
 
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#38
It is only too light if it does not balance well, otherwise as light as possible is my preferred weight.

My upper limit is 9.5 lbs, but it has to be a really well balanced 9.5 lbs. Between 8 and 9 lbs is very doable for me. Between 7.5 and 8 lbs is really nice (all 5-strings).

My regular gigs are usually 3+ hours of playing time. I need my basses to be comfortable.
 

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