• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

What is your ideal bass weight?

#141
The best way to weigh your bass.
20200112_070623.jpg
20200112_070656.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jason Hollar and EatS1stBassist
#142
Or, fill your bathtub to the top with water and float your bass on it. Carefully collect and weigh the water that overflows. That's the weight of your bass. A floating body displaces its weight in water. You can use your bathroom scales to weigh the water. ;-)
 
  • Like
Reactions: FrenchBassQC
#144
I never in my life weighed a bass until about two years ago, after being on TalkBass for 18 years finally got the better of me. It turns out that my StingRay weighs 9.4 lbs. It feels neither heavy nor light. I am firmly convinced that heavier basses tend to sound better and have more sustain, so I will never go out of my way to find a lightweight instrument, but there are some which are obviously uncomfortable.

The Warwick Corvette Standard, with its solid bubinga body, tends to be a heavy instrument; the 6-string version is monstrously heavy, although it sounds divine, of course. Many Fender Jazz Basses with particularly dense body wood can be uncomfortable, but I don't particularly like traditional Jazz Basses, so I don't think about it much.

An instrument that is too light feels to me like a toy, like something made for a "beginner" or a child. For me to play an extremely lightweight instrument, it would have to be something like what a Parker Fly Artist is to regular electric guitars: space-age engineering with carbon fiber carapace and Sitka Spruce body. That, to me, is something that feels like a pro quality instrument, despite its unseemly svelteness.

I've never weighed my Warwick Corvette Proline, and I never weighed my Fender Jazz Bass Plus V or my previous StingRays. None of them feel or felt light or heavy, to me. They all feel/felt "fine", so I never though about or questioned it.

I should probably mention that I'm rather tall for a woman, 185 cm, but I'm not particularly strong.
 
Last edited:
#152
Never honestly cared, the bass itself is whats important. I've owned nearly 40 basses, never weighed a single one till i would sell it, then only because buyer wanted to know....i find it odd to worry about it unless your playing 6 + hours a day with it...then only maybe:whistle:
 
#153
The heaviest bass I've owned was a Fender Marcus Miller Jazz (Japan) which was 10lb 3oz and really made my shoulder ache after a 4 hour rehearsal. It was a great bass with a fabulous neck. I had to replace the stock preamp which was not very good but the stock pickups were fine. I sometimes regret selling it but I couldn't deal with the discomfort.
 
#155
I haven't even weighed all of mine.
Both my 5s are in the 10.5 neighborhood.
Both are well balanced and have wide straps.
For the right money and a couple of days afterwards laying on a heating pad, I could do 4 sets.
In real life I am that guy that carries more than one bass.
While using one of them for a whole set is not too bad, I like to switch out mid set.
I have an A/B box and two stands so I can change basses in under 10 seconds, most days. ;)
Why?
The 5s are strung with round wounds and brighter, scooped or middy.
The other choice is a P with LaBella flats and foam under the strings by the bridge.
It both gives me a whole other flavor, it also weighs about 7.5 - 8 lbs.
Feels like nothing after the other guys. :laugh:

So, Id say I am OK with anywhere in the 8-10.5 range.
Less just dosen't feel right, less controlled.
More is OK for a little while, maybe...
if I gotta.:D
 
  • Like
Reactions: Watchootognbout

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back