Weight

[vinlander]

Weight is definitely a factor for me as I got older and have some back issues.
Last year I sold an old Peavey Grind 5 strings that was just above 9 pounds and recently a Godin Passion RG-4 that was 8.2 pounds to make room for my 4003SW at 8.4 pounds.
Most my instruments are in the 8 pounds or so range.
The only heavy instrument I kept in the last 30 years is my 10 pounder 1992 Gibson Les Paul Standard because it was my first serious instrument after years of buying and selling cheap planks...I play it for a short period of time and mostly sitting meanwhile.
So yes weight is an important factor for me as a good feeling neck or balance

 

[five7]

Thick padded straps make the weight hurt more. I have went to 3 1/2 inch nylon straps, ahh much better!

 

[Jason Hollar]

heaviest:

Mothman 15.4

Whoa! Are you now the steward of the dark instrument???

 

[vinlander]

Thanks. I trust the luthier, I'm sure he would not propose the chambering option if he had doubts about altering sound (he's a member, I hope he won't read me, lol).

I guess I just needed some reassurance, thanks

I had a Godin Passion RG-4 which was a chambered instrument and it had a nice resonance when playing unplugged.

 

[NewJackBass]

The Gibson is 12 lbs? Holy smokes!!

 

[NewJackBass]

I know a lot of people don't mind... but for me, I'm constantly walking through airports with my bass, standing for soundcheck, run throughs, and doing anywhere from 90min - 120min shows. There's also the occasional 3 hour corporate band gig. It helps my back if the instrument is a little lighter, especially my main instrument. I didn't mind as much maybe 20 years ago.

This sums up the weight issue as far as Im concerned...

 

[Deleted member 394181]

Oooooh! I’ve been waiting for another weight thread!

“Get a wide, padded strap.” How many times have we heard this?

So, I weighed my wide straps! Italia, 4” wide, leather straps. One with suede underside, and the other with smooth leather underside. Both with strap locks.

One was 14.8 ounces, the other ( trimmed slightly shorter) 12.5 ounces.

I get the wide spreads the load a bit on your shoulder. Ok.
But how does adding almost another pound to an already heavy bass make any sense?

And then there’s the sweat factor of all that strap leather.

After all these years, 8.5lb is my hard limit, and I’m happier with 7.5.

And I’m thinking about lighter straps.

How much does the wider strap weigh?

 

[Todd Hamby]

Weight has little to nothing to do with my affinity for a bass.

 

[DrBnz]

What can I say.... I know what I want and I know what I don't want. Plus returning a bass because of weight or balance just creates a difficult situation. Its easier to ask ahead of time. The worst that can happen is they think of you as one of "those people". Hey.... its better than receiving a boat anchor in the mail.

 

[newfuture]

I'm in the 'can't deal with heavy' camp. It's an age and wear and tear on the body thing.

Sold a t40 and a kawaii f2b because of weight (miss that f2b!).

Have a 'signature' brand J that I likey will not gig with again due to weight. It's heavy enough I don't like to play it for a long time sitting down as it'll put my leg to sleep. Too bad as it's an amazing instrument in all other respects.

I'm old. Get off my lawn.

 

[BishopHastur]

Whoa! Are you now the steward of the dark instrument???

Have been for a few years now, yeah.

 

[Jason Hollar]

Have been for a few years now, yeah.

Respekt. And Fear.

 

[singlemalt]

How much does the wider strap weigh?

Both straps are 4” wide. One is a couple inches shorter because I trimmed a few inches off the tail, and put a new hole in the end for the strap locks.

I don’t think that accounts for all the weight difference, the suede backed strap is heavier than the smooth leather backed strap.

 

[Pdaddy1978]

For almost 40 years it never even dawned on me to weigh my bass.
Then I joined Talkbass, and found out I'm supposed to.

 

[roccobass]

I’ve quit buying basses because people are so rude when you ask what a bass weighs. The peer pressure to accept your heavy ass bass is tremendous, and I have my light basses anyway so who needs your boat anchors?

I do have a couple 5s that weigh slightly over 9 lbs. But they rarely get used and not for long when they do.

It really sucks.
People who are rude, obviously don’t want to make a sale. I’ve had a couple do that to me. I’ll jump over all reasonable hoops to move mine. Weight disclosure ain’t a problem for me. But then again, I don’t have any Bell Beefers left in my stable. All mine are around the 9- 9.2 range.

 

[Sam Evans]

Do you think I should confirm my request to have him chamber the body in order to reduce the weight?

My only concern would be whether it increased neck dive, esp. on a bass where the strap post is near the 15th fret.

 

[roccobass]

7.2 lbs
View attachment 5473103
11 lbs
View attachment 5473105

I remember playing a T-40 for a month when my Jazz was in the shop. Dang. I didn’t have a wide strap either. What a tank.

 

[NewJackBass]

For almost 40 years it never even dawned on me to weigh my bass.
Then I joined Talkbass, and found out I'm supposed to.

I don’t think anybody asked you to weigh your bass, or to even care about weight period. But there are people who do care, and that’s cool.

 

[Iridescentone]

What I don't get is people who are obsessed with people who DO care how much a bass weighs.

Is it the reaction to the uncomfortable cognitive dissonance that's felt when a firmly held belief like "weight shouldn't matter" is challenged by the reality that it actually does matter? That would explain some of the irrational posts on the topic, at least. That's all I got (shrug).

 

[jnewmark]

I wish I would have paid more attention to weight about 50 years ago. I have been playing Fender basses just about all of that time in the 9.5 lb range and am now suffering from all kinds of back pain, namely from my left shoulder being about 2" higher than my right one. Trying to keep that 9.5 lb bass raised up a tad with my left shoulder has caused different parts of my back to be out of alignment with my right side. In physical therapy right now, twice a week to try to get things adjusted back to normal, but its a long process. Never really noticed anything until about two years ago, when I started getting all kinds of back pain, during and after gigs. I'm a small guy to begin with, so I should have heeded the warning signs sooner. I do have a CS Fender Jazz that weighs in about 8.5 lbs that has been my stay home bass, but it looks like I may have to start using that one when I get things back to normal (hopefully).