Yeah I doubt either carve is going to remove much weight on any guitar, I just wanna make the thing more comfortable to play. I have a couple Charvel tele-style guitars that have the contours and going from one of those to the Fender is like UGH NO I JUST CAN'T. Obviously loads of people can play a tele just fine but I am not one.

FWIW I have a handful of new Charvels and they are crazy light, I bring one to my tech and he goes "WTF this thing weighs nothing!" I have one that's a mahogany body and it feels as light as its alder brother, I dunno if it's chambered or what, but they make me happy every time I pick them up. Really nice guitars, super comfy necks, good build quality, not-too-shredder aesthetics.

NO CONTOURS.

I play heavy ass instruments, but never really have a problem with my shoulder or back thankfully. What I do have problems with are my right arm strumming position--if the bass or guitar is even slightly too high or too low, I'll get really bad numbness and pain in my hand, wrist, and elbow. At this point, I have to adjust any new straps to be exactly the same length and this pretty much goes away.

I have felt uncomfortable playing a bass that's lighter than 10 lbs, as it just feels like it's going to fall apart in my hands if I play too hard. The walnut Rick 4003S I had was just under 8 lbs and felt like nothing but I could never get comfortable playing it.

Dr Tony Balls wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:24 am NO CONTOURS.

Heh. That is none more no contours!

Not specifically, but I avoided certain guitars for a while. I wondered why my guitars stated being a problem.

Then I got into cycling, had my gall bladder removed, lost 25-30 lbs, and then guitar weight stopped bothering me like it used to. So, for me, just taking a bit more care of myself and getting a little more exercise (than none) seemed to help me.

Not so much guitars, though there was one particular lawsuit LP I had back in the day with a Bigsby that'd make my lower back ache after long rehearsals, but I've gotten more and more finicky about guitar amps and weight as I've gotten older; I've got some ligaments in my shoulders and have had a bit of an issue with them slipping when I'm carrying heavy amps at the end of a night, so I tend to grab lighter stuff these days when I'm gigging. The days of my love affair with '70s Peavey gear are gone.

I no longer have the EGC bari I played for many years. Miss the sound but not the weight, the constant tuning, and the left hand fatigue. I put together a 28" Esquire partscaster a while back and I love everything about it.

Well, I mostly play sitting down because I can’t be bothered standing up, but this is true in general - guitar in hand or not : )

I’m trending lighter on everything. The new Ampeg RB115 is stupid light and sounds great, especially with the grit knob up a bit. My Squire Paranormal Jazz is lighter than the P-basses I’ve been playing over the years. I still sound like me, regardless. I’ve got a bunch of foot problems that flare up with excessive weight.