Sharkfinger Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 Got a JV Squier P and I'm thinking of bringing it back as my main bass but to do that, I need to reduce the pressure it puts on my left shoulder. Has anyone tried replacing the tuners with lightweight ones on a P bass? Was it worth the £140 odd to do it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franzbassist Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 Is it neck heavy (i.e. does the neck dive?) or just plain heavy? If it's the former, it may well be worth doing, but if it's the latter I wouldn't bother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfinger Posted March 30, 2013 Author Share Posted March 30, 2013 Not especially heavy, about 9lbs. It feels neck heavy. The weight save I think would be the equivalent of removing one of the tuners. Might try that and strap it on and see how it feels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franzbassist Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 [quote name='Sharkfinger' timestamp='1364653723' post='2029264'] Not especially heavy, about 9lbs. It feels neck heavy. The weight save I think would be the equivalent of removing one of the tuners. Might try that and strap it on and see how it feels. [/quote] That was going to be my next suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfinger Posted March 31, 2013 Author Share Posted March 31, 2013 Well, there is a slight improvement. Obviously difficult to tell without wearing it for a couple of hours, which is pretty pointless without a string! Still hard to tell if it's £140* of improvement. Would really like to hear from someone who's done it, whether they thought it was worth it. * Price based on Gotoh Res-O-Lite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 A couple pf years ago I replaced the tuners on a Squier VM Jazz with Hipshot Ultralites. It made a difference to the overall weight of about 3oz, which was noticeable, but shifted the balance of weight to the body end. This had the effect of putting more strain on my left shoulder. It had better balance with the standard tuners so I ended up taking them off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rk7 Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Not sure if its £140-worth. I decided against lightweight tuners on my new Overwater, as the overall weight saving was minimal. thank you please RK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mart Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 [quote name='Sharkfinger' timestamp='1364695504' post='2029823'] Well, there is a slight improvement. Obviously difficult to tell without wearing it for a couple of hours, which is pretty pointless without a string! Still hard to tell if it's £140* of improvement. Would really like to hear from someone who's done it, whether they thought it was worth it. * Price based on Gotoh Res-O-Lite. [/quote] Did you weigh the tuner while you had it off the bass? Apparently some P tuners are close to 100g, in which case if you switched to lightweight tuners, which can be 40-50g, then it would have the effect of removing TWO tuners, not just one. On the other hand, on some basses (such as my Thumb), the original tuners already weigh only 57g, so there's little room for improvement. My guess would be that the Squier's tuners wouldn't be all that heavy, but it is worth checking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfinger Posted March 31, 2013 Author Share Posted March 31, 2013 [quote name='mart' timestamp='1364720175' post='2029901'] Did you weigh the tuner while you had it off the bass? Apparently some P tuners are close to 100g, in which case if you switched to lightweight tuners, which can be 40-50g, then it would have the effect of removing TWO tuners, not just one. On the other hand, on some basses (such as my Thumb), the original tuners already weigh only 57g, so there's little room for improvement. My guess would be that the Squier's tuners wouldn't be all that heavy, but it is worth checking. [/quote] It's a JV so they're heavy all right. Thanks for the advice, will give it done thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iiipopes Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 (edited) YES! On my main 4-string P-style custom bass, I changed out the traditional large "Elephant Ear" tuners with Hipshot Ultralights. The traditional tuners weighed a total of about a half kilo. the Ultralights weigh about a quarter kilo total. That's a quarter kilo weight savings. It may not sound like much, but it completely cured neck dive, and over the course of a three hour gig, it is very noticable on the shoulder. Caveat: the lightweight tuners may have a different post diameter than stock, so different bushings may need to be installed. But it is worth it. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/174777-and-now-for-something-completely-different-in-a-pj"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/174777-and-now-for-something-completely-different-in-a-pj[/url] Edited March 31, 2013 by iiipopes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfinger Posted March 31, 2013 Author Share Posted March 31, 2013 [quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1364734717' post='2030113'] YES! On my main 4-string P-style custom bass, I changed out the traditional large "Elephant Ear" tuners with Hipshot Ultralights. The traditional tuners weighed a total of about a half kilo. the Ultralights weigh about a quarter kilo total. That's a quarter kilo weight savings. It may not sound like much, but it completely cured neck dive, and over the course of a three hour gig, it is very noticable on the shoulder. Caveat: the lightweight tuners may have a different post diameter than stock, so different bushings may need to be installed. But it is worth it. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/174777-and-now-for-something-completely-different-in-a-pj"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/174777-and-now-for-something-completely-different-in-a-pj[/url] [/quote] Thanks! Will defo give it a try now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3below Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 There is possibly a cheaper way to do this - s/h G&L tuners £30 ish ebay sometimes. These have aluminium posts and are Schaller BM size. Key question is what size plate do your existing ones have? Are they the larger Fender type or the smaller BM sized ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iiipopes Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Not only that, but there are also offerings from Gotoh and Schaller, as well as HipShot, which are light weight as well. If you go with aluminum, as I did with the HipShots, do make sure it is proper milled aircraft-style aluminum of the proper alloy and thickness so they will be durable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfinger Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 [quote name='3below' timestamp='1364737607' post='2030155'] There is possibly a cheaper way to do this - s/h G&L tuners £30 ish ebay sometimes. These have aluminium posts and are Schaller BM size. Key question is what size plate do your existing ones have? Are they the larger Fender type or the smaller BM sized ones? [/quote] Haven't measured them but look pretty big to me... [quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1364770200' post='2030796'] Not only that, but there are also offerings from Gotoh and Schaller, as well as HipShot, which are light weight as well. If you go with aluminum, as I did with the HipShots, do make sure it is proper milled aircraft-style aluminum of the proper alloy and thickness so they will be durable. [/quote] Hadn't considered Schaller, will check them out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuzzbass2000 Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Slightly off topic, but here goes.... I'm always curious the effect these changes have on neck mass and the appearance / movement / disappearance of dead spots (kind of FatFinger in reverse) and the impact on the sound (if any) on an instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfinger Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 [quote name='Fuzzbass2000' timestamp='1364905874' post='2032379'] Slightly off topic, but here goes.... I'm always curious the effect these changes have on neck mass and the appearance / movement / disappearance of dead spots (kind of FatFinger in reverse) and the impact on the sound (if any) on an instrument. [/quote] Well if I do it and dead-spots appear, I'll let you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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