For those preoccupied with the weight of guitars...

Brize

I saw a wonderful Edith Piaf tribute act tonight and the accordionist was a slightly built woman in her 50s. I was speaking with her afterwards and the accordion was by her side. I asked if it was heavy and she gestured for me to pick it up and see for myself. The thing must have weighed 25 lbs and a quick Google search verifies this as a typical weight. I asked if it could get uncomfortable and she just shrugged and remarked that her shoulder was a little sore.

I couldn't bring myself to tell her that some guitarists (me included) obsess over half a pound of weight on a Strat or Les Paul. We really are a bunch of pussies!

skunkwerx

Am trying to imagine it lol.. 

Currently my barbell is set up with 30lbs for my bicep exercises and thats enough for muscle failure by rep 10... 

I don't think that'd be too comfy slung over my shoulder for very long! 

roberty

Yeah

Blaendulais

skunkwerx said:

Am trying to imagine it lol.. 

Currently my barbell is set up with 30lbs for my bicep exercises and thats enough for muscle failure by rep 10... 

I don't think that'd be too comfy slung over my shoulder for very long! 

Dude thats a girlie weight you need a heavier guitar

DrBob

Equally, I do know an ex-accordionist who suffers from fairly serious back problems as a consequence of playing for 20 years 

JAYJO

DrBob said:

Equally, I do know an ex-accordionist who suffers from fairly serious back problems as a consequence of playing for 20 years 

That's ridiculous you should always take a break.

DB1

JAYJO said:

DrBob said:

Equally, I do know an ex-accordionist who suffers from fairly serious back problems as a consequence of playing for 20 years 

That's ridiculous you should always take a break.

Excellent work. 

ICBM

Probably why most accordionists play sitting down. Even then I think the weight is an issue, since they use shoulder straps to keep it upright.

Gagaryn

How heavy would they need to be before they call it a day? And any pointers on making bagpipes heavier?

joetele

She might be the toughest woman in the world but my back still fucking kills after playing my Telecaster while standing up for two hours. I'd rather use a lighter guitar and save the pain. 

fretfinder

Brize said: I couldn't bring myself to tell her that some guitarists (me included) obsess over half a pound of weight on a Strat or Les Paul. We really are a bunch of pussies!

To quote the Lone Ranger gag, ‘what’s this we shit’?! Some people (like me) look for lighter guitars because they believe they are usually more resonant and better sounding. As well as the obvious back/shoulder relieving benefits. 

Brize

fretfinder said:

Brize said: I couldn't bring myself to tell her that some guitarists (me included) obsess over half a pound of weight on a Strat or Les Paul. We really are a bunch of pussies!

To quote the Lone Ranger gag, ‘what’s this we shit’?! Some people (like me) look for lighter guitars because they believe they are usually more resonant and better sounding. As well as the obvious back/shoulder relieving benefits. 

My dear chap, if you really believe that there's a reliable correlation between weight and tone, it's either in your mind or you haven't played enough guitars.

I've played light-weight guitars that sounded great and light-weight guitars that sounded meh. The same applies to medium-weight and heavy-weight guitars. I've also played electric guitars that had a great acoustic resonance that seemed to disappear when amplified, and guitars that were dead acoustically that confounded expectations when plugged in.

Brize

ICBM said:

Probably why most accordionists play sitting down. Even then I think the weight is an issue, since they use shoulder straps to keep it upright.

This lady played standing up all night. The gig was in a tiny brasserie and she and the singer were moving around the tables.

p90fool

I misread that. 

fretfinder

Brize said:

fretfinder said:

Brize said: I couldn't bring myself to tell her that some guitarists (me included) obsess over half a pound of weight on a Strat or Les Paul. We really are a bunch of pussies!

To quote the Lone Ranger gag, ‘what’s this we shit’?! Some people (like me) look for lighter guitars because they believe they are usually more resonant and better sounding. As well as the obvious back/shoulder relieving benefits. 

My dear chap, if you really believe that there's a reliable correlation between weight and tone, it's either in your mind or you haven't played enough guitars.

I've played light-weight guitars that sounded great and light-weight guitars that sounded meh. The same applies to medium-weight and heavy-weight guitars. I've also played electric guitars that had a great acoustic resonance that seemed to disappear when amplified, and guitars that were dead acoustically that confounded expectations when plugged in.

Could be confirmation bias on my part! Although I’ve owned over 100 guitars and probably played three times as many. And I said ‘usually’. My dear chap... 

dbphoto

I'm guessing my dad would laugh at this thread given he used to walk for miles with a bloody massive accordion over his shoulders:

JAYJO

dbphoto said:

I'm guessing my dad would laugh at this thread given he used to walk for miles with a bloody massive accordion over his shoulders:

Euphemism.

FelineGuitars

Do note that accordians are held with TWO straps - one over each shoulder - like a rucksack in reverse . 

This makes a big difference!

It's the fact that as guitarists we take the weight on just one side that throws so many backs out of whack.

And before we get into a "man the fuck up", "grow a pair", "what kind of big poof are you" style discussion, some people can't have a 11lb Les Paul on their shoulder for any length of time (or don't wish to) . 

Some of us may have actually been told to either give up playing or find a lighter guitar if we want to be free of back pain.

But I agree that piano accordians can be pretty heavy.....myself I'm not keen on their sound 

Dominic

Even effete Parisians can carry them around all day .............C'est L'amour, Bof

Brize

FelineGuitars said:

Do note that accordians are held with TWO straps - one over each shoulder - like a rucksack in reverse . 

This makes a big difference!

True, but still, 25lbs!

Completely agree about the 11lbs Les Paul thing - it's more the fussing about half a pound here or there, like the guy who wanted to buy my Strat until he found out that it weighed 7lbs 13oz. WTF?!

guitarfishbay

FelineGuitars said:

Do note that accordians are held with TWO straps - one over each shoulder - like a rucksack in reverse . 

This makes a big difference!

It's the fact that as guitarists we take the weight on just one side that throws so many backs out of whack.

And before we get into a "man the fuck up", "grow a pair", "what kind of big poof are you" style discussion, some people can't have a 11lb Les Paul on their shoulder for any length of time (or don't wish to) . 

Some of us may have actually been told to either give up playing or find a lighter guitar if we want to be free of back pain.

But I agree that piano accordians can be pretty heavy.....myself I'm not keen on their sound 

Gruv gear make a dual strap. I was given the single strap version as a present recently and it’s very good.

https://gruvgear.com/products/duostrap-neo