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

#43
Dincrest said:
I was jamming out on both of them and since I like to move/dance/rock out all crazy while playing, I was happily swinging around the light bass but got carried away, the bass nearly got away from me, and I almost threw out my back.
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If you move that much while performing, you don't seem that old to me. And I'm only in my mid-40s, lol.

So since I don't bounce around when playing, a bass would never be too light for me. A bass is too light if it's not balanced well with the neck.
 
#44
Dincrest said:
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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Can't confirm about the new growler but the older Tobias body shape is very well balanced. I went from the stock strap button to a strap lock that anchors it just a bit further down the neck (maybe 1/4") and found that to be the sweet spot for me. I don't play out in public but when I do play I'm almost always standing. I've always preferred it to seated.
 
#45
J Wilson said:
It's only too light if it's unbalanced and the far end heads for the floor every chance it gets.
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This.
I'm old, fit and strong with no injuries that make playing long sets with 12lb asses an issue, provided the balance is fine. I have a sub 7lb 4 string that dives badly because of the 4IL headstock and the heavy old F style tuners. Hipshot ULs might make a difference, but I don't think enough to try right now. This bass would be much less preferable to my than my 12lb ATK or T40 to play live. Thankfully all my 6s are well balanced and just under 10lb.
 
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#46
20 years ago I damaged my back carrying 2 90lb Mesa Boogie RR EV cabs. I'd spent 8 years with those cabs. They sounded great but it was madness at my age and I paid the price. I had to sell my Lakland 55-94 (10lbs) and was pretty comfortable with a 9lb Sadowsky. Time marches on and now my #1 bass is an 8lb Lull. I may have stopped the decline, I work out every day, but I haven't turned back the clock. 8lbs is still my maximum. I have 2 7lb basses which are my backups for bad days, but I'm still looking for a great 7lb #1 bass. There are a few out there, one I'm interested in is a 7 1/2lb Sadowsky Metroline. I just don't quite have the budget yet.
 
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#48
Dincrest said:
As we get older, heavy basses become harder to shoulder. Even those of us who work out regularly can feel the weight of a heavy bass over a long gig. Hence why many of us ask about the weight of a bass.

We look at certain numbers and immediately think, "Yeah no, that bass would be too heavy for me." But does anyone look at a number and think, "Yeah no, that bass is too light for me"?

I have an excellent, higher-end bass that's roughly 7.5 pounds and balances perfectly for me (which is very cool because some lightweight basses can neck dive due to light bodies not counterbalancing heavier necks). I also have a killer bass that's roughly 8.8 pounds and is pretty comfortable (probably because I've had it for 14 years). I was jamming out on both of them and since I like to move/dance/rock out all crazy while playing, I was happily swinging around the light bass but got carried away, the bass nearly got away from me, and I almost threw out my back. On the other hand, with my heavier bass, I could still dance around, but not as crazy so the bass never felt like it was getting away from me and I was in less danger of throwing my back out. I felt more stable with my heavier bass.

So I'm thinking I would not want to go any lighter than that 7.5 pound bass. I see anything lighter than that and I'd probably think "Yeah, no, too light for me." (8- 8.5 pounds seems to be my sweetspot).

So how about others? Is there a point where a light bass is too light?
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I don't think so.
How light? 6.5 lbs? (I only play 5 strings, so I've never had to even THINK about a bass being too light.

Really, they can only get "so" Light, assuming they have all the "normal Bass guitar bits", (Yea I'm sure there's the exception).

As long as the "Lightness" doesn't make it balance all wonky.

"(8- 8.5 pounds seems to be my sweetspot)."
I could go along with this, but again, with 5 strings, they're always just a lil heavier. Last Bass I bought was an Ibanez sr5 string, and it weighed 9 lbs 3 Oz.

YMMV.
 
#49
An answer to a heavy bass. If they can do it, so can I.

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#51
Pdaddy1978 said:
The Hofner violin style, and even its many clones, are so light that for me they feel toy like.
They might be great players for some, and its probably because I've spent my playing life with heftier basses, but thier feather weight feels weird to me.
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I would argue that the weight of a viola style bass is the least of its problems: while the hollow body's weight certainly is a factor in its neck dive, the necessary placement of the strap button coupled with their too large headstock is the bigger issue. But even more annoying than the neck dive is the "forward roll": the strap button being at the neck heel joint coupled with a convex back pressed against a dadbod waist puts it in an almost unplayable position.

Really light though!
 
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#52
I don't care much about weight, I have a light Precision Bass and a couple of heavy 5-strings. For me it's how the bass balances more than anything else. I feel like the heavier basses have more power, or more ooomph when driven, but that's individual.
 
#55
I've found my ~10.5 lb Lakland is easier on my back/shoulder than my ~9lb schecter is because of how it balances more at a 45° angle vs flat, the lower frets are less of a stretch so it puts pressure more straight down vs more on my left shoulder.
 
#56
Pdaddy1978 said:
The Hofner violin style, and even its many clones, are so light that for me they feel toy like.
They might be great players for some, and its probably because I've spent my playing life with heftier basses, but thier feather weight feels weird to me.
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I felt the same. I played one that my friend owend briefly, the lack of an upper horn and the extremely light body weight made it neck dive like crazy.

Balance is the main issue with very light instruments. The neck can only get so light before it's not strong enough to withstand the tension of the strings, so if you're shaving more weight off the bass beyond what you get from lighter hardware and electronics, it's going to come from the body, and a light body with a normal neck leads to an unbalanced instrument. I'd rather have a heavier but balanced bass than one that i have to fight to keep in the right position.
 
#58
Winton said:
If you move that much while performing, you don't seem that old to me. And I'm only in my mid-40s, lol.

So since I don't bounce around when playing, a bass would never be too light for me. A bass is too light if it's not balanced well with the neck.
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I'm 47 (which many on this forum would say "Bah, you're young! A mere pup!") I stay pretty active (I lift weights at the gym, ballroom dance, ride bicycles) and eat pretty healthy (mostly vegetarian, no red meat). But no one ever looks back wistfully and says, "Ahhh, to be 47 again..."


As for the discussion, I think a common theme we can pretty much all agree on is that weight is not the end-all-be-all. Light basses can be fatiguing if they're not ergonomically sound (e.g. neck dive/don't balance well). I mentioned a Spector 5 I used to have where the weight was lovely (bass felt lighter than it really was) but it balanced too horizontally for my liking and the neck jutted too far out, making first position an uncomfortable reach).
 
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