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What do you consider a heavy bass?
- Thread starter bigdaddybass12
- Start date
My limit is 9.5 lbs. Most of mine are under 9 lbs.
She bought that bass from the shop in Stephen King's "Needful Things?" I'm scared.
The moth bass is not constrained by such lame ideas as Newtonian physics or old man back issues.
Well...
"Heavy" is a pretty subjective quality - especially around here. Some people are very happy gigging with a 13-14 lb. bass; some people think that any bass over 6.5 lbs. is a boat anchor. So... it depends on who's playing the thing...
Personally? When I was in my late 20's-30's, I was a Combat Engineer - and one of the unit's 2 M-60 machine gunners. An M-60A1 (the Vietnam-era one) weighs around 24 lbs. - empty. With a 100-round "assault pack" on it? Somewhere around 28 lbs. I used to run around with that thing, on an assault sling (a wide shoulder strap), all day. I could do it for days - and, it never bothered me at all. Back then? There was no such thing as a "heavy" bass...
Now? I'm 74 - and, with the bad back; bad hips; and the worn out knees that are the result of heavy construction projects; jumping out of the back of a Deuce-and-a-half with a 60 lb. pack and the M-60; and generally just wearing myself out. Now, there are a lot of "heavy" basses... In my current "herd" of 30 basses? The heaviest two are my A-necked '78 Fender P-Bass (11.1 lbs.), and my '78 Kramer 450B "Lumie" (10.05 lbs.) I doubt that if I was still in a band, I'd last a whole set with either of them. Especially the Kramer; not only is it heavy; it neck dives like a JU-87 Stuka on a bomb run... The next heaviest one, at 9.33 lbs., is a '15 G&L ASAT Bass. Which I can still play, for as long as I don't get bored with it. All the rest of the Herd" get progressively lighter - all the way down to my German-made Hofner 500-2 Deluxe Club Bass (4.85 lbs.). But, as I get older? I'm pretty sure the basses in the p lb. range will get to be a bit too much for me, as the aches and pains get worse. But, until that day comes? Gonna play the snot out of all of them - even the "Too Heavy" ones...
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> My Alembic Europa 5 String w/ Series I electronics clocks in at about 13.5 lbs
Good god! That is a boat anchor.
Good god! That is a boat anchor.
I wouldn't sell the bass you love because it's a little heavy.
I'd hunt for a light bass to play on your bad days when the heavy beaut is too much to cope with.
Short scale, headless, etc. lots of options!
Don't hit Buy unless you know the actual weight and balance.
Do what it takes to keep playing.
I'd hunt for a light bass to play on your bad days when the heavy beaut is too much to cope with.
Short scale, headless, etc. lots of options!
Don't hit Buy unless you know the actual weight and balance.
Do what it takes to keep playing.
How did you make a 6 1/2 lb Jazz Bass.
The lightest factory Fender jazz I have found is 8.8, with ultralites now 8.3 .
I never paid any attention to weight of basses, flat wound strings and short scale basses until I joined this forum.
Don't care about weight of bass.... I have several that are 10 pounds or more.
Absolutely love Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats.
Don't need or want short scale basses with necks' length more like guitars.
Don't care about weight of bass.... I have several that are 10 pounds or more.
Absolutely love Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats.
Don't need or want short scale basses with necks' length more like guitars.
A 7lb jazz with good balance and decent p'ups would be a winner in anyone's camp. How about a pic?
Paulownia wood body, just under 3 lbs, Mighty Mite neck, relatively light but sturdy, lightweight tuners ... there it is. ^_^ Plays great, sits nicely with no significant neck dive. Got another similar @ 7 lbs. Most bodies won't get you there. But i got lucky with a couple from the Guitar Fetish site (discontinued, looks like).
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A early mid 90s Les Paul standard bass. My last one was just a hair under 15lbs! It felt like a a ton of concrete on a strap to the point it even made my shoulder sweat. Lol. Great basses amazing quality in that era however!
Looks like you picked up a cocktail table, removed the legs and put some strings on it? At least the body spreads out against you, which perhaps takes off the feeling of so much weight?
I haven't made up my mind about keeping it, so, sorry, no pics yet. It's a Cort GB35J, sunburst with tort. It was fitted with licensed Hipshot tuners at some point so the balance is good. I'm undecided. . . . do I put $300 pickups and preamp in a $200 bass or buy a bass that retains its value??
