I built a bass .... it's too heavy

axisus

By too heavy I mean that it is heavier than I would like. The body is 2 piece er ... was it Alder? I forget now. Anyway, the bass is put together, has been for some time now so that I could noodle a bit and see what I think, and the upshot is that I would prefer it lighter. 

It's all wired up for testing etc, but I have applied no finish to the body yet, so it's now or never in terms of improving the weight. I feel a tad nervous about it though. I'd hate to bugger things up at this stage!

So, presumably the thing to do would be to shave x mm off the depth of the body, rout some biggish areas then stick a cap of some sort on. If that is the case, would it be better to remove the top or the bottom? or does it not matter. The bass will have some kind of paint finish all over (well, that's the current plan). 

Also, anyone know where would be a good place to get some kind of cap that's just a few mm deep?

Winny_Pooh

Really depends on the style of bass (contours etc) and how deep your control plate needs to be. If it's a Fender style bass you can route a cavity for the area under the pickgaurd and thin the body a bit. Won't take loads off but will help alongside ultralight machineheads

WezV

what's the design of the bass?  it its a bolt-on or neck through.   Does it have a pickguard.

chambering the way you have suggested will be effective.  You could also make the whole body  thinner, taking from the back if design allows.  you can often get 10-15% off the thickness  of the body without affecting structural integrity.


basses do tend to be heavier

axisus

It's a bolt on
pickguard - probably, but possibly not

I probably can't make the body depth any less, the active circuit board takes up the depth. 

I should have started this thread at home rather than at work! I'm not sure if I did a belly cut on the back??? If so then I guess the cap would be on the top.

WezV

You can do either for a painted guitar, unless it's fate telling you to add a fancy top.


I would go for the top so I can plan the cavities around the  hardware.    I wouldn't add any near the gut cut whether you go top or back way.

You can do full cavities, or just drill a load of large holes.   Cavities will change the way the body resonates more.  They take out a lot more weight, and may even make it too light.   I think I would Swiss cheese it to try and take a bit of weight off without making it so light it's neck heavy.

WezV

In terms of wood.


A normal electric top will be 6-10mm

An acoustic back set will be 2-4mm depending how well it is prepped

You can sometimes find constructional basswood for model makers that works well for this kind of thing.... that will be 2-3mm and match quite well with alder