I need a lighter bass

[Fretworn]

I have a JBA-4, which I love, but I’m finding if I’m playing it at a rehearsal or jam for more than half an hour or so I’m getting a sore back. From everyone’s experience which bass kit which bass kits are lighter?

[king casey]

I have a JBA-4, which I love, but I’m finding if I’m playing it at a rehearsal or jam for more than half an hour or so I’m getting a sore back. From everyone’s experience which bass kit which bass kits are lighter?

For sure it would have to be the HB-4.

The Bronco Squier is about the same weight as a guitar.
So probably the 30" Pitbull kits would be similar.

cheers, Mark

[Dedman]

HB-4 is very light!

[Simon Barden]

I trust you are using a wide strap, at least 3"?

[Simon Barden]

Things like the tuners can add up to a fair bit of the weight. If you are prepared to spend a bit of money to save your back, something like the Hipshot Ultralights can save a lot of weight and are really nice tuners.

[wazkelly]

Love my JBA-4 too but it is quite heavy and find my Basswood MMB4 is lighter and more comfortable to play for longer periods of time.

A headless would be a lot lighter.

Wish that PBG had a steinberger bass kit. Have seen a kit online through one the Chinese builders done in Basswood but the drop in AUD vs USD has them a bit pricey at the moment.

[JimC]

My ESB-4 is pretty light!
The big question is how much does it weigh. And I bet weight varies from kit to kit. From what I can make out the heaviest jazz basses run to a good 50% heavier than the lightest. I was bemused when I spotted long discussions about the evils of heavy basses on my favourite bass guitar forum, so I weighed my beloved Tokai Jazz and discovered it was well towards the light end of the spectrum (a shade over 8lbs) which means I've only ever used very light basses...

Agree with Simon, tuners might well be worth considering, that weight is on a long lever... There are some nice looking lightweight Schallers too if they are cheaper in your area. I replaced the tuners on my ESB-4 kit because I needed smaller, and the new ones are Korean, budget but acceptable, and a lot lighter than stock tuners. They weren't, though, an easy replacement. You need to look at the shaft diameter, the 1/2in Hipshots would be easier to fit.

[later] my ESB-4 is a tad under 7.5lbs.

[fender3x]

It might be a good idea to weigh your bass, to see where your starting point is. My old Fender P from the 70s comes in at a bit over 8.5 lbs. My G&L and Frankenjazz come in around 10 lbs. I have two ES4-B style that are about 7.5 lbs. Both are semi-acoustic, with a very light core.

I think the HB-4 is fully hollow. Thinline and small body it should be lightest of all, but there might be some feedback or microphonics that hollow bodies are more prone to.

Light tuners do take some pull off your shoulder. And I agree that the hipshots are good. The import Hipshots are almost reasonably.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

[PJSprog]

I would think that you couldn't get much lighter that the HB-4 kit.

A headless would be a lot lighter.

Wish that PBG had a steinberger bass kit. Have seen a kit online through one the Chinese builders done in Basswood but the drop in AUD vs USD has them a bit pricey at the moment.

I was going to suggest a headless option as well. In fact, PBG does have a Steinberger bass kit ... the SHB-4 (guessing you are wanting the Spirit-type model).

As Simon suggested, a wide strap goes a long way in helping with heavy instruments. My custom 6-string bass weighs in at about 10 lbs, or 4.5 kg. My 3" wide woven fabric strap makes a three-hour gig a breeze.