Neck/Shoulder injury - which models should I be looking at for consistent light weight?

SubsonicSimpleton

I'm currently in the process of rehabilitating a fairly serious injury, and have to face the possibility that it may cause long term issues going forward if I don't manage the situation very carefully. In the days of my youth after much chopping and changing I found a strat(8.6lb) which I really bonded with and played exclusively for several years, until I aquired a Starfield (early 90s bolt on PRS alike) which weighed 7.3lb and the reduction in weight and bulk made the guitar so much easier to live with for long rehearsal sessions and high energy gigs that the strat never really got any playtime apart from odd occasions where a string breakage forced a guitar change mid set. Other than spending a lot of time searching out light weight examples of the more traditional Strat/Tele/LPJr/SG models, is there anything I should be making an effort to check out as alternatives with lighter weight/better ergonomics. Raw low/med gain tones are much more attractive to me nowadays, but I do wonder whether my conservative aesthetic outlook is meaning that I'm just not considering options from many companies because I associated them with hi-gain metal or dentistry.

chris78

Get a thinline strat or tele.
Ive never seen a thinline over 7 1/2lbs and most are under 7. I’ve even had a tele at 5lbs 10oz. 

Depending on budget, the eric Johnson strat would be worth a look, Fender have released a 60s thinline tele. I’d start there

SubsonicSimpleton

Was the 5lb 10oz Tele a thinline or just a very lightweight body blank?

noisepolluter

My mate’s new Epi 335 is very light. 

Roland

Parker Fly is the lightest I’ve found

sweepy

A plus one for the Parker Fly, none lighter

timmypix

Strandbergs are stupidly light and very, very comfortable to play, but that would certainly not conform to a conserative aesthetic outlook.

HAL9000

+1 for Tele thinline.

guitarmangler

Strandberg?

Creed_Clicks

Danelectro

p90fool

Epiphone Wilshire? 

crunchman

Think about geometry as well as weight.

I've found a back angled neck and neck join very high up (so the left end of the neck is a long way away) doesn't help even when the guitar is light like an SG.

Blueingreen

I have a Gibson 336 that comes in around the 7lbs mark and a 339 that's maybe an ounce or two more. I don't know if they are all equally light so check if you're looking at a particular one but there are definitely light ones to be had.  Fairly conservative aesthetics, much lighter than most LPs and no SG style neck dive. 

ICBM

PRS Hollowbodies are pretty light - they're almost entirely hollow, but sound more like a solid than you would expect because there's a solid soundpost that the bridge mounts into. The shop I work for has a Hollowbody I that weighs 4lb 10oz - it's been refinished and I suspect sanded a bit over-enthusiastically - I've never come across another that light. They have lower-output pickups than the solidbody models too.

Blueingreen

I quite fancy a PRS Hollowbody but I've always imagined they sound a bit anaemic alongside Gibson near equivalents like the 339 and would therefore be less versatile.  This is entirely based on hearing demos, I've never heard one in the flesh.  But they do seem to be very light, often coming in under 6lbs.

ToneControl

Blueingreen said:

I quite fancy a PRS Hollowbody but I've always imagined they sound a bit anaemic alongside Gibson near equivalents like the 339 and would therefore be less versatile.  This is entirely based on hearing demos, I've never heard one in the flesh.  But they do seem to be very light, often coming in under 6lbs.

I was going to suggest one too
They are extremely light, I have one and love the lightness
pickups are a little bright, but you can dial that out or replace them

Also Ibanez did some hollow strat shapes that were really nice, go for about £400
Artcore AWD102

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-DUdi88Ugw

ICBM

Blueingreen said:

I quite fancy a PRS Hollowbody but I've always imagined they sound a bit anaemic alongside Gibson near equivalents like the 339 and would therefore be less versatile.  This is entirely based on hearing demos, I've never heard one in the flesh.  But they do seem to be very light, often coming in under 6lbs.

This one doesn't sound anaemic, but that might be because it has a Duncan Jazz and Pearly Gates not the stock pickups...

stickyfiddle

crunchman said:

I've found a back angled neck and neck join very high up (so the left end of the neck is a long way away) doesn't help even when the guitar is light like an SG.

You're holding it wrong. 

Quite seriously, SGs and CS336s are almost always sub 7.5lbs, and very often sub-7. If you hold them on your hip they're super-comfy too.

bandmaster188

A 4” wide well padded guitar strap can help spread the load and make a hefty guitar feel lighter than it actually is.

ICBM

stickyfiddle said:

You're holding it wrong. 

Quite seriously, SGs and CS336s are almost always sub 7.5lbs, and very often sub-7. If you hold them on your hip they're super-comfy too.

It's then *all* in the wrong place as opposed to just the neck. You shouldn't have to hold the guitar in an unnatural position to get around a basic flaw in the geometry... so I just don't play guitars which need you to. Fundamentally a guitar with the front strap button at about the 12th-14th fret is just best for me. It's a shame, as I love the sound of a good SG.

poopot

I currently have “adhesive capulitis”. Can’t play for more than 15mins without getting massive pain... that’s sitting or standing... the guitar forces my shoulder into a position that it doesn’t want to/can’t be in at the moment.

we did a gig a couple of weeks back and my answer was to dose myself up with diclofenac/codine/tramadol.

im told I played well and the gig went down a storm!!!!

for me it’s not the weight but the position... try changing the position and see if that helps first!.