Weight vs. Tone

[LBS-bass]

This is another TB false dichotomy. You CAN have both light weight and solid tone.

EDIT: Oops, I see I'm late to the party with this observation.

See my post above. Not the question I asked.

 

[cnltb]

So what do you own that achieves this?

My main basses:
A custom made single coil P style bass(I went custom because I wanted an alder body, mostly)
A custom made 5 string( 36' and wide nut, no electronics at all and a single pickup, hence custom)
I also went custom because the guy who made these just builds basses that sound good and knows me well.
No chambered bodies. Just good material, well chosen for the purpose.

 

[bench]

If a bass is heavy I won't use it no matter how good it sounds. If a bass sounds bad I won't use it no matter how light it is.

I only use lighter basses that sound good...playability is also very important to me.

That´s pretty much it. Especially because "heavy", "good tone" and "playability" are relative terms this might apply to everyone.

 

[pcake]

since i literally cannot play a heavy bass without pain that lasts for days to even weeks - and a heavy bass could also cause further damage - weight is my first concern. it has to be.

 

[Keger Jupit]

At 6'5", 250 lbs, I don't have to care. Maybe someday, but not now...so...

 

[walking Bass]

I think it must be an odd form of bassist masochism, or too frail masculinity, but weight is just that, weight. Does it translate to sound? Perhaps, but I found the tone of a Rob Allen MB-2 fretless more to my taste than any other fretless I tried. Same with Sadowsky NYC, Gibson SG and Fender Mustang - all light and all with tone qualities I enjoy. Not to mention acoustic instruments...

 

[ajkula66]

In fact, I'm encouraging others to share their ideas so that people like me will have some thoughts about what to do if the time comes that weight is an issue.

I know this is not what you asked but call it a somewhat-related-observation: I believe that in most cases weight is a secondary concern compared to overall ergonomic compatibility of the instrument, where the latter is something that differs from one player to another. Fighting with an instrument that doesn't suit one's needs/playing style/whatever is far worse IMO than just dealing with uncomfortable weight.

For instance, it was not the weight of my Warwick Thumbs that bothered me when I owned them, but it felt like I was constantly fighting with them to stay in place while I was playing, let alone the fact that I could swear that the headstock resided in another zip code. As awesome-sounding and well-built as they were, I sold them with zero regrets. Other fine basses that I could never get adjusted to from the ergonomic standpoint include Steinberger L2 and Gibson EB-1, neither of which bears any similarity to the Thumb. Great instruments but an incredibly poor fit *for my needs*.

My $0.02 only...

 

[lfmn16]

See my post above. Not the question I asked.

The question asked was "What's more important to you? Weight or tone?"

You can have both so I guess my answer is "neither." There are hundreds of mass produced basses and dozens of good customs. These "is this more important or that" questions really aren't realistic. No one should settle for a bass that doesn't have everything they want.

 

[CallMeAl]

Weight 100%

Weight and feel, especially neck, come first for me.

I'm not much of a tone chaser, I've been perfectly happy with my stock squier pickups. Even so, I can still play around with strings, pickups, etc if i find a bass that feels good.

 

[bass12]

If I'm playing a bass I will consciously be thinking more about tone, but if I notice that the bass is particularly heavy (heavier than I know I'll be comfortable with) then chances are I will decide that particular bass is not for me.

 

[smogg]

I want it all and I won't settle for less.
1) ergonomics & playability
2) manageable weight
3) sounds good
In the end it's all subjective anyway. What I find as acceptable weight others may find too heavy. What I dial up as "my tone" you may find horrid. In the end what I decide is best for me is all that matters.

The bass that hit it out of the park for me is my 2000 USA Peavey Millennium 5plus. Ergonomically perfect for my body type/hand size. Plays like butta. Very manageable weight 9.1 lbs because of great overall balance. String spacing is 17.5mm at the bridge is perfect for my hands and it can dial up all kinds of knarley rock tones. So yes I got it all.

 

[LBS-bass]

The question asked was "What's more important to you? Weight or tone?"

You can have both so I guess my answer is "neither." There are hundreds of mass produced basses and dozens of good customs. These "is this more important or that" questions really aren't realistic. No one should settle for a bass that doesn't have everything they want.

That's a fair answer. Not all of us will have a priority. I think some will start with one priority and then move toward a different one as they age. Others will pick up a bass and instantly put it down because it feels heavy to them. Others will plug that bass in and see how it sounds before they decide it's not right.

 

[Sparkl]

One word on weight vs Tone: SADOWSKY. I have two, love the tone and they're both 7.5 pounds. One's an NYC 24 Fret with Sadowsky Soapbars and the other is a NYC Satin Deluxe with Sadowsky Hum canceling P/Js. Like them in passive mode, love them in active. And why wouldn't you use that preamp?

I can't count the number of basses I've gone through to this point, vintage boat anchors, active exotics, hollow bodies, etc. I've finally found the sound I need and it has nothing to do with weight.

I only tried one NYC Sado in my life and it might as well have been a total lemon but it weighed as much as a cardboard paper and it sounded that way as well.

 

[vanderbe]

I only play great sounding lightweight basses. Hence, I’m a believer in Roger Sadowsky’s philosophy of bass building. He’s likely built over 9000 basses and believes that the more acoustically resonate instruments are often the lighter ones and he chambers the NYC basses accordingly. Two of my 5 string Sadowsky basses are just under 8lbs and a 3rd is a single cut that at 8.2 lbs. I love the tone on each. My NYC 4 strings are even less...7.4 - 7.75 lbs. I’ve had other basses that also sounded great, but weighed 9+lbs...I sold them. Sadowsky consistently ticks my boxes. However, for something different, I recently picked up an Epi Jack Casady semi hollow body that’s lightweight, a ton of fun and an incredible value for money.

 

[electracoyote]

I think this might make me an outsider, but I've always had better luck with heavier (denser) basses and guitars. Maybe it's just coincidence, maybe it's all in my head, but it's true.

No matter what the instrument weighs, you can always change out and experiment with electronics, with varying degrees of "success." And I know a lighter instrument can have great tone. But if I'm the one rolling the dice, give me the heavy ones every time.

 

[Jazz Ad]

False dichotomy.
If a bass sounds like Heaven but is too heavy I won't buy it.
If a bass is super light but sounds like crap I won't buy it either.
People (ALL of them) will only a buy a bass if it sounds reasonably well and is reasonably heavy.

 

[LBS-bass]

False dichotomy.
If a bass sounds like Heaven but is too heavy I won't buy it.
If a bass is super light but sounds like crap I won't buy it either.
People (ALL of them) will only a buy a bass if it sounds reasonably well and is reasonably heavy.

So you didn't read my clarifying edit then. OK. Not sure why BIG BOLD LETTERS aren't enough to get a point across. But apparently they're also not for everyone

<runs off in search of eye roll emoji>

 

[Jazz Ad]

So you didn't read my edit then. OK.

<runs off in search of eye roll emoji>

Important thoughts bear repeating, especially when the poster is oblivious to the problem you adress.

 

[honeyiscool]

I always sound like me so weight and color and shape and almost anything else is more important than stock tone.

 

[tpaul]

Tone is more important up to about 9 pounds IMO. Once it gets past that, I don’t care how great the tine is. Plenty of lesser weight basses to choose from.

Nailed it first post.