Re: How heavy is your Jazzmaster????....

PorkyPrimeCut · Post by **PorkyPrimeCut** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 8:06 am

I've just bought some scales as I'm attempting to get fit!!

I figured I'd weigh my Jazzmaster as its always struck me as a bit on the heavy side. It ended up weighing 6.2lbs. A lot less than I expected. Is this an average weight & whats considered heavy (when it comes to Jazzmasters)?

Gill · Post by **Gill** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:38 am

If your JM always felt heavy and the scale said it only weighs 6.2 pounds then the scale is most likely wrong...unless you're like 4 feet 9 inches tall and weigh a buck 'o five!

The JM's I've owned and played tend to be around 7.5 to 8.5 pouds on average, I'd say...my ash '59 is right at 8.

6.2 pounds for a JM would be quite light IMO.

Gill

Post by **zhivago** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:40 am

mine's 3.5Kg = 7.7Lbs

pullover · Post by **pullover** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:53 am

How did you weigh it? Did you just set it on the scale or did you weigh yourself, then weigh yourself with guitar and subtract the difference?

EDIT: Does that even matter? I just weighed myself and my jazzmaster, and the jazzmaster by itself, then myself and the jazzmaster, and I got a different reading every time. Cheap scale. Anyway, it fluctuated between 7.5 and 8.5 pounds.

Post by **zhivago** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:08 am

pullover wrote: did you weigh yourself, then weigh yourself with guitar and subtract the difference?

that's what I did, yeah

burker · Post by **burker** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:33 am

Hmm.... i havent weighed mine, but by comparing them to two guitars I had that I have weighed (LP at 12 lbs, and tele at 7) my 59 is around 7 lbs, and the 76 is at least 12 lbs. its a backbreaker.

PorkyPrimeCut · Post by **PorkyPrimeCut** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:59 am

I've tried both suggested ways. My initial way (just the guitar) which is still bang on 6.2lbs. Then I did the other way & got between 7 & 7.4lbs

Does this put into question the date my body was made (end of 1959??) or is it a fairly random thing??

Edit - I can't actually say that I've held a lot of electric guitars in the last two years so maybe I'm just thinking wrong!!

Gill · Post by **Gill** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:08 am

It's random...each piece of wood is different. 7 or 7.4 pounds would be totally normal for a '59. It's really impossible to discern production dates from wood weight...It's also totally subjective as to what weight works well with what guitar/neck, etc. Does your JM have a nice balance to it? Does it sounds good and project well acoustically and amplified? That's what I'd be concerned with!

I think if you're looking for body weight to be some kind of caliber of good tone or time period you'll be disapointed unless you take a lot of other factors into consideration as well.

Gill

PorkyPrimeCut · Post by **PorkyPrimeCut** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:17 am

Fair comment. I think its just reading about a load of other similar era JM's that all weigh in heavier. I was started to think I'd been wrong about my own Jazzmaster all these years but, of course, every block of wood is different ( and going by the electrics & metalwork its a '59)

Maybe it was a silly question.

Gill · Post by **Gill** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:27 am

Oh, NO! Not a silly qestion...sorry if it came across that way.

I used to wonder about that as well but after playing a lot of vintage JM's and newer ones and hanging around forums for years you just come to realize that the weight of the wood is very subjective in terms of tone and production times...a lot is said about 70's Fenders, for example, in reference to their heaviness compared to the previous decade. But, in playing both and observing many discussions on the topic, I found that it wasn't so cut and dry, so to speak.

I just wouldn't fixate on the weight in terms of it being original or "not good" or what have you...there are other and better factors that apply like finish, components, dates, cosmetic characteristics, etc. that in combination with things like weight can give you a better idea of what you've got in your hands.

Gill

Post by **mynameisjonas** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 4:30 am

Gill wrote: If your JM always felt heavy and the scale said it only weighs 6.2 pounds then the scale is most likely wrong...unless you're like 4 feet 9 inches tall and weigh a buck 'o five!

The JM's I've owned and played tend to be around 7.5 to 8.5 pouds on average, I'd say...my ash '59 is right at 8.

6.2 pounds for a JM would be quite light IMO.

Gill

i think 6.2 lbs would qualify as super-lightweight for a '59 with the thicker body. 7.4 seems more likely, but even that sounds way too little since you described it as weighing a ton. i think most people would consider anything under 8 lbs as pretty lightweight. when i think "heavy guitar" i think of my old '78 tele custom which weighed more than 13 lbs.

Post by **zhivago** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 4:33 am

I agree, Jonas...my '61 is 7.7lbs, and it feels light as a feather...I love playing it at rehearsals, as we do about 4 hours usually (and sometimes 8 hours with a short break in between) and my back doesn't hurt

PorkyPrimeCut · Post by **PorkyPrimeCut** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 8:14 am

What a pointless exercise this is turning out to be!! On the scales by itself my guitar weighs 6.2lbs.....oh no it doesn't it weighs 6.6!! Oh, wait a minute, today it weighs 7lbs.

Yesterday when I weighed myself & then myself with said guitar it came out at 7.4lbs!! Today, using the same method it weighs 8lbs.

I think my guitars getting fat!!!!!

Post by **mynameisjonas** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 8:18 am

hehe, yeah it must be the M@J@ building up!

Naturality · Post by **Naturality** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 8:43 am

Nah, it's sneaking picks when you're not looking