Bass weight 'mod'

[copacetic]

I have a Pulser Bass 400, Made by Yamaha in the late 70"s or early 80's, maple cap neck. It's as good as any Fender P I have ever played. Except for one thing it is 10 lbs.  Even sitting down with it at this point is slight uncomfortable. I am thinking to route out some of the body top in the shape of a Telecaster pickguard and figuring to lose at least a pound and a little more. Am aware of possible unbalance/ neck dive issue but will take it step by step. Any body done this before or have any suggestions? 

[Rob]

What about routing out from the back and capping with inset plates?
Look under new projects for an idea http://www.guitarfactory.us/

[ack1961]

I ran into a neck dive issue while I was building a Telecaster-bodied bass. Even after removing a substantial amount of headstock, it still dove.
Moving the back-side strap button up cured that problem.

[gearHed289]

If you like the way the bass sounds, I wouldn't remove any wood.

[Dave W]

IMHO finding a way to improve the balance is better than losing the weight, what ack1961 suggested is worth a try, or possibly something else. 10 lbs isn't that much if it's well balanced, and reducing the weight will change the tone and may make the balance worse.

[drbassman]

I agree. If you lose wood, you'll change the tone.

[uwe]

Heavy basses feel substantial - to me. I know it's all wrong and I'm all messed up but I dislike playing both my Bongo and my Parker Fly not because they sound bad or don't play comfortably, but because they are disconcertingly light! But whenever I play my Peavey T-40, everything feels just right. A manly tool.

I agree, any removal of wood (just like any addition) will affect sound. Geddy Lee once said among all the 4001s he ever played, the doubleneck one he liked best, because it sounded sturdier due to the excess wood of the larger body.

[patman]

Hate to disagree but my Dano Longhorn is still my favorite sounding bass, and very light.  The delicate nuanced tonal qualities of masonite....

If I didn't need a low "B" string, I would use it all of the time.

[uwe]

I didn't say lighter basses sound worse - they don't - they just feel insubstantial. I have excellent sounding light basses, among them one of those feather weight Yamahas made of balsa or something. My Danelectro sound great too, but compared to the T-40 it looks and feels like a toy.

[Pilgrim]

If it's 9 pounds or over, it doesn't get much play from me.  I have a J bass that sounds great but I'm always reluctant to play it because it's over 9 pounds.  I have too many great basses that are lighter.

[Basvarken]

I agree that a bass needs to feel substantial.
The Epiphone Newport that I have feel awkwardly light to me.
The Les Paul Basses may be on the heavy side, but not to the point that it is uncomfortable.

But the Pearl Export Bass (identical to the Epi Genesis) is beyond that point. Each time when I play that bass my left shoulder starts to hurt. It's fatiguing.
I've been contemplating on planing/sanding 5 mm off the back side to lose some of it's weight.

[Denis]

Hate to disagree but my Dano Longhorn is still my favorite sounding bass, and very light.  The delicate nuanced tonal qualities of masonite....

BUT, it was built light. It wasn't a larger bass modified to be lighter. That said, I loved the way my Jerry Jones Longhorn sounded and it was rapdily becoming my favorite before it was stolen. It weighed about 5.5lbs.

I find the bass weight discussions interesting. My '80 Ripper weighs only .1lbs less than my Victory and I love it because it sounds good and feels comfortable although the Victory actually hangs a little better.

[Denis]

That's a beauty!