What the cutoff for heavy vs light weight.

[svtb15]

9 pounds is my cut ff.
All Of my Alleva Coppolo basses 4 string and 5 string are under 8.5 pounds. One is 8.1 pounds
I actually select the wood for my builds when i get to LA .

I have a hofner that is light as a feather
My 72 p bass is 8.2 pounds
A Fender American P5 at 8.6 pounds.
A yamaha bb3000s @ 8.2 pounds a few pre CBS fenders all under 8.5 pounds one Jazz is 8 pounds even

 

[honeyiscool]

If well balanced, I think 9.5 is not that heavy, esp. for a 5. Lot of basses are neck heavy, though, which makes basses feel heavier.

For a basic passive Fender four string, I think 8.5 is where it goes from light to medium. And given that you can usually cut half a pound with light tuners, 8.5 is very achievable.

 

[Nephilymbass]

Current main player (yet to weigh it but I’d guess around 8-9lbs)

Heaviest bass i actually gigged regularly with 11.5 lbs

Heaviest bass I’ve owned (probably like 15 lbs lol)

for the right price I would NOT turn down a bass because of weight. Even the Conklin. Sure I don’t want to play it at a three hour cover gig standing up with it, heck I wouldn’t want to play it for an 60 minute originals gig standing up. But If it was just for a song here or there or if it was just as something to noodle on while sitting down I wouldn’t be against buying another one for the right price.

 

[BassholeKI]

Used to be I could deal with a little heavier, but now anything around 9 - 9 1/2 is about my limit.

 

[bulldean]

I don't like "neck heavy" basses. I'm not sure of exact weights, but my Guild Pilot is perfect for me. I have a Ibanez SR500 PB that is really lightweight and sounds good. I remember owning a Gibson Victory bass 20 plus years ago that was a killer. It must have been 11 pounds plus!

 

[mikewalker]

12 pounds is my limit, 9 - 10 are manageable, and 7.5 is downright pleasant!

 

[flatwound62p]

I remember owning a Gibson Victory bass 20 plus years ago that was a killer. It must have been 11 pounds plus!

I played one of them for a few years around that same timeframe. Salesman talked me into trading "up" from an Ibanez Roaster. Regretted that quite quickly. My main memory of the Victory is that it was a heavy heavy heavy sucker.

 

[Fatcat1]

Below 8 lbs. is light; nine and above is heavy. Between 8.0 and 9.0 is sort of a no man's land.

Have to agree with this. For me 8.5 feels good but 9 will tire me.

 

[Thumpin6string]

My 10 pound 6 string and my 6.5ish pound 5 string fretless. My Gruv Gear Damian Erskine DuoStrap is a lifesaver when playing my 6.

 

[cnltb]

I won't have anything that's not below 4Kg.

 

[Slevage]

15.4 pounds

 

[alembicguy]

I use to have a 3 lb. P bass but the drummer farted and it blew away so now I use only heavy basses.

 

[baileyboy]

My cutoff is around 9 lbs. I had to sell a vintage Jazz that was 9 lbs 3 oz... that extra 3 oz never failed to tug at my lower back midway through 3rd set. My current lineup: 8 lbs 8 oz Precision and 8 lbs 14 oz Jazz are both very comfortable to use for a four hour gig.

 

[led4thehed2]

My P Bass is a bit over 9.5 lbs, it doesn't feel heavy, just feels like an average bass. I'd call 8 fairly light. I know the Steve Harris signature Fender makes now felt heavy to me. I think it's about 12 pounds. I guess my cutoff is somewhere in double digits.

 

[ultra60]

No cutoff here. Got one that when I bought it, the seller posted 10.7 lbs. however, I don't really notice that it's any heavier, or lighter, than any of my other basses. They all feel about the same to me. And I have my share of spinal disc issues. Maybe that's why I don't notice a basses weight, lol.

 

[zortation]

8-9 lbs...light

9-10 lbs...midweight

10+ lbs...heavy

Well, to me anyway...

*shrugs*

 

[Slevage]

I use to have a 3 lb. P bass but the drummer farted and it blew away so now I use only heavy basses.

Fire the drummer!

 

[rtslinger]

Heaviest I own is 12 so yeah 12 ha ha ha

 

[mesaplayer83]

Below 8 lbs. is light; nine and above is heavy. Between 8.0 and 9.0 is sort of a no man's land.

But balance and how the bass hangs from a strap also are relevant. A heavy bass that does not hang heavy might still be acceptable.

Agreed on all of the above - my perfect weight for a 4 string is 8 to 8.5 lbs... Anything much under 8lbs just feels too light to me - I guess I'm just accustomed to having at least a bit of heft at the strap... However, any 4 string much over 9lbs feels unnecessarily heavy to me - and even though they're typically a bit heavier, I try to keep my 5ers at 10lbs and under...

 

[mark beem]

My lightest is my Valenti T21-P5. Under 8 pounds.