What a rude awakening this is!

[bassdude51]

Probably up to about the early 1990s, the weight of a bass was irrelevant. And what you bought was what you got.

FWIIW, I have a 1953 P Bass all original and it is about 9lbs 3 oz. So, even old classic Fender Basses can be either light or heavy.

GretschWretch said, "Looks like I may have to put a "For seated playing only" sticker on this bass." Yep! Get that sticker!

 

[Core Creek]

I think some of the responses here are way off base…. It’s not a proposition of being out of shape or not taking care of oneself to find a 10 pound bass heavy.

I gig regularly - 80 gigs last year. Most gigs are around three hours of play time, standing in one general area. I definitely feel the weight of a heavier bass over three hours, and on weekends with three gigs my shoulder is sore for a day. I’ve sold basses that were 10 pounds and shopped for 8-9 pound instruments to eliminate the issue.

I’m also in excellent shape, work out 6 days a week, lift weights, do triathlons, ran a marathon last year, cycle three days a week and look about 20 years younger than my actual age of 51.

So it’s perfectly reasonable for anyone regardless of their health to find a 10 pound bass heavy. It’s a tool - if someone can find a lighter tool for the job, why not?

 

[Ostie]

I recently installed a stairlift on my Peavey T-40.

I had a T-40 when they first came out. I installed a forklift on mine.

Seriously though, my 2001 MIM Jazz weighs just under 9.5. It’s pretty much retired now. I should sell it but I’ve had it for almost 25 years and played a lot of gigs with it. Lots of memories there.

 

[GrapeBass]

While going through some weighing and measuring earlier tonight I on a whim decided to weigh my 1971 P bass, which I have not played in a while. Postal scale said 9.6.1 pounds. I knew the bass felt heavy, but not *that* heavy. This was my main gigging and in fact only bass from the mid-1980s to the mid-nineteen nineties. Used it with four bands, including multi-hour rehearsals and shows, all done standing. Never noticed the weight. I don't even want to see if I can do that now.

Looks like I may have to put a "For seated playing only" sticker on this bass.

I don't understand the obsession with weight, I guess if it's like 15 pounds I'd have an issue, but really it's just ridiculous (IMHO). BTW, I ain't a yoot any longer, pushin' 61 this year.

 

[FunkHead]

OP is ~76 years old. I think weight will affect most of us by then. Until then, Balance is pretty important.

 

[GwenOnBass]

​

... I'm 69 years old and started playing seated when my case of the kneezles went terminal. Two full knee replacements later, and I still play seated. My heaviest instrument is the StingRay I've owned for 46 years. Luthier says it's 9 pounds on the dot, which makes it a major lightweight for the era.
n.b. I hate physical therapy and everything about it. It's personal, and lifelong.

 

[Peteyboy]

GretschWretch, you do not strike me as a Steinberger kinda player, but you DO strike me as a guy who is in possession of more than one hollow body bass. I bet you have more than one I'd be extremely jealous of.

 

[Jeff K]

My long-time go-to was a '75 P-Bass. That one weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs., 8 oz... The '75 Jazz Reissue was nearly that bad, weighing in at 9 lbs., 15 oz. But back when I was younger, bass weight wasn't really an issue. For me, anyway.

 

[GretschWretch]

sounds psychological to me. You were fine with the instrument physically until you found the weight and now you deemed it too heavy LOL

Yeah, but I found the instrument fine physically thirty years ago. Since then everything has been DB, so I haven't used it.

 

[GretschWretch]

GretschWretch, you do not strike me as a Steinberger kinda player, but you DO strike me as a guy who is in possession of more than one hollow body bass. I bet you have more than one I'd be extremely jealous of.

How prescient of you, @Peteyboy . Now that we are getting daytime temperatures up into the sixties I intend to do photo-ops of my herd. I prefer doing these outdoors because the light is so much better.

 

[smokinjoe]

My 78 P bass is over 12 lbs on the bathroom scale. I played hundreds of gigs with it in the 80s and 90s. If I use it now for any length of time my left arm starts to go numb.

 

[Peteyboy]

How prescient of you, @Peteyboy . Now that we are getting daytime temperatures up into the sixties I intend to do photo-ops of my herd. I prefer doing these outdoors because the light is so much better.

Looking forward to seeing them!

 

[chris_b]

My Sadowsky Jazz weighs 9lbs 7oz. Sadly that's not comfortable these days. I'm exclusively gigging my Mike Lull PJ5 (8lbs 3oz).

I have 2 backup basses (just in case). . . . a Sandberg TT5 SL (6lbs 8oz) and a Cort Jazz (7lbs 0oz).

I'm also working hard to keep in shape for the Lull.

 

[john_g]

Weighed mine the other week as the Sandberg was a new acquisition…

• Wal Pro IIE - 4.9kg / 10.8lbs
• Wal Mk 1 Custom - 4.8kg / 10.6lbs
• Aria SB700 - 4.8kg / 10.6lbs
• Frankenjazz - 4.7kg / 10.4lbs
• Sandberg - 3.8kg / 8.4lbs
• Faith Acoustic - 2.3kg / 5.1lbs

My Aria was my first ever bass in ‘82, the Mk 1 Wal came in ‘92, the Pro in 2001, the Frankenjazz arrived in 2004… I guess that back in the pre-internet forum days I just kinda thought that was what basses weighed!!”

It’s also why I only have 4” wide soft leather straps for them!

My Wal MK I and Aria Pro SB1000 are my two heaviest basses. The Aria Pro is heavy but balances great on my 4" Levy's strap. The Wal...its more uncomfortable. I am in my early 50s and in very good shape but I am slowly approaching that line (i.e. cant rock really heavy basses for 3 and 4 hour gigs anymore).

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Just a side comment - in the OP, 9.6.1 lbs is mentioned. If you use a decimal, it's expected that you are using tenths/hundreths of a pound. If ounces, spell out X lbs Y oz. If you buy a bass listed at 9.14 lbs and you get an almost ten pound bass versus a bass just a little over nine, you'll probably be upset.

 

[GretschWretch]

Just a side comment - in the OP, 9.6.1 lbs is mentioned. If you use a decimal, it's expected that you are using tenths/hundreths of a pound. If ounces, spell out X lbs Y oz. If you buy a bass listed at 9.14 lbs and you get an almost ten pound bass versus a bass just a little over nine, you'll probably be upset.

I was just quoting directly the reading that appeared on the postal scale.

 

[vvvmmm]

When I worked construction, there was a concept for lifting heavy stuff called, "the sky hook".

So, I'd not use a stairlift or hydraulic jack, and if you get one of the black whisper-copters, you won't even need to play extra loud, and you get a nice, cooling breeze.

 

[blackat]

Some basses are a bit heavy after an hour or two. But a lot of people fuss over an ounce or two which is a bit extreme. So everything is relative and balance is as important as total weight.

Actually, I never weighed my G&L that I've happily played for three years. I'm going upstairs to weigh it to find out if it's too heavy and I need to sell it.

 

[JTNuney]

I had a similar rude awakening recently. Kept hearing about this thing called “neck dive” on TB, so as an experiment, I flipped over my 3”-wide leather strap (the one I bought as a dumb teen in the ‘80s because it looked cool) so the shiny side was down and the grippy side was up. And you know what? MY BASS HAS NECK DIVE!! And I’ll bet every one I’ve played since the ‘80s had it too!

I put the strap back the right way, but I’ll never be able to un-know what I now know.

 

[Peteyboy]

Some basses are a bit heavy after an hour or two. But a lot of people fuss over an ounce or two which is a bit extreme. So everything is relative and balance is as important as total weight.

Actually, I never weighed my G&L that I've happily played for three years. I'm going upstairs to weigh it to find out if it's too heavy and I need to sell it.

Dibs!