How Much Does Your MM SR5 or Classic 5 Weigh

[RhysP]

That's what I figured.

[Dingus]

Personally, I have never been bothered by a gloss finish neck, but nowadays it's quite unusual to find a gloss finish on higher quality basses. Unfinished necks are bound to be higher maintainance, and I can't help but wonder if manufacturers have welcomed ( and fueled ) the trend for unfinished necks because it saves them the cost of spraying the necks.

[RhysP]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1350754957' post='1843165']
Personally, I have never been bothered by a gloss finish neck, but nowadays it's quite unusual to find a gloss finish on higher quality basses.
[/quote]
I've always preferred them to be honest - every bass I've owned (apart from the SR5) has had either a painted or high gloss lacquer neck & I've never found them to be sticky or slow.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1350754957' post='1843165']
Unfinished necks are bound to be higher maintainance, and I can't help but wonder if manufacturers have welcomed (and fueled) the trend for unfinished necks because it saves them the cost of spraying the necks.
[/quote]
I've always thought exactly this too - they save themselves a packet on the neck finishing but you can bet they don't pass the savings on to the punter, it just gets labelled as a "premium" finish or some other bollocks.

[drTStingray]

The classic Stingray has a high gloss varnished neck finish.

My 93 Stingray also has a varnished neck but it's more of a satin finish.

In terms of weight, Stingrays are around the 9.5 lb mark - I used my Classic SR4 for around 4 and a half hours of gigs yesterday, and do not have any aches as a result. I do see where Dingus is coming from on this and I would not wish to play a 10.5 lb bass for that long.

Reflexes and Bongos can tend to be a little lighter I believe. However sub 8lb USA Sterlings and even Stingrays are not unknown.

[Dingus]

Purely anecdotal rather than based on any proper research , but to me it seems like the typical weight of EBMM Stingrays has got heavier over the last few years. I remember playing countless Stingrays in the late 80s/early 90s and was never bothered by the weight of any of them. Nowadays at least 50 percent seem to very closer to the ten pound mark or more. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with a heavy bass, but if you can't cope with the weight it is one problem you will never be able to remedy except by sitting down or getting rid. I wasn't really bothered by the weight of basses when I was younger , but it seems to be more of an issue for everybody nowadays. Also bear in mind that people have very different ideas of what constitutes heavy- some people won't go over eight and a half pounds, some folks think nine and a half pounds is a breeze to play for a two hour set.

[Rumple]

For me there is definitely a time/weight ratio, personally a 10lb bass is not a killer for a couple of hours unfortunately we tend to rehearse infrequently but for 5+ hours, by the end of the session you notice the effects of those extra pounds and ounces, even more so the following day.