tom1946 Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 (edited) Hiya! Just got back from church and a fairly long set and my back is shot. I play using a Fender Jazz USA with a maple neck and I love it to bits, but, it weighs more than Manchester SO I'm going to have to look around for something lightweight, it'll have to be based on a Jazz and will have to have a maple fingerboard too. I'm getting too old for all this gigging but I have to do it. Anyone got any recommendations please? Budget up to £1k Any advice very welcome. (the rest of the band are offering the 'old codger' a chair to sit on. Edited February 7, 2010 by tom1946 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 I've got a couple of Fender P basses that are really light, however, due to this the headstocks feel heavy on the strap and make my shoulder ache a bit, whereas my super heavy Stingrays are far more well balanced and so feel more comfortable on the strap due to the more centred distribution of weight. I think it's more about balance than total weight and a good wide, padded strap (Comfortstrapp, Mono straps, Slapstrap [super wide]). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 How light is "light", Tom? Best start point is the weight of your current Jazz. If you currently have a 10lb bass then suggesting lighter J-basses will be easy. If you already have an 8 lb bass then life just got trickier ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Mariner Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 If you hadn't required it to be a maple J type I'd have suggested either a 'Jack' type or that Lace that was up for sale in the classifieds. A Dano bass with J type PUs might also work well, or for a maple neck, how about a bronco routed for J PUs? Couldn't you get something from Warmoth? Specify a light weight body (swamp ash/sugar pine/Pawlonia/basswood) and a maple neck to your size requirements? You might need a set of lightweight machines to stop neck-dive, but as it's a custom build then no probs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 +1 to a Jack bass, they are so well balanced and light (mine is 7.5 lbs) you hardly notice they're on. They're so cheap you could leave one at the church and not worry about it! They have a jazz width neck too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 I've got a recurring shoulder injury so I have to be very careful about the weight of any bass I use (sub 9lb is OK but closer to 8lb is best). As a result I'd give you one bit of advice; be sure to actually check the weight of the instrument you are thinking of buying... don't go off manufacturers guesstimates or even generalisations by well intentioned individuals. I'd been informed that certain Lakland basses were very reasonable weights, purchased a Skyline JO 4 which the seller assured me couldn't be more than 9lb... it weighed 11lb+ Added to which I assumed that most Lakland DJ basses were reasonably light and I encountered no bass under 10lb. I presently have a Bolin (you'll not find one and it isn't your style ) that weighs 8lb 5oz and a Zon Sonus that is 8lb 6oz. However to help you with your quest (and generalising as I advised you not to listen to )... Sadowskys are generally lighweight Jazz style basses especially the NYC but out of your budget I'd say. 'If' you can track down a Zon it'd be worth trying a they were lauded as 'The Jazz bass for the 90's' (I've owned 3 Zon Sonus and they all came in well under 9lb)! I'm sure that a Shuker could be obtained that was made from lightweight woods. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 (edited) [quote name='Ancient Mariner' post='738109' date='Feb 7 2010, 02:21 PM']Couldn't you get something from Warmoth? Specify a light weight body (swamp ash/sugar pine/Pawlonia/basswood) and a maple neck to your size requirements? You might need a set of lightweight machines to stop neck-dive, but as it's a custom build then no probs.[/quote] Warmoth necks are always really heavy though, they have the steel support rods so this adds to the weight. With a really light body this might affect the balance of the bass, light machineheads or not. Also their Jazz necks are chunkier than what i would describe as a Jazz neck, unless they've changed them in the last year or two. Mine was spec'd as a Jazz profile but was a real handful, amazing quality though. Somtehing to bear in mind if you go down that route A guy round the corner from me has a very nice Sadowsky Metro, that was quite light (felt about half the weight of my Zoot!) and balanced well, a 5er too so i imagine a 4 would be a shade lighter EDIT for spelling Edited February 7, 2010 by lemmywinks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 If you can see any further than a Jazz shape, it might be worth talking to Paul Rose (prosebass) about some of his recent designs - I think there are some threads in the affiliates forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexbasscat Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 Hi there You could go for the option of strengthening your back with the aid of a physio, if that's appropriate for you to do. Not the quick fix, but it could potentially open up your options T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12stringbassist Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 If you can find a Fender Precision Lyte, they REALLY are marvelous. Lightweight, thin neck, huge sound. Also Danelectro Longhorns weigh nothing, are quite cheap and have a good sound - worth looking for one of the new ones. I suffer with a crap back too, by the way - happy hunting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_C Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 it is more fun with a lightweight bass - my self built bass is just under 7.5lbs and it makes a 2 hour set a breeze (I won't bore you with a picture yet again ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 I used to own a Hohner B2A and I played that at one rehearsal when nursing a recently clicked into place back after putting it out. One of those 'difficulty getting in and out of the car and body contorted over to one side' type back things - I am sure you know the feeling. Anyway I hardly noticed I was wearing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom1946 Posted February 7, 2010 Author Share Posted February 7, 2010 Thank you all for your replies, it's a marvellous friendly place this! I was told by my osteo feller not to play the bass as it is exacerbating my lower back problem. Right then. I like the sound of the Fender Lyte, that would probably do it for me. Is there a maple option I wonder....... Hohner B2A, I tried one and couldn't get away with the smallness of it, what's a Jack bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 [quote name='tom1946' post='738213' date='Feb 7 2010, 05:10 PM']what's a Jack bass? [/quote] Hohner Jack bass (Google is your friend ). A headless, full (though small) bodied bass; however, I don't ever recall seeing a maple board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Mariner Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 [quote name='tom1946' post='738213' date='Feb 7 2010, 05:10 PM']Thank you all for your replies, it's a marvellous friendly place this! I was told by my osteo feller not to play the bass as it is exacerbating my lower back problem. Right then. I like the sound of the Fender Lyte, that would probably do it for me. Is there a maple option I wonder....... Hohner B2A, I tried one and couldn't get away with the smallness of it, what's a Jack bass? [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjb Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 (edited) Perhaps get in contact with Shuker and look into a swamp ash bodied Jazz Standard? They start at £835. [url="http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk/jspec.htm"]http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk/jspec.htm[/url] Edited February 7, 2010 by rjb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 Yamaha RBX series are light and way under budget...maybe worth a look, at the very least it can't hurt? RBX-A2 is only £400-500 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 (edited) May also be worth looking at a different strap design that spreads the weight evenly across your back and both shoulders, planet waves do a comfort strap: [url="http://www.djmmusic.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=50DARE000"]http://www.djmmusic.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=50DARE000[/url] I also remember one a while ago that went over both shoulders and had a sort of cross brace at the back, can't for the life of me remember what it was called though EDIT: Something like this: [url="http://www.amazon.com/Slider-Straps-Shoulder-Strap-Black/dp/B0002CZSX0"]http://www.amazon.com/Slider-Straps-Should...k/dp/B0002CZSX0[/url] Edited February 7, 2010 by lemmywinks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 [quote name='ezbass' post='738092' date='Feb 7 2010, 01:58 PM']I've got a couple of Fender P basses that are really light, however, due to this the headstocks feel heavy on the strap and make my shoulder ache a bit, whereas my super heavy Stingrays are far more well balanced and so feel more comfortable on the strap due to the more centred distribution of weight. I think it's more about balance than total weight and a good wide, padded strap (Comfortstrapp, Mono straps, Slapstrap [super wide]).[/quote] Got to agree with Ezbass here - balance is crucial. My Aria 404 used to dig in on the (very wide) strap and I would be flagging after an hour and a half. Now use a Cort which weighs in pretty much the same but I can wear it for much longer with no problems at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 My Traben Chaos is sub 8lbs according to the bathroom scales, but will fail on all the aesthetics, I fear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 What about a shortscale bass, like Mustang/musicmaster etc or a headless as already mentioned? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom1946 Posted February 8, 2010 Author Share Posted February 8, 2010 Thanks. Some very interesting options being put forward here, is balance really that vital to comfort? Please remember I've only been playing for about a year so I know very little hence the need for advice. That Traben sounds interesting.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 [quote name='tom1946' post='738090' date='Feb 7 2010, 01:52 PM']....Just got back from church and a fairly long set and my back is shot. I play using a Fender Jazz USA with a maple neck and I love it to bits, but, it weighs more than Manchester....[/quote] I would suggest playing your current bass while sitting on a high stool for your long gigs. If it works with the bass is resting on your knee you might save yourself £1000!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2x18 Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Hi Tom If you are in the Leeds area anytime you are welcome to try out my Fender Lyte! and see if its suitable for you I also have a very lightweight but superb quality Landing L1 hand made USA bass you could try out ( Short Scale ) Will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 [quote name='tom1946' post='738668' date='Feb 8 2010, 06:28 AM']Thanks. Some very interesting options being put forward here, is balance really that vital to comfort? Please remember I've only been playing for about a year so I know very little hence the need for advice. That Traben sounds interesting....[/quote] Absolutely. My Alembic SC Deluxe balanced like a plate of chips going round a corner at high speed and it actually tore a muscle in my neck. I had all sorts of physical problems with that bass (a shame because in all other ways it was awesome), all caused by the awful balance. My Triple Omega however, despite being heavier, caused me less problems. However there is always a point (particularly if you have chronic back problems) where no amount of perfect balance can make up for a too-heavy bass. In the end that's why I got rid of the Triple O; it was simply too heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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