Sub 8lb parts PJ build - Body weight question

[gil_mor]

Hi Folks,
I'm (very) slowly sourcing out parts for my next bass.
Right now i'm thinking:
A light Warmath neck.
DiMarzio Model P&J pickups
Hipshot Ultralite tuners.

I ran across a PJ body that weighs 4lb 5oz painted and unloaded, it comes from a Fender Player Plus Active Precision P Bass.
Seems pretty light to me, should I pull the trigger? Would it keep the total build under 8lb?
Thanks!

Edited to add an image of the body I bought:

 

[Beej]

A fender neck with tuners is around 2-2.75lbs; parts, pieces, electronics, etc are around 1.75lbs, so you're around 8 to 8.5 lbs I'd guess? The Fender design overall gets you to about 8lbs with lightish woods. The odd time someone comes across something in the 7s, but the general size of parts for a Fender style leads to about 8lbs.

 

[tidbits]

I don't know if you're going to find a body much lighter than that without being chambered, so I'd say go for it.

Keep in mind you'll want to get the graphite stiffening rods in your warmoth neck, which is a $65 upcharge over the standard steel rods.

And for the Hipshot tuners, a set of licensed ultralites will be ~8oz for ~$100 vs the USA ultralites at ~6.5oz for ~$170 if you get mini clovers.

 

[gil_mor]

Trigger pulled! Thanks for enabling me!
Fender Player Plus Active Precision P Bass BODY Guitar Parts 3TS | eBay

A fender neck with tuners is around 2-2.75lbs; parts, pieces, electronics, etc are around 1.75lbs, so you're around 8 to 8.5 lbs I'd guess? The Fender design overall gets you to about 8lbs with lightish woods. The odd time someone comes across something in the 7s, but the general size of parts for a Fender style leads to about 8lbs.

I'm going to try and get a lightweight neck so hopefully closer to 2lb. Hopefully the hardware will be light.

I don't know if you're going to find a body much lighter than that without being chambered, so I'd say go for it.

Keep in mind you'll want to get the graphite stiffening rods in your warmoth neck, which is a $65 upcharge over the standard steel rods.

And for the Hipshot tuners, a set of licensed ultralites will be ~8oz for ~$100 vs the USA ultralites at ~6.5oz for ~$170 if you get mini clovers.

At this point, my budget allows me to go crazy with the neck and hardware so i'm getting Graphite stiffening for sure. Probably rosted flame maple and rosewood finger board, but still researching.

I'm debating between the USA ultralites and the carbon fiber gotoh https://g-gotoh.com/product/cbt-01/?lang=en
It'll match my GR cab ;-)

Thanks again guys!

 

[tidbits]

i have a roasted maple neck from warmoth on my main bass and I love it. Kept it unfinished and it feels so good. Could probably get away with doing just a simple tru-oil & wax finish on it.

Only thing is it no longer smells quite as heavily of maple syrup like it did when I first got it.

 

[Gervais Cote]

I usually prefer the Gotoh Resolite to the Hipshot Ultralite as they feel more accurate and robust.

 

[JRA]

Trigger pulled! Thanks for enabling me!

i wish i had chimed in before you pulled the trigger, but FWIW, i've been on a quest to play the lightest possible FSOs that i can assemble myself: i have five parts-FSOs all weighing between 6.0 lbs. and 7.2 lbs --- that's right, the heaviest is 7.2 lbs!

they're all outfitted with lightweight hardware (or hardware that makes them balance) including one with the gotoh CF tuning machines.

paulownia/empress is the common body wood for all five axes --- really light!



edit: here are four of them (the pic was handy). they're all super players!

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Hi Folks,
I'm (very) slowly sourcing out parts for my next bass.
Right now i'm thinking:
A light Warmath neck.
DiMarzio Model P&J pickups
Hipshot Ultralite tuners.

I ran across a PJ body that weighs 4lb 5oz painted and unloaded, it comes from a Fender Player Plus Active Precision P Bass.
Seems pretty light to me, should I pull the trigger? Would it keep the total build under 8lb?
Thanks!

Add about 4 lbs to the body, and you end up with final weight.

 

[HardNHeavy]

those gotoh carbon fiber tuners look slick...got me gassing to build another....good luck on your build

 

[logdrum]

i wish i had chimed in before you pulled the trigger, but FWIW, i've been on a quest to play the lightest possible FSOs that i can assemble myself: i have five parts-FSOs all weighing between 6.0 lbs. and 7.2 lbs --- that's right, the heaviest is 7.2 lbs!

they're all outfitted with lightweight hardware (or hardware that makes them balance) including one with the gotoh CF tuning machines.

paulownia/empress is the common body wood for all five axes --- really light!



edit: here are four of them (the pic was handy). they're all super players!

View attachment 5470968

Awesome. Also not putting in frets reduced weight

Without sub 8 lbs in mind - I got a light MJT ash body from the classifieds, replaced the bridge with older and heavier BadAss bridge, the neck is a Precision neck from AllParts not roasted with a heavier ebony fretboard and I am sub 8 lbs - 7 lb 9 oz. Yes Hipshot Ultralight tuners.

 

[JRA]

those gotoh carbon fiber tuners look slick...

pricey, but they help kill the neck dive for sure!

not putting in frets reduced weight

I am sub 8 lbs - 7 lb 9 oz. Yes Hipshot Ultralight tuners.

that's a beauty, @logdrum, love that fingerboard --- and congrats on the weight!

 

[13bass]

Hi Folks,
I'm (very) slowly sourcing out parts for my next bass.
Right now i'm thinking:
A light Warmath neck.
DiMarzio Model P&J pickups
Hipshot Ultralite tuners.

I ran across a PJ body that weighs 4lb 5oz painted and unloaded, it comes from a Fender Player Plus Active Precision P Bass.
Seems pretty light to me, should I pull the trigger? Would it keep the total build under 8lb?
Thanks!

Doubtful, likely would be close to 8.25-8.5lb. Roasted maple necks for me have run in the 1.25-1.5lb range, non roasted have run consistently over 2lb. Hardware + electronics will run ~2lb give or take depending on your selections.
For my P bass build that runs 7.25lb the body was 3.4lb. dinky p body, and zero neck dive with a roasted maple neck and lightweight tuners.

 

[Gervais Cote]

i wish i had chimed in before you pulled the trigger, but FWIW, i've been on a quest to play the lightest possible FSOs that i can assemble myself: i have five parts-FSOs all weighing between 6.0 lbs. and 7.2 lbs --- that's right, the heaviest is 7.2 lbs!

they're all outfitted with lightweight hardware (or hardware that makes them balance) including one with the gotoh CF tuning machines.

paulownia/empress is the common body wood for all five axes --- really light!



edit: here are four of them (the pic was handy). they're all super players!

View attachment 5470968

I don’t want to start a 20 page thread here but this paulownia wood, would you say it sounds and resonates like poplar wood or is it closer to alder wood ?

 

[micguy]

I've built a couple dozen sub 8 pound basses (about a third of those are 5's). None of them used a body over 4 pounds. The key to a light bass is that everything has to be light - every part is part of a weight budget. On my builds, I use:

Hipshot ultrailites (the USA version, which is lighter than the other version). I use roasted maple necks with graphite reinforcement from Warmoth. You really want light tuners and a light neck, or you might encounter neck dive when using a light body.

The bodies I use are all selected for light weight - Warmoth will do this for you. Most of the are roasted swamp ash, which is light to start with. When the light pieces are selected, they end up under 3 and a half pounds..

Hardware is a big part of this as well. Some pickups are lighter than others - I'll leave that for you to discover. Bridges - I use Hipshot aluminum bridges. I use aluminum (or titanium) neck mounting plates. I do not use pickguards - they weigh something, and I also don't like the look. I use aluminum electrosockets to mount jacks. Although plastic knobs are even lighter, I use aluminum ones - most metal knobs are brass, which is 3 x the density of aluminum.

Doing all of this, I can consistently make 5 string basses under 8 pounds. 5's are definitely tougher - they have a big honkin' B string (I use 130's) that weighs almost as much as the rest of the set, a wider neck, an extra tuner, longer pickups, and a wider bridge. My heaviest bass (all of them are 5's) is 7.64 pounds, the lightest is 7.04. All of them balance beautifully on a strap - you can let go of the thing, jump up and down, and they will stay put.

 

[ravlin]

Sounds like a waste of time. Send a link though, I'd like to check it out for a friend...

 

[Altitude]

Trigger pulled! Thanks for enabling me!
Fender Player Plus Active Precision P Bass BODY Guitar Parts 3TS | eBay

I'm going to try and get a lightweight neck so hopefully closer to 2lb. Hopefully the hardware will be light.


At this point, my budget allows me to go crazy with the neck and hardware so i'm getting Graphite stiffening for sure. Probably rosted flame maple and rosewood finger board, but still researching.

I'm debating between the USA ultralites and the carbon fiber gotoh https://g-gotoh.com/product/cbt-01/?lang=en
It'll match my GR cab ;-)

Thanks again guys!

The neck is the bass, from the player’s perspective. Makes sense to spend inordinately there.

Looks like a fun project.

 

[fretno]

Medium scale Warmoth Sugar Pine body.

 

[Hot Rats]

Medium scale Warmoth Sugar Pine body.

Nice. Say, what bridge is that?

 

[Island Thumper]

... the carbon fiber gotoh CBT-01 - G-GOTOH

Measure REALLY carefully and then check the dimensions of these online. The base plates are significantly bigger than most. I had to file them down to fit on an Jazz headstock. LIGHT tuners--just gotta adjust the tension, not as smooth as GB350s, for me, but look AWESOME!

 

[Kubicki Fan]

Trigger pulled! Thanks for enabling me!
Fender Player Plus Active Precision P Bass BODY Guitar Parts 3TS | eBay

I'm going to try and get a lightweight neck so hopefully closer to 2lb. Hopefully the hardware will be light.


At this point, my budget allows me to go crazy with the neck and hardware so i'm getting Graphite stiffening for sure. Probably rosted flame maple and rosewood finger board, but still researching.

I'm debating between the USA ultralites and the carbon fiber gotoh CBT-01 - G-GOTOH
It'll match my GR cab ;-)

Thanks again guys!

My figured maple neck with ebony FB, graphite stiffening rods, binding & blocks is at 2.066 lbs. My roasted neck with ebony FB was probably less, sans frets.

You are on the right track.

If money is not tight, go with the carbon fiber tuners. Expensive but you won't find lighter.