gjamer Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 Hi fellow bottom enders, new member here. After quite a few years lay off from playing bass, I've decided to re-focus my acoustic endeavours back to the four string. The main reason for the lay off being spinal surgery and a permanently weakened back/left leg....blah blah blah. Anyway, I'm currently considering a few models to buy, but should really be thinking practical and looking for something light weight. Currently chasing an Ibanez SR4000e, but I also spotted a lovely looking status s3000 which I'm thinking should be a bit lighter than the norm and more practical to weild should I ever venture out into pub rock land. I want something that has good tonal variety and lends itself to that "toppy/slappy" sound, is light weight and easy to throw around, good quality build. Budget £800 max. Thought it worth asking for advice here before I empty my wallet. Hopefully someone can recommend a few good online second hand dealers as well. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 For that "toppy/slappy" sound, is light weight and easy to throw around, good quality build. Budget £800 max." you could do far worse than a Bass Collection Nanyo. Prices are on the up but you could easily pick up a good one for around £250. There's whole thread on them here: You may also want to look at Kawai F11B - there's one for sale on the forum at the moment - very similar to an Alembic SC, lightweight (8-9lbs), great necks, great tonal palette - you should be able to find one in your budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 Agree with TheGreek, the Nanyo Bass Collection are light and great value for money. What about a Fender Precision Lyte? Mine is around 7lbs, MIJ build quality, active controls and a fair amount of tone variation from the PJ pickups. Good s/h ones go for upwards of £300. Since a shoulder injury a few years ago, mine has been great, with long sets not a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger2611 Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 6 minutes ago, casapete said: Agree with TheGreek, the Nanyo Bass Collection are light and great value for money. What about a Fender Precision Lyte? Mine is around 7lbs, MIJ build quality, active controls and a fair amount of tone variation from the PJ pickups. Good s/h ones go for upwards of £300. Since a shoulder injury a few years ago, mine has been great, with long sets not a problem. Agree with the above as well, be wary of the Status, the series 3000 I had weighed in at over 10lbs, it came with a proper Status hard case which with the two together weighed in at nearly 20lbs My Precision Lyte weighs in at just over 7lbs and sounds immense I would not swap it for any Status, I think it's that good! My Bass Collection fretless weighs in at a similar 7lbs mark, it sounds great but is no match for the Precision Lyte, if you are local to Northamptonshire you are welcome to come around and have a play with both basses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 @gjamer A lightweight bass is a good idea but might not be the only consideration needed. My ex had trouble with the discs in her back,merely standing for any length of time caused trouble. If your back/leg issue affects you in the same way some kind of stool may help,she got one of these perch stools. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Folding-perching-ironing-padded-adjustable/dp/B004U9LWUO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjamer Posted December 15, 2017 Author Share Posted December 15, 2017 Cheers folks, some great advice here, I forgot about the Fender lyte, I've actually used one and thought they were great. Good point about the status and combined case weight. Will check out the Nanyo models, and that Kawai looks mint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 How about something hollow? Danelectro do long and shortscale, a shortscale my help back pain by not needing to stretch as far. My Longhorn has a good range of sounds and very light. Also a violin/beatle style bass if that's your thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjamer Posted December 15, 2017 Author Share Posted December 15, 2017 worth giving some thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 I'd say Ibanez SR are a good bet. It's all personal choice of course but the P -Lytes I've played I haven't really liked at all. The only Status 3000 I've played was pretty light so they obviously vary; might be worth finding out how much that specific example weighs. The guy selling the Kawai is a good friend of mine, but it's one of the few basses he has that I haven't tried - yet - so I can't help there. Might be worth going along to somewhere with a good range of varied stock and seeing what suits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjamer Posted December 15, 2017 Author Share Posted December 15, 2017 cheers mate, yeh I've read that the SR range are great value and pretty light weight. I have a couple of great second hand guitar shops relatively close by, I'm in N Wales, close to cheshire border, so Frailers is a fav haunt of mine. Bass guitars, or decent second hand ones are thinner on the ground though, unless of course you cast the net wider online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 Here's the link to the Kawai - it's a beaut! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjamer Posted December 15, 2017 Author Share Posted December 15, 2017 Kawai looks the business, he's in the North West too, so cant be the far away from sunny North Wales Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Dean Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 I've had my share of back problems , when I started going to Kung Fu it was pointed out that my stance was all wrong & just learning how to stand correctly resolved my problem & it wasn't so much the weight of the bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 Today I acquired a Fender MB-5 from Hamster of this parish. A real live MIJ Fender, 5 string bass. Passive, J/J pickups. Very tight string spacing, especially at the bridge end - which I really like. Weighs approximately 7lbs - unbelievable for a 5 string bass. Sounds to me like a Jazz bass, especially when the blend rolls away from the neck pup and gets some of the bridge in there. Quite astonishing. Could be the start of something beautiful I wonder what the MB-4 weighs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjamer Posted December 16, 2017 Author Share Posted December 16, 2017 Will check the mb4 out, cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ead Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 If you're looking for an SR4000e this one looks pretty splendid: https://classicandcoolguitars.co.uk/portfolio/ibanez-sr4000e/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjamer Posted December 17, 2017 Author Share Posted December 17, 2017 thats the one I'm chasing mate, the retailer is selling it on commission, so I've put an offer in and waiting for a response Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ead Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 OK, good luck with the purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josie Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 The Fender Jazz Aerodyne is lighter than a standard Jazz, and a joy to play. J/P pickups so a good tone range. https://shop.fender.com/en-GB/electric-basses/jazz-bass/aerodyne-jazz-bass/0254505506.html#start=1 Over £1k new, but worth looking out for second hand. Johnny Roadhouse have one listed online at £800 but it's actually in the window at £650. http://www.johnnyroadhouse.co.uk/guitars/bass-guitars/pre-owned-basses/fender-aerodyne-bass.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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