What a rude awakening this is!

[s van order]

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 bought the Duo strap (one over each shoulder) that has been recommended by folks on TB. My J bass is hefty and I usually play seated as I also play cello and switch back and forth. But, I am covering some shows with my old rock band and standing for three sets is of course required - and I'm 65 yo, - still strong and in good shape but still ... 65 yo, lol. The strap did its job at my first gig the other week. Spread the load over both shoulders. My neck was happy. Here's the link: https://gruvgear.com/products/duost...MzWJ1Nl1RNS5MH8lNRqUizpmvmmnC6whoCF9YQAvD_BwE

 

[Peteyboy]

If I were playing 3-4 hour sets like most of you guys I'd probably have my share of issues with fatigue. Playing original music in the LA club circuit only requires around 45 minute sets.

 

[john_g]

If I were playing 3-4 hour sets like most of you guys I'd probably have my share of issues with fatigue. Playing original music in the LA club circuit only requires around 45 minute sets.

My band usually plays 3-4 hour gigs but last weekend we did a one set mutli-band fundraiser gig. Lasted about an hour. I was like..damn i could do this 8 days a week.

 

[luckydawgg169]

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

This is why I context really helps. You said you hadn’t played it in “a while.”
Then you mention that was 30 years ago?….

That changes everything LOL

 

[Malak the Mad]

In response to the frequent, "Well, it doesn't bother ME!" sorts of replies...

What eternally confounds me, both here on TB and in the World-at-large, is the bleak lack of empathy, sympathy and/or understanding. So, as a health professional, I'll put it this way;

• Someone says their instrument is too heavy for them, but not too heavy for you? Guess what...they are not you.
• Someone is frequently bogged down by chronic pain and/or infirmity, but you are not? Shocky-shocky...they are not you.
• Someone can't/won't play instruments with certain, physical specs, but you can play it without a problem? You've probably guessed it by now...they are not you.

We may be built along the same, general "bilateral symmetry", but you don't have to dig much deeper to start seeing the differences crop up and, sometimes, how they can be a roadblock to certain ends. (Apologies to anyone who falls outside of the "bilateral symmetry" groove. I'm just trying to make a point, not to be some kind of "ableist".)

I see this dynamic, this severe lack of empathy, between two friends of mine and it drives me nuts! One is in frequently in pain...all thanks to a doctor driving drunk in the pre-MADD days...and the other keeps getting annoyed when plans have to change because of said chronic pain. And now, I have to bite my tongue when the latter starts complaining about his newest, age/lack-of-self-care-induced aches and pains. But, I suppose it's better that than screaming, "NOW do you know what if feels like?!!", even though I really, really want to. Sadly, it would accomplish nothing but spark recriminations and deflections.

So, please-oh-please, do not condemn/curse/lambaste those who can't do what you do, or live in a different body and/or situation than you do. It is patently unfair. The least we can do is be a little sympathetic and, maybe, be there for them should they need a hand or a little bit of gentle guidance. Best of all, it costs less than the cheapest bass!

 

[murphy]

In response to the frequent, "Well, it doesn't bother ME!" sorts of replies...

What eternally confounds me, both here on TB and in the World-at-large, is the bleak lack of empathy, sympathy and/or understanding. So, as a health professional, I'll put it this way;

• Someone says their instrument is too heavy for them, but not too heavy for you? Guess what...they are not you.
• Someone is frequently bogged down by chronic pain and/or infirmity, but you are not? Shocky-shocky...they are not you.
• Someone can't/won't play instruments with certain, physical specs, but you can play it without a problem? You've probably guessed it by now...they are not you.

We may be built along the same, general "bilateral symmetry", but you don't have to dig much deeper to start seeing the differences crop up and, sometimes, how they can be a roadblock to certain ends. (Apologies to anyone who falls outside of the "bilateral symmetry" groove. I'm just trying to make a point, not to be some kind of "ableist".)

I see this dynamic, this severe lack of empathy, between two friends of mine and it drives me nuts! One is in frequently in pain...all thanks to a doctor driving drunk in the pre-MADD days...and the other keeps getting annoyed when plans have to change because of said chronic pain. And now, I have to bite my tongue when the latter starts complaining about his newest, age/lack-of-self-care-induced aches and pains. But, I suppose it's better that than screaming, "NOW do you know what if feels like?!!", even though I really, really want to. Sadly, it would accomplish nothing but spark recriminations and deflections.

So, please-oh-please, do not condemn/curse/lambaste those who can't do what you do, or live in a different body and/or situation than you do. It is patently unfair. The least we can do is be a little sympathetic and, maybe, be there for them should they need a hand or a little bit of gentle guidance. Best of all, it costs less than the cheapest bass!

Thank you ...and very well said

 

[bassfiddlesteve]

I've always preferred lighter basses and I don't attribute this to age or even physical fitness. A ten pound weight hanging from your shoulder for four hours is more likely to cause discomfort than an eight pound weight no matter who you are.

That being said, my Kliq AirCell strap has made playing my heavier basses much more tolerable.

- Steve

 

[Smooth_bass88]

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.

www.comfortstrapp.com is your solution

 

[Polfuste]

In response to the frequent, "Well, it doesn't bother ME!" sorts of replies...

What eternally confounds me, both here on TB and in the World-at-large, is the bleak lack of empathy, sympathy and/or understanding. So, as a health professional, I'll put it this way;

• Someone says their instrument is too heavy for them, but not too heavy for you? Guess what...they are not you.
• Someone is frequently bogged down by chronic pain and/or infirmity, but you are not? Shocky-shocky...they are not you.
• Someone can't/won't play instruments with certain, physical specs, but you can play it without a problem? You've probably guessed it by now...they are not you.

We may be built along the same, general "bilateral symmetry", but you don't have to dig much deeper to start seeing the differences crop up and, sometimes, how they can be a roadblock to certain ends. (Apologies to anyone who falls outside of the "bilateral symmetry" groove. I'm just trying to make a point, not to be some kind of "ableist".)

I see this dynamic, this severe lack of empathy, between two friends of mine and it drives me nuts! One is in frequently in pain...all thanks to a doctor driving drunk in the pre-MADD days...and the other keeps getting annoyed when plans have to change because of said chronic pain. And now, I have to bite my tongue when the latter starts complaining about his newest, age/lack-of-self-care-induced aches and pains. But, I suppose it's better that than screaming, "NOW do you know what if feels like?!!", even though I really, really want to. Sadly, it would accomplish nothing but spark recriminations and deflections.

So, please-oh-please, do not condemn/curse/lambaste those who can't do what you do, or live in a different body and/or situation than you do. It is patently unfair. The least we can do is be a little sympathetic and, maybe, be there for them should they need a hand or a little bit of gentle guidance. Best of all, it costs less than the cheapest bass!

Wisdom words !
Plus one should never forget that life can suddenly strike strongly, so what was a one's truth two minut before can become a NO-GO two minut later. Life lessons generally open minds. Too bad one have to be stricken to understand things. (including myself)

 

[Malak the Mad]

Wisdom words !
Plus one should never forget that life can suddenly strike strongly, so what was a one's truth two minut before can become a NO-GO two minut later. Life lessons generally open minds. Too bad one have to be stricken to understand things. (including myself)

Sometimes, yes. "Life" can strike suddenly. ("Everything was fine...until <insert tragic event> happened!")

Sometimes, though, it can be a sudden realization or culmination of a situation(s). ("Everything seemed fine...until I tried to do <insert activity>! I guess <things> caught up with me!)

Big picture...no on is safe from either situation. The best we can do is to be aware and ready to react to the things we can affect, and hope the things we can't affect do no strike. Life is a gamble and there are no certainties, but that's no excuse to be a jerk about it, either when it happens to us or someone else.

I've always preferred lighter basses and I don't attribute this to age or even physical fitness. A ten pound weight hanging from your shoulder for four hours is more likely to cause discomfort than an eight pound weight no matter who you are.

That being said, my Kliq AirCell strap has made playing my heavier basses much more tolerable.

- Steve

1. Yep, that's the nature of "repetitive stress". Over time, it can wear anyone down...even shuffling a .05oz. mouse around a desk for years. (In my line of work, "computer fatigue" is so much of a thing.)
2. I almost bought one of those. It sounds really, really neat and could go a long way in easing that constant pressure. Instead, I opted to go with a Levy's Poly Right Height 3.25" strap. I was won over by how quickly and easily one can make minute adjustments to find that "Goldilocks/just right" length. That, and the price was right. (I found a new one on The 'Bay for only $47! Zowie!!) I don't use it much, but I'm still glad I have it, 'cuz it's "so far...so good" for me. (Like with so many things, your own mileage may vary.)

 

[GretschWretch]

www.comfortstrapp.com is your solution

Thanks for the link. I do have a couple of those Lekato padded straps, and I am going to see how they affect things. I also plan to experiment with strap button location. The thing is, I really do not want to have to part with this bass. It's the electric bass I have had the second longest, and I have many fond memories of using it. But like as has been said, thirty years.

 

[JIO]

Years ago now, I decided that 10lbs was my bass weight limit. It's now 9lbs - nothing over. I prefer 8lbs or less (like my Dano Longhorn) but still play my few 9lb basses because I like the way they play & sound. Any basses I make are deliberately 8lbs or less.

In bicycle-speak (road or off-road), climbing a mountain is much more enjoyable/fun on a light bike than on a heavy bike, even if one is fit.

 

[Nuisance]

All of my basses weigh less than 8 pounds. It's vastly easier on my back when playing a typical 4 hour gig.

Going light also curbs my gas as well, as most basses weigh more than 8 pounds. But when I DO find a nice light one I usually grab it.

If I hadn't gone this route I would be done playing by now. Up to a few years ago, my main bass was a 10-pounder, and most of my basses were in the 9-10-pound range. I couldn't figure out why I was in so much pain after a gig until I tried a 7.5 pound Ibanez one night. What a revelation! That was quickly followed by a huge bass purge, and I've been adding light basses as I come across them.

Two weeks ago I picked up a 7.5 pound Stingray special at a local Ma & Pop. Not in a color I preferred, but worth every penny because Stingray's this light rarely cross my path.

 

[Peteyboy]

Are you guys ALL touring with the E Street Band?

 

[JTNuney]

Are you guys ALL touring with the E Street Band?

It’s an all-bass E Street cover band: The Low E Street Band.

 

[Malak the Mad]

Years ago now, I decided that 10lbs was my bass weight limit. It's now 9lbs - nothing over. I prefer 8lbs or less (like my Dano Longhorn) but still play my few 9lb basses because I like the way they play & sound. Any basses I make are deliberately 8lbs or less.

In bicycle-speak (road or off-road), climbing a mountain is much more enjoyable/fun on a light bike than on a heavy bike, even if one is fit.

All of my basses weigh less than 8 pounds. It's vastly easier on my back when playing a typical 4 hour gig.

Going light also curbs my gas as well, as most basses weigh more than 8 pounds. But when I DO find a nice light one I usually grab it.

If I hadn't gone this route I would be done playing by now. Up to a few years ago, my main bass was a 10-pounder, and most of my basses were in the 9-10-pound range. I couldn't figure out why I was in so much pain after a gig until I tried a 7.5 pound Ibanez one night. What a revelation! That was quickly followed by a huge bass purge, and I've been adding light basses as I come across them.

Two weeks ago I picked up a 7.5 pound Stingray special at a local Ma & Pop. Not in a color I preferred, but worth every penny because Stingray's this light rarely cross my path.

Figuring out what works for you on an ergonomic level is not "just a bit helpful". For some, like these gentlefolk above, it can be a blessing and a life/career saver. It's why I always recommend people keep trying out new or different instruments, even if they don't think it's their thing. One never knows when lightning will strike or when the next "A-ha!!" moment will land.

@GretschWretch; Good luck with your experimenting. I hope you find a way to keep using your P-Bass without it beating the snot out of you in the process.

 

[GretschWretch]

Figuring out what works for you on an ergonomic level is not "just a bit helpful". For some, like these gentlefolk above, it can be a blessing and a life/career saver. It's why I always recommend people keep trying out new or different instruments, even if they don't think it's their thing. One never knows when lightning will strike or when the next "A-ha!!" moment will land.

@GretschWretch; Good luck with your experimenting. I hope you find a way to keep using your P-Bass without it beating the snot out of you in the process.

Thanks for the good wishes. For now, @Peteyboy has redirected my attention back to my hollowbodies, so I can be more leisurely in my approach to the P. It's still my favorite solidbody, though.

 

[Peteyboy]

Thanks for the good wishes. For now, @Peteyboy has redirected my attention back to my hollowbodies, so I can be more leisurely in my approach to the P. It's still my favorite solidbody, though.

You always chime in with something constructive, or knowledgeable, or funny. Sometimes all 3. I wish you all the best GretschWretch!

 

[GIBrat51]

Yeah, I know about fitness and exercise, and admit I have been slouching in that regard and need to do better. But also, in six months I will turn seventy-six and I know that as a person ages his biochemistry changes. A lot of the bodily fluids etc. I need to maintain a rigorous conditioning program just are not there any more. Still, bicycle, flexibility exercises, isometrics and light weight-lifting -- these I can and should do.

Yeah, I hear ya - and totally agree. Still... for me? I'm sneaking up on 74, and 24 years of being a Combat Engineer - that did a fair bit of both, in places I'd rather forget - did not do my body any good at all. Riding motorcycles far more than I drove, since 1967, didn't help much, either... But, I don't find 9.6 lbs. all that bad - yet. My 11.1 lb. '78 Fender P-Bass, OTOH? A couple 3 songs, and... time for a break. If I got rid of every bass (and a guitar or 2) that weighed 9+ lbs.? There wouldn't be much of my 27 bass "herd" left. My Gretsch Broadkaster would be right on the go/no go line....

 

[JIO]

Figuring out what works for you on an ergonomic level is not "just a bit helpful". For some, like these gentlefolk above, it can be a blessing and a life/career saver. It's why I always recommend people keep trying out new or different instruments, even if they don't think it's their thing. One never knows when lightning will strike or when the next "A-ha!!" moment will land.

@GretschWretch; Good luck with your experimenting. I hope you find a way to keep using your P-Bass without it beating the snot out of you in the process.

For some there is a stigma against light basses, some being short-scale basses. Luckily many players are coming around to accepting them now, and the industry is producing light weight & short-scale basses that sound great. And yes, hollow-bodies tend to be lighter. Basswood is a tone-wood and light. Torified /roasted bodies/necks also lighten otherwise heavy wood and sound great. Gives us all a choice which is a good thing.