How heavy is too heavy?

[ossyrocks]

I do like a lighter bass.

 

Mine are all a bit under or just slightly over 9lbs/4kg.

 

However, I haven't actually tried to play a heavier bass, I've just avoided them having had surgery on my lower back 8 years ago.

 

A bass has come up that i really fancy, and the price is right, however it's 10lbs 7oz/4.8kg, and it's too far away for me to go and try it. 

 

Who plays a heavier bass? How do you deal with it? Do you even notice/care? Is there that much difference between 4kg and 4.8kg?

 

Thanks,

Rob 

[lozkerr]

My five-string Fender weighs 4.5 kg and does feel heavy when I pick it up. A wide padded strap makes all the difference when playing, though - I only notice the weight when I take it off afterwards.

[asingardenof]

My old Squier VM 70s Jazz was made of soft maple and was so heavy small objects would orbit it. In reality it was probably somewhere in the 10-11lb (4.5-5kg) range and it was pretty heavy, but as I weigh over 300lb an extra pound isn't really noticeable when I'm playing standing up. "Too heavy" is all relative, YMMV, etc.

[JohnH89]

My slab bodied fretless P bass has a custom body from baseball bat ash . It weighs the far side of 12lb . I love it . I appreciate it is not to everyones taste but I have no problem with it .

[neepheid]

I've played 12lbs+ basses. It's all about the strap - wide, cushioned - spreads the weight.  To this end I use Neotech Mega straps - neoprene and memory foam.

 

I quite like the "grounded" feeling I get when wearing a heavier bass, like I'm the anchor.

 

It's not a competition though, some people shouldn't wear a heavier bass if they have shoulder or back issues - it doesn't make anyone a hero or somehow more worthy - listen to your body.

[Lozz196]

In my late 40s I had some late 70s Precisions that were around 10.5lbs and I was fine with them then, even though my back was iffy even then. I wouldn’t be ok with them now though.

[White Cloud]

I had a Wal and an Overwater at one point, both in the region of 11lbs. That was too much for me and they got flipped.

[chris_b]

I have back issues and I'm checking out 6 and 7lb basses. I wouldn't be tempted to buy a bass that was heavy enough to cause any more damage.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

I accept everyone is different, but for me, at that weight, I’d be OK with it as long as the balance was OK.

One thing my back will not tolerate is a weighty bass that is also unbalanced.

I know you can offset some basses with a decent strap, but I’d rather have a bass that doesn’t have a balance issue.

For that reason, I think I’d have to try it in person. 
Hope it turns out positive for you.

[ossyrocks]

Thanks for the input chaps. Having slept on it, I think I'm going to leave it. 

Here's the bass I was looking at. '76 Jazz at BassBros at a price you just cannot argue with.

Someone will get a bargain and love it to bits.

 

Rob

 

[Reggaebass]

I don’t take any notice of the weight myself and I don’t mind heavy basses, strangely I don’t really like ones that are too light, but if you’ve had a back problem then standing with it might be uncomfortable after a while, cool bass though 

[BigRedX]

For me it's all about how the instrument balances and feels on the strap rather than the actual weight.

 

I've only owned one bass that felt noticeably heavy and that was only sold because it was too big and unwieldy to use on most of the small stages my band was playing rather than its actual weight. Every time I turned round I risked injuring a band member or someone in the audience at the front of the stage. It wasn't worth keeping for the 2-3 times a year we played somewhere suitably big and therefore it went along with everything else I wasn't playing at the time.

[Paul S]

Doesn't matter what anyone else thinks is heavy, it's how it feels for you that matters.  For my fragile back anything over 8.5lbs/3.9kg is too heavy.

[Muzz]

I'm in Chris's camp here: nowadays I don't own anything over about 8lbs (and with my busier gigging schedule I use the heavier ones less and less), and I've been looking for something a lot lighter. Something really good around 6 1/2lbs would be ideal for me.

[warwickhunt]

Recurring shoulder injury means that anything over 9lb is, in my books, heavy!  I have basses ranging from 5lb (Aria Sinsonidia/Hofner) to 8.5lb (Sandberg/Warwick) and I can do 2-3 sets no problem, as soon as a bass exceeds 9lb(ish), even with a neoprene/padded/wide stripe, my shoulder will ache over the next days.

[ossyrocks]

My lightest bass is my '78 Precision. Lots of people think all late 70's Fender basses are heavy, and clearly some are, but this one is 8lbs 9oz with the covers off. It's an absolute delight to play. My '73 P bass is only a couple of ounces heavier too. 

 

My heaviest bass is my '73 Jazz at 9lbs 3oz. This is beginning to look like the lightest 70's  jazz bass ever made the more I look for another!

 

Rob

[bassbiscuits]

It is all relative depending on what your body is comfortable with - though 4.8kg is on the heavy side by any measure.

 

I never used to worry about the weight of instruments, but now I’m older I really can’t do anything over 4kg at all. I’ve tried a few times but it always ends with pain and I’ve finally accepted my limitation!

There was a certain authority to the tone and feel of the heavier basses I’ve owned, but with the kind of amps, cabs and pedals available today I have no problem getting a relatively lightweight bass like a 3.6kg Mustang to sound fairly mighty. It’s striking that balance between tone and weight I guess.  

 

[kodiakblair]

18 hours ago, ossyrocks said:

Who plays a heavier bass? How do you deal with it? Do you even notice/care?

Own several at 12lb and up.

 

I'm much the same as @Reggaebass and @neepheid in preferring a heavier bass, also agree it's not a competition. 

 

Countless hours were spent as a laddie trudging to the hut with 50Kg cement bags on my left shoulder. That really messed up some folk but I was one of the lucky ones. Knees are shot these days, back and shoulders still in tip top condition.

[Rayman]

My Sunns all weight a ton. Love them dearly though.

[Old Horse Murphy]

After years of rugby and general wear and tear I have shoulder and lower back problems and struggle with anything over 8.5lbs. 
 

I’ve fallen in love with many a bass over 9lbs, taken it home and thought “this time it will be different”. It never is and after much soul-searching and disappointment they’ve been moved on because I just can’t manage them without causing issues. 
 

 

Edited January 26 by Old Horse Murphy

[JohnH89]

5 hours ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

After years of rugby and general wear and tear I have shoulder and lower back problems and struggle with anything over 8.5lbs. 
 

I’ve fallen in love with many a bass over 9lbs, taken it home and thought “this time it will be different”. It never is and after much soul-searching and disappointment they’ve been moved on because I just can’t manage them without causing issues. 
 

 

Played rugby as a no8/second row for 27 years . That and 38 years of mainly manual labour means everything I do causes pain . I got used to it and at least playing any bass gives me a huge amount of pleasure . Even the Paving slab P bass . 😁

[casapete]

I eventually had to resign myself to end playing MM Stingrays due to their weight. Lightest one

I found still caused me some back problems and I reluctantly gave up on them. This led me to

using Fender Precision Lytes, which I’ve done for many years. The one I currently use in ‘The ELO

Experience’ weighs 7lbs, and after 3 or 4 consecutive two hour long gigs I don’t feel any shoulder

fatigue ( despite badly damaging my left shoulder years ago in an accident ). Once I discovered

this I bought a few of them, and still have a couple. Using this model of bass has enabled me to

carry on working with no issues, and I will definitely keep one when I retire from the band in April.

 

I’ve also owned a Danelectro Longhorn (or two!) for many years. Weighing just 6lbs they are a joy

to play although not everyone’s cup of tea. 

[Munurmunuh]

On 25/01/2024 at 21:33, ossyrocks said:

Do you even notice/care? Is there that much difference between 4kg and 4.8kg?

 

(Firstly of adding, the ergonomics of each bass makes a difference to the perception of the bass, eg my Yamaha BB felt much heavier than my Squier P, though they were the same weight: presumably the different ways they hung around me applied the weight in different places)

 

It's what you're used to. I've two G&Ls made from Empress. When I first got them, they seemed incredibly light, and my knackered left shoulder was very grateful.

 

Now, though, as I know nothing else, they both seem normal. The 7.2 lb bass is the heavy one, the 7.0 lb bass is the light one.

 

(I suspect that ergonomics are again affecting my perception, as they have slightly different bodies, despite both being Leo Fender designed P basses.)

[chris_b]

5 hours ago, Munurmunuh said:

. . . .  I've two G&Ls made from Empress. . . .

 

Which models?

[Angel]

I had a brilliant Status bass years ago, loved it but it was darned heavy. Never weighed it, but after about 25 mins standing with it my shoulder would be so achy. Had to let it go, but I do miss it ...