Weight?!?!

[Geri O]

So you don't have a problem. I'm very happy for you and wish I was back at a point when I didn't have to consider weight.

You flippantly dismiss our concerns and needs, which is disappointing, but not uncommon. Obviously we need to man-up, work out and get on with it.

If only life was that simple.

Oh, I’ll bet that in the 6 pages of this thread, there are those that are agreeing with that guy and cheering him on.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I'm a pharmacist for a living, took analytical chemistry, biostats, etc. An Amazon product might advertise the percent accuracy, but all products will have a calibration curve.

My gut tells me a guy who isn't satisfied with a bathroom scale weight is going to be much more satisfied with a luggage scale. That 7 pound 3 ounce bass is actually 7 pounds 5 ounces. He'll want to return it or ask for a 40% refund or face his wrath.

This is why I usually donate stuff to a local shop who will give them to youth who aren't going to complain.......

I’ll take the accuracy of a fish or luggage scale any day

 

[Acoustic356]

I owned a Fender Steven Harris bass for exactly 1 weekend/1 gig.

This bass weighed bear 13 pounds. It was a 3 hour gig where I was standing and playing almost continuously. It was not very fun, and I was in PAIN for the rest of the seek. I loved the tone, hated the weight.

It was then when I realized that weight does matter and I have an upper limit as to what is comfortable for me.

 

[DJ Bebop]

"I hope I die before I get old"
Pete Townshend

Trouble is, a lot of use didn't but our physical health did die off so to speak. So weight is a concern for some of us.

Sorry Paul.

I meant us, damn cell pecker.

 

[Dincrest]

Ergonomics are important in an instrument. That includes weight, balance/weight distribution, neck profile, whether a compact body shape makes a neck jut out too far that the money notes are a reach, etc.

If an instrument is uncomfortable to play in any regard, you won't want to pick it up and play it. And one thing that can make an instrument uncomfortable is if it aches your shoulder after a while when you play standing. I had a stellar bass that would have been a forever bass. It was a 34" scale 6-string with an incredible low B and the best ergonomics I've ever felt in a 6er... except that it weighed close to 13 pounds. Even though it balanced perfectly, it still ached my shoulder after 40 minutes (and I'm only 45 and work out regularly).

I'm also an avid cyclist and hear all the time about "weight weenies" putting lightweight components on their road bikes to save a few grams. I used to clown on that until I did a ludicrously hilly charity ride on a hybrid bicycle several years ago. I survived it and even pulled some stragglers up a particularly nasty climb, but that was the impetus for me to buy my carbon fiber road bike. My knees are happier for it.

"Get good, son" or "Get strong, bro" can only get me so far. Sometimes having a light bass on a lengthy gig, even though I'm strong enough for a heavier bass, is great so that I'm less fatigued by the end of the night and have that extra reserve of energy to drive back home at 3 AM.

And that's not even getting into folks who have medical conditions that warrant the need for lightweight instruments. I'm not just talking shoulder or back issues, but some folks may have heart conditions where they can't lift more than 20 pounds. The discontinued Rocco Prestia line of basses ESP/LTD put out were specifically designed to be light weight with Rocco's medical needs in mind. Pity they flew under the radar here on TalkBass. They were exactly what many folks were looking for.

 

[BlueTalon]

After 56 years of playing bass, I have neck issues that I have to contend with when playing. Two things that help me: 1) Stretching per my PT's instructions, and 2) playing lighter instruments. I do sit sometimes, but only for church or a jazz gig. Never for shows, rock/pop gigs, etc. (I'll save that for when I get older ).

From my perspective mass of bass isn't an issue, 3.4kg Fender Mustang or 4.5kg LTD Surveyor (stupid name, don't you think?)
My spine is
1hr standing is my maximum, whatever the bass is

I keep a small stool for keyboards in my car as an essential part of my load-in. Most gigs, I spend the majority of the time standing. Some gigs lend themselves to sitting most of the time. But for those that don't, it's still possible to sit between songs, during song introductions, certain solos, etc. So I usually don't sit for more than 30 seconds or a minute at a time. But those 30 seconds add up, and can make the difference between an enjoyable gig and agony at the end of the night.

 

[SunByrne]

I wonder how many TB threads could be characterized along the lines of “I have a particular opinion about X. I do not understand why everyone doesn’t agree with me and furthermore people who do not should be denigrated.”
Why is it so hard for people to accept that people have different preferences than they do?

 

[DJ Bebop]

I keep a small stool for keyboards in my car as an essential part of my load-in. Most gigs, I spend the majority of the time standing. Some gigs lend themselves to sitting most of the time. But for those that don't, it's still possible to sit between songs, during song introductions, certain solos, etc. So I usually don't sit for more than 30 seconds or a minute at a time. But those 30 seconds add up, and can make the difference between an enjoyable gig and agony at the end of the night.
View attachment 5317147

Someone has just gifted me one of those keyboard stools that I didn't know what I was going to do with it, until now

Thanks for this!

 

[Gizmot]

I'm genuinely happy to hear you’re doing that well at your age. I’m 36 and dealing with the long-term effects of a serious spine injury, including multiple herniated discs and arthritis. The odds of me being able to play 4 hour gigs while standing at 70 are not in my favor. If I want any chance of making it that long, I have to play very lightweight basses. I hope this doesn’t make you laugh.

Keep on playing — good luck.

 

[lomo]

No one cares about questions regarding string spacing, scale length or a host of other physical parameters of a bass, but asking the weight of an object that's habitually slung over the shoulder for hours at a time before buying without laying hands on it is somehow a trigger for so many. Where's the face palm imoji?

 

[J-Bass RMR]

It comes down to this; the key to a successful transaction is communication.
The more information shared, the less chance of an surprised, disappointed buyer.

When you consider all the steps involved in listing and selling a bass - it's really not that big of a deal - you got to weigh it to ship it anyway.
If it matters to a fair percentage of buyers, list the weight, and get it over with - You'll eliminate the "weight?!?!" questions.

 

[logdrum]

I really do not understand why the OP is annoyed by the weight question. It doesn't cost anything. At most it's 3 digits and a decimal point, barely a second if you are a touch typist maybe five seconds on a phone. People are not wusses if they care about weight.

But also the guy that said that people who do not care about weight do not gig much or at all. That's quiet a stretch.

 

[nostatic]

I wonder how many TB threads could be characterized along the lines of “I have a particular opinion about X. I do not understand why everyone doesn’t agree with me and furthermore people who do not should be denigrated.”
Why is it so hard for people to accept that people have different preferences than they do?

because, humans


and social media/anonymity

 

[DWBass]

Basically, I don't like heavy basses! Never did!! Don't care how well it played! Whenever I went to the music store and tried out basses, I was also checking out the weight. I swore off Stingrays for years. Just couldn't do it!! Now they weigh 8lbs!! I'm in the market! So really don't care what anyone thinks.....I will not own a heavy bass. My heaviest is a hair over 9lbs.

 

[Julian Delphiki]

Coming from the guitar world where my telecasters are all like 6.5 lbs, every bass seems heavy to me! Haha. However, I just think of it in terms of maximum weight, so anything under 10 lbs is usually fine but under 9.5 lbs is better.

The problem for me is my favorite bass, a 2002 Lakland Skyline JO, that I bought from a TBer is a whopping 11.5 lbs as measured on a luggage scale. The neoprene ComfortStrap I have helps, but it’s not a bass that I can handle all night.

 

[retslock]

This is a slight derail, but what happens when you are weighing the bass and discover you cannot weigh the bass? I had been using a bathroom scale, just to satisfy my own curiosity, and discovered that the weight reading could vary by as much as 1.5 pounds depending on where on the scale I positioned the bass.

So I got a Harbor Freight postal scale, and now find that I cannot weigh some of my basses -- mostly FSOs -- on it. The platform upon which the bass sets is too small for the bass to balance. Other than putting a large book on the scale to add to the contact area with the bass and weighing the book, and then putting the bass on the book, weighing that and then subtracting the book's weight, I don't know how else to obtain a reading. Hanging fish scale, perhaps?

I also use a bathroom scale but my method is to weigh myself first, then again but holding the bass against my body and standing exactly as I did the first time. The difference in weight is the weight of the bass.

 

[john_g]

True story maybe, but totally unenforceable.

Nope. And as a matter of fact, by questioning my rule, you have agreed to pay me 50 bucks

 

[john_g]

If you really think that’s true, I expect you’re in for some disappointment with the TB classifieds.

 

[retslock]

What are going to do with all the time you saved by not listing the weight?

 

[Plain Old Barry]

You'll know with each bass.

I have light and heavy instruments. Some, I'll tolerate being heavier being great players, others suck even though they're light.