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Why are people obsessed with weight??

#684
I care about the weight and always ask for it the seller.And it has been a deal killer for me for couple of nice basses too.
Giging couple of years with near to 12 lb Atelier Z gave me back pain and shoulder pain after the gig.

Now, in my other cover bands with 4-5 sets a night, I care about the weight much more. My heaviest bass now has 10.8 lb and I know that this is a maximum I am willing to carry - and only for my originals' band with 1.5 hour gigs. And I have Neotech strap too.

Best is about 9 pounds or slightly less.
I am very happy that I came to the exact figure that works for ME for gauging the comfort level of potential bass. No more guessing. :)
 
#685
I care about the weight because I want to take care of my health.
Yeah,I'm just 16 at the moment,but I don't want to have back problem at such a young age.

And yeah,maybe I don't have 2 hours gig(or even 1 hour gigs),but I want to feel as comfortable as I can when I play.
And if someone will give me a bass that will be way too heavy, I'll just sit on a stool or something...even if its a gig.
 
#690
JimmyM said:
Go away and worry about something more important, like Justin Bieber's new haircut.
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Justin Bieber has a new haircut? OMG, my kids will have to go and get a new haircut again. :rollno:

On this (beaten to death) subject: Being 40+ I do fully understand the need for a lightweight bass. I just still like the feel of my hefty Yamaha. There's a totally irrational comforting sense of power and reliaibility coming all from that weight. I does start to bother me after a long set though (or maybe I had to reach this age to admit that to myself). Luckily my main bass has a great and time tested solution to this: It has a endpin and stands upright on the stage. :D
 
#691
My thoughts are the same. Most people who complain about it are probably (just by the odds) 40 pounds overweight and have very little muscle mass, but they don't complain about that do they? Yeah but if a bass is 11 pounds instead of 9, it's a travesty.

Lose some weight and get a little stronger. It's not a big deal.
 
#692
WPW said:
Personal choice. Everyone should play the bass they are most comfortable with. I do a lot of Jazz, funky stuff, and when i play a heavy bass, my back and shoulder feels terrible for the next two days.
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I'm not trying to bash anyone or anything, I just never thought a heavy bass could really jack up an otherwise healthy shoulder. I'm planning on getting a Bongo 6 soon and those weigh 11 pounds so yeah...
 
#693
BassSaxMan said:
My thoughts are the same. Most people who complain about it are probably (just by the odds) 40 pounds overweight and have very little muscle mass, but they don't complain about that do they? Yeah but if a bass is 11 pounds instead of 9, it's a travesty.

Lose some weight and get a little stronger. It's not a big deal.
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Some of you people are just insensitive to the fact that due to the zillion differences between people, some will have trouble doing things that others will not. This is applicable to just about everything in life.
 
#695
Toptube said:
Some of you people are just insensitive to the fact that due to the zillion differences between people, some will have trouble doing things that others will not. This is applicable to just about everything in life.
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Not if you're a big manly stud like the posters that minimize others disabilities, injuries, age or condition think that they are.
 
#700
Jefenator said:
Do 5 set gigs and/or make it to your late '30s. You'll understand. ;)
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Early 40's now bro. i've played heavy basses and enjoyed the heck out of the tone - i sometimes borrow my pal's P bass which weighs a ton. Heck, my new (to me) USA hamer B12L is pretty stout.

I have a bad T9 disk (bring out the violins) but even if I didn't it's all about the amount of time you play at a gig.

I liken it to meeting a drummer who brings a piece (or larger) kit to a gig. First thing I think is "you don't gig much do you?" - Virtually all the pro and working drummers i know use 4 pc kits because they're sick of lugging around one more thing. I know some cats gig a lot with 8x10 and 2x15 cabs, but if you did a poll based upon number of gigs a person plays - you'd find a very large skew towards bringing smaller gear (maybe two smaller cabs, lighter head, etc). I see the same thing with PA size - the band that plays once a month or less brings a monster, while the band that plays every week brings a more efficient system.

I said all that to kinda set the stage - If you gig a lot, you're probably going to gravitate towards lighter basses. Most gigs I do now are two LONG sets. a kilo makes a huge difference over the course of 1.5-2 hours during a set.

This isn't unique to musicians - find someone who does anything very frequently - (hobby or professionally) where they have to schlep stuff around and or hold it for a long period of time and more often than not they're using lighter more efficient stuff, and bringing only what they need.
 

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