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The ultimate lightweight bass thread!
- Thread starter Joe Nerve
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- lightweight ultimate
Had the rogue vb100 for over 12 years. Did a lot of recording with it - a very nice bass and a steal for the price. This year I gave to my friends grandson. Light, great action and with flatwounds it has a nice punchy boomy and full sound.
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My ultimate lightweight bass. German Hofner Gold label Madrone Burl.
Every working stiff knows the problem you describe: a heavy-ass bass for five sets a night! One of the very best basses ever is the MM Stingray circa 1983. Just playable as hell and sounds great, BUT it has to weigh 14 pounds because all of the hardware is so large and solid. I've also owned two Alembics, and the Series I weighed a bunch. But I also own one of the coolest light basses ever made: a first year (1968) Fender Telecaster. It feels like it might be made out of balsa wood it's so light!
I have an Ibanez SR500 4 string and it is perfectly balanced. Beautiful true neck and mahogany finish. Half the weight of my J-bass clone. Sweetwater still sells them, also in 5 string.
A beautiful bass and yes, about as light as it gets. Enjoy it , there's nothing quite like it.
My Ibanez SR500 is light, toneful, and well balanced.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
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- Jan 12, 2011
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- Artist, Trickfish Amplification Bartolini Emerging Artist, MTD Kingston Emerging Artist. Artist, Tsunami Cables
Pbassmanca
In the pocket n' thumpy. So woody, so greasy...
I was reminded the other day when I played the Brad Paisley Telecaster guitar, which is made of empress or Pawlonia wood, just how light that body wood is. Anything made of Pawlonia will be light as a feather.
Agreed. I bought a knock off Telecaster lefty blonde maple neck and the body is Paulownia. It is light as a feather. I could wear it for four hours and it never strained my back. I think that Dean makes a Paulownia bass.
I had to stop playing the heavier Jazz basses for that exact reason. Had a Smith proto that just killed my back, also a Squire Modified Jazz that sounded great but would end up with a neck ache for days after the gig. Some of the bass bodies are made of lighter ash wood and that is the route to go. Found a jazz bass that is very light and comfortable. Also went to Epi jack Cassidy and Alan Woody basses, hollow body decent, full sound. Those are my suggestions.With my tail planted firmly between my legs, I apologize for my posts from years gone by. Join a gym, and stop complaining over 2 lbs.. I now lament those posts, as a nagging back issue (which I am determined to resolve) and steady 3 hour gigs 2-4x a week has me thinking maybe a stupidly light bass could make things a tad easier...
So, without further ado, please post your recommendations - along with links and prices. I already own a Danelectro, and I've been considering a Hofner, but I need to put a D-tuner on whatever I use and those would need to be altered. Anyhow... enough out of me.
I'd really like to see this turn into the ultimate thread for this purpose as the other's seem very scattered and you have to go searching for links and prices.
INCLUDE LINKS AND PRICES!!!!
EDIT----- 6 lbs. or less!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks.
It seems like the Hofner style basses are very popular for lightweight. I guess with the aging boomer generation it's no wonder!
I found a violin style bass kit on eBay that I like. I've wanted one for a while but don't want the stock lefty, I want a natural finish on the body and replace the plastic square tone control panel with either pearloid or tort, better yet, a natural piece of wood. I'm worried though that real wood would have to be real thick to be strong enough.
This would be a fun weekend project just to teach myself. Anyone had any experience with these kits please let me know. But I'll bet it weighs next to nothing!
I found a violin style bass kit on eBay that I like. I've wanted one for a while but don't want the stock lefty, I want a natural finish on the body and replace the plastic square tone control panel with either pearloid or tort, better yet, a natural piece of wood. I'm worried though that real wood would have to be real thick to be strong enough.
This would be a fun weekend project just to teach myself. Anyone had any experience with these kits please let me know. But I'll bet it weighs next to nothing!
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No experience at all, but it looks like fun. I think the worst thing about a Hofner is that people do not take them seriously. Oh, a Beatle Bass. A bit of double edged sword for Hofner - Paul M put them in the public eye but he is also the reason (in my opinion) that most players avoid them. They're really pretty good, fun to play and can be set up with very low action (mine are) and have a distinct booming bass sound. I even made a series of samples, playing an Ignition, a CT Hofner and a Fender mustang and sent them to friends for a "pick your fav" test. They all picked the $ 250 Ignition. All flatwounds, all same eq. It was surprising. In that test, that setting and just a drum track that's how it played out. In a full band setting, I prefer my fender Jbass.
My work in progress. Fun learning experience. Still have to do the soldering. Would not do black again as it shows every mistake.
