When did weight become the top priority in a bass?

[Geri O]

Well, I've hit the age where many have said it starts to matter (50), but a super light bass fells weird to me. My playing outside of the house is at church, so 15 minutes at a time, 3 times a Sunday. It doesn't have a lot of time to weigh me down, but I can see where it could on a legit gig. What are people finding that is in the "light" category? Everything I've got is 9 lbs +

I get what you're saying, but I've never picked up on a weight "debate" at all and only recently have I noticed it's something that's asked about. I've been a lurker here for quite a while, but very casually.

I’m comfortably using a 9.3lbs (I think) Music Man Stingray Special these days. I picked mine from 4 identical basses at Sweetwater. Mine was the second heaviest of the 4, but it had the prettiest top… (I always send props to @LadyLoveStingRay5 for alerting me the availability of these basses!)

I’m fine playing 90 minute sets and even 3 hour sets with it, but the next day is when I notice my shoulder aching a bit. Just enough to notice it.

I’m using a nice wide CFG strap which is really comfortable.

Not too bad for a 67-year-old, I think. The last half of this is supposed to get really busy with our country music artist, so I’ll see how I hold up on 2-3 nights every weekend or so, if it does come to it.

 

[Lammchop93]

I started caring after I turned 30. And it’s an absolute deal breaker for me now if a bass weighs more than 9 pounds

 

[Doctor Morbius]

When we got old.

 

[2112]

In the year 2525?

 

[stockplus]

Love me a bass from 8.5 lbs to just under 9 lbs. This usually feels just right to me. Lighter than 8.5 and they tend to be neck heavy.

 

[Norm Nelson]

It's already been said, but ... demographics. I didn't give a crap that my aluminum neck Kramer weighed a million kilos back in 1982.

That said, I actually don't think weight is the main concern of anyone (no matter how old) shopping for a bass. It's just that there are so many good choices out there (like, 100 million different versions of the Precision style), that weight becomes one way of sorting down.

 

[mambo4]

for me it was around 2005, when I tried my first Mike Lull bass.
at 7.5 lbs, it was lighter than anything I had previously played
sounded better than any of them

In that moment I learned that weight was entirely unrelated to how good an instrument sounded.
I'm "old" now, but I wasn't then

 

[jerry]

Age for me, chambered bodies and Neo speakers came around just in time for this old man.

 

[Mastiff_5]

Last Thursday, around 3:45 pm.

 

[Gopherbassist]

It became a big deal when people got old.

 

[mikeynets]

It's only maybe the last 10 years that it has become more of a thing. I think before, most people didn't think about. Most instruments were heavy, and it was just taken as a given. Now we have options, and people that have experienced how great it is to play with a well balanced and lightweight bass won't go back.

If you have a bad back, or shoulder problems, it's a life saver. Even if you don't, but spend hours standing at band practice, it makes a huge difference.
I see heavy basses and guitars as another "traditional" thing that needs to die. Tonewoods are a myth on electric instruments. Unfortunately, people buying guitars love traditional designs, no matter how inferior they are. For example, Fender's bent plate bridges. They're are a pain to change strings, and about as cheap as can be, and yet they're found on $2,000 basses. Same goes for the giant heavy steel tuners, that weigh down the headstock making the bass balance poorly. We know better!
A heavy bass is something that can be easily avoided, so people that know it's a problem for them are going to ask. More people are asking now simply because more people know there's another option.

I really gravitate towards traditional looking instruments, but I hear you on all this. So I'm putting together a parts P bass with a custom neck from Musikraft that addresses most of these issues:

• super lightweight Paulownia body that I stained and oiled (Roger Sadowsky talked about tonewood and more or less said it has a minimal effect, but he found lighter instruments to be consistently more resonant, and to him at least, that was a net positive) I also read that the heavy plasticky finish on a lot of instruments also stifles resonance to a degree. I think this stuff is probably more theoretical and I don't even know if over the top resonance is even desirable, but more than anything, I like the way stained and oiled basses look.
• Short scale neck — more for personal preference, tone and ergonomics, but also it'll weigh a little less
• Lightweight tuners
• Gotoh bridge with quick-string slots — every bridge should have these!

 

[pbass2]

I'm a wiry little 60+ year old guy and have no issues wearing a bass pushing 11lbs for several sets (I am very athletic though, admittedly). But all humble brags aside, I recently did a marathon session with a heavyweight bass, sitting down for hours on end, and that evening laying bed I was like "what is this weird tweaky nerve sensation in my right thigh?" Oh, right....

 

[rockear]

In the year 2525?

 

[songwriter21]

I know, I know, plenty of you will say it's ALWAYS been important but I don't remember it being so high up on the priority list, or one of the first questions in a NBD post. I've been flipping local deals online for a while and don't remember being asked this until fairly recently. I have a beautiful 2000 EBMM StingRay 5 H on Reverb and the only question I've had, buy several different people no less, is what's the weight? It's a StingRay, it's heavy! (11 lbs 3 oz if you're curious) Someone on Facebook was asking if Sadowsky made anything under 6.5 lbs. I had a Hagstom Super Swede that was 7 lbs even, it felt like a toy. Maybe I've never picked up on it, it just seems like a weirdly recent phenomenon.

People forgot what exercising/staying strong means. Excuses and pills are king anymore.

 

[GrooveCaptain]

I really gravitate towards traditional looking instruments, but I hear you on all this. So I'm putting together a parts P bass with a custom neck from Musikraft that addresses most of these issues:

• super lightweight Paulownia body that I stained and oiled (Roger Sadowsky talked about tonewood and more or less said it has a minimal effect, but he found lighter instruments to be consistently more resonant, and to him at least, that was a net positive) I also read that the heavy plasticky finish on a lot of instruments also stifles resonance to a degree. I think this stuff is probably more theoretical and I don't even know if over the top resonance is even desirable, but more than anything, I like the way stained and oiled basses look.
• Short scale neck — more for personal preference, tone and ergonomics, but also it'll weigh a little less
• Lightweight tuners
• Gotoh bridge with quick-string slots — every bridge should have these!

Love it! Sounds like a great project! I feel like quick release bridges should be standard on all basses

 

[bass.slinger]

For me it is a minor datapoint and shows if the seller is detail-oriented and / or responsive. I have no issue with the weight of most basses - all my Fender and Musicman basses are between 9-10lbs. I do not think I would like a super light bass - would feel weird.

 

[Lava]

I think it became a thing once it became an available option from better builders.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

It became an issue for me when playing 3+ hours in a night and having a sore shoulder. The whole weight of the bass is focused on that point (unless you use one of those duo straps or bass belts that support the bass on your hips).

More manufacturers have taken this into account and try to design out excess weight where they can and one of the main demographics of the buying public is that we're aging and physical comfort matters even more.

I suspect younger players are likely reading about it and realizing it is an important part of the design too, so they are more aware.

 

[monsterthompson]

Is it the top priority? I’m sure it is a significant consideration. It’s also one of the few variables that can be numerically quantified. Every bass is a little different, but you can’t ask about a numeric value for the tone, though some might tell you a particular instrument is darker, brighter, punchier, or more/less growly. A lot of variables can be adjusted for with swapping pickups or strings or electronics, without making permanent changes to the instrument. Weight is one number, and you can’t see it with your eyes when shopping, or change it with pickups (though a bridge or tuner swap could help). I think it’s asked about frequently and perceived as a bigger factor than it likely is for many players.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

Well some of us did 40+ years of skilled labor for 50+ hours a week and multiple injuries.

Some evidently have insurance that didn't fight tooth and nail against surgery like mine did despite paying for insurance out of pocket by my parents and myself my whole existence.

Myself I sit when playing these days and NOW I would consider a 10+ lb bass because I finally wised up to sitting while playing ha!