My '79 sunburst 'Ray is a very lightweight alder. Basically, ash and alder can vary tremendously in weight and the ash models are often heavier on 'Rays. Here's a good site for finding out about the features introduced in different years:
[url="http://www.musicmanbass.org/PageEmail.htm"]http://www.musicmanbass.org/PageEmail.htm[/url]