Do you like your guitars heavy or light?

[ehdwuld]

My favorites are the lighter ones
they are just the ones that get picked up the most

My heaviest one is my Dean Shire at 9.5 lbs
It also is the only true semihollow and has the piezo bridge

I love the sound I get with that one

[alex1fly]

My view on this is that whatever gets you playing is a good thing.

I didn't care until I live gigged a 12 lb Jazz Bass and was in pain after every rehearsal and show. So I got a 7.5 lb model instead and lo and behold, they sounded pretty darn similar.

Then I picked up a used 6.5 lb Gibson SG from Guitar Center this year. Yes, GC typically stinks, but this guitar was the warmest, most toneful piece of wood I'd ever played, so it came home with me. I am now spoiled and chasing this lightweight PRS Santana SE around my music room. It's not that I mind playing heavier guitars, but the lighter an instrument, the fewer barriers to me picking it up and playing these days. Acoustic guitars are like, 2-3 lbs, so even a jump to an 8 lb electric feels like a big jump. I don't care about the weight when playing live, but practicing at home I do notice it and have been preferring the light weight. Yes, my two light electric guitars and my lightweight bass guitar feel a little toy-like, but better to play a toy than to not play a toneful anvil.

[GreatOz]

Lighter for me, but a guitar being heavier (10lbs/~4.5kg and heavier) on it's own won't necessarily keep me from playing it either. My two favorites are light and medium weight respectively; the lighter one is a semi-hollow PRS and the other is a chambered Warmoth Strat-like.

[Adieu]

Light weight, much like good ergonomics, is preferred... but can be ignored for the right sound or feel or a good deal on something well-made

[muttznmongrelz]

Light weight, much like good ergonomics, is preferred... but can be ignored for the right sound or feel or a good deal on something well-made

Amen to that.

[Mincer]

Something that is well-balanced can make up for being a little heavier than I like.

[Mr. B]

Most of my best sounding guitars are light examples of their type. I have had heavier examples of the same guitars, and most did not sound as good to my ears.

[ArtieToo]

Now that I'm a little older, (little?), I like light. I think it's one of the reasons that my Peavey Rockmaster, while being one of my cheapest, is also one of my favorites. One bridge humbucker . . . no weight.

[JB_From_Hell]

As long as it balances, light is cool. However, my Warwick is super heavy, has a hint of dive, but plays and sounds killer.

[Archer250]

All things considered, lighter guitars tend to sound better than heavier ones. There are exceptions, but this is, in my experience, the rule

Light guitars are also more comfortable to carry or put on your leg.

Consequently light guitars are, for me, more fun to play.

Having said that, the guitar has to be a solid instrument regardless of weight for me to actually want to play it.

[Mincer]

I never noticed a sonic blanket difference between weights. Some light guitars sound good, some heavy ones do...but if it is heavy, I will find myself playing it less, even if it sounds great. For some reason, that isn't enough to keep me picking it up.

[SFW]

Depends on the guitar. I prefer strat style guitars to be light. I prefer Les Pauls to have some weight. Somewhere in the eight to ten pound area. I find they have a more focused mid range.


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[Spirit of 76]

I prefer them on the lighter side. But if it's a really cool guitar, I can deal with a heavy one.

[Bogner]

I don't care about the weight at all. I am after feel, tone, resonance, all the things I look for in what I call a good guitar and that I like. It it weighs 4 pounds or 12 pounds I don't care. I am even becoming more flexible on color if the guitar is everything I am wanting.

[Powdered Toast Man]

I never noticed a sonic blanket difference between weights. Some light guitars sound good, some heavy ones do...but if it is heavy, I will find myself playing it less, even if it sounds great. For some reason, that isn't enough to keep me picking it up.

Same here. If it's over 8 lbs I don't end up playing it. I didn't even know what my guitars weighed until last year. Turns out they're all close to 7.6 lbs. Now when I shop (especially online) that's the weight I aim for. I've got a couple in the 6.5 lbs range and I like those too but I don't go out of my way to find super light stuff. 7.6ish feels like home.