Scott Dilley Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Hi probably an odd question but something I have been wondering about. I have a few fender basses a 68 tele a 72 jazz a 66 precision and then some more modern ones. I have been wondering why my 66 bass is really light when the tele and jazz are solid and quite heavy. I remember playing a 58 precision when I was young and it weighed a ton. Are 60s p basses normally quite light? Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I would imagine they all vary depending on the piece of wood, although there may be periods where they were more consistent; I'll let others chime in about that. Can't speak for '60s Fenders but my Rickenbackers (13 or 14 so far) have all varied in weight by quite a bit, even where they've been from a similar period. My 2 current'72s weigh about the same, but I once played a'72 that weighed a ton.I've played '70s P basses that have varied from pretty light to incredibly heavy too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Drop Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 There was a lot of weight variation in the '60s, but generally speaking, P's were lighter than Js by a bit, and the Tele bass was usually heavier than both. The Tele had a slab body, so more weight there, and the neck was an absolute beast, deep and fairly wide. I've played about 4 or 5, and they were all close to 10lbs, though I did buy and own a nice 1970 one for a few years, that was exactly 9lbs with the cover on, exceprionally light for a Tele Bass. IME, typical 60s weights were between 8 1/4 and 9 lbs for a P, and between 8 1/2 and 9 1/2 lbs for a J. Early '70s ones often were quite light, similar to '60s basses, but by 1974 anything could happen, the wood being specced for price only and not weight as before. A lot of Northern Ash was used, very dense wood, and even the alder was often heavier. In general, yes, '60s Fenders were quite light (as surprisingly many '50s ones were). My '61 P is well under 9lbs, and my '66 P is well under 8 1/2lbs, and they are typical based on the 100 or so vintage ones I've held. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73Jazz Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 There is no 'rule' for that i think, but if you want to create one, here is my experience. The tele made of ash is mostly heavier than alder, but this depends on what kind of ash is used. The 60s p i have held and own are really light, as well as the earlie 70 ones. Following the timeline in the 70s the basses get more heavy, but as i said before, there is no asolute rule about that. Against the myth, that a bass that weighs a ton has also a tone of a ton is not right. The best sounding basses i have heard are the light ones, They are more resonant. But to make my words senseless, i have heard also amazing basses which seem to be made of ironwood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 I don`t think there`s any specific ruling re this. A mate of mine has a 1977 Precision, identical to mine, yet his weighs 13lbs, mine weighs 10lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73Jazz Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 13?! Oh lord:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franzbassist Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 My 1970 fretless P weighs 9lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanbass1 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 My '62 P Bass weighs less than 8lbs. I had a '79 Musicman Sabre bass that weighed OVER 13lbs - man that was a boat anchor.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkpegasus4001 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 [quote name='73Jazz' timestamp='1329669753' post='1545590'] There is no 'rule' for that i think, but if you want to create one, here is my experience. The tele made of ash is mostly heavier than alder, but this depends on what kind of ash is used. The 60s p i have held and own are really light, as well as the earlie 70 ones. Following the timeline in the 70s the basses get more heavy, but as i said before, there is no asolute rule about that. Against the myth, that a bass that weighs a ton has also a tone of a ton is not right. The best sounding basses i have heard are the light ones, They are more resonant. But to make my words senseless, i have heard also amazing basses which seem to be made of ironwood [/quote] Absolutely spot on, this is also my experience. Best bass i've ever played was a very light 1961 Precision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73Jazz Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) [quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1329873849' post='1549076'] Have you lifted the scratchplate? There was a Fender bass on eBay recently that had half of its body weight removed by a hole saw. You would never have known unless you took the pickguard off. [/quote] You would never have known, because the person who did this, was killed by a group of assasins that came out of the dark, called... the leominati Edited February 22, 2012 by 73Jazz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 [quote name='73Jazz' timestamp='1329895721' post='1549127'] You would never have known, because the person who did this, was killed by a group of assasins that came out of the dark, called... the leominati [/quote] They are led by a shadowy criminal master-mind who dresses as a priest ... Felonious Monk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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