Would you be pissed off if another bass player was using your amp?

glenb73 · #1 03-28-2011, 08:26 AM

My band plays in a private space, however my bandmates play in a secondary progressive type band in which they use a different bass player. This different bass player has been playing through my amp. This bugs me a bit as I don't think he should be using my gear. What do you all think? Should I just let it go or raise it up as an issue? if I raise it , I'm sure it will get blown out of proportion, but still I feel like it's wrong for them to let him use my gear.

tdub0199 · #2 03-28-2011, 08:28 AM

I don't let anyone use my gear.... If it gets broken... is the other bassist willing to fix it? I see it as him being too damn lazy to bring his own.....

dave_p · #3 03-28-2011, 08:29 AM

its your gear. no one should be touching it, period. take home the power and speaker cables. and the fuse. put tape over the jacks.
or they can rent it from you.

Phalex · #4 03-28-2011, 08:29 AM

I don't know if pissed off is the right word, but I'd certainly start taking the power cord from my amp home with me.

Personally, I have no problem at all letting people use my equipment. Having other people allow other people to use my equipment, well.........

rayzak · #5 03-28-2011, 08:31 AM

Yeah man. If I knew and trusted the guy, that'd be cool, but I wouldn't be comfortable with a stranger playing my gear.

chokeslam512 · #6 03-28-2011, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glenb73

My band plays in a private space, however my bandmates play in a secondary progressive type band in which they use a different bass player. This different bass player has been playing through my amp. This bugs me a bit as I don't think he should be using my gear. What do you all think? Should I just let it go or raise it up as an issue? if I raise it , I'm sure it will get blown out of proportion, but still I feel like it's wrong for them to let him use my gear.

I would be P'd off if they didn't have my permission. That being said, it doesn't sound like they have your permission. I would raise it as an issue.

Recourse: take your head home with you, take your cables, rent the amp to the other bassist for a nominal fee.

ncbassman · #7 03-28-2011, 08:32 AM

I would be pissed especially if the other bass player didn't ask you. If your bandmates blindly told the guy it was OK to use your setup, then you should have a talk with your bandmates about why they thought it was OK to allow him to use gear that they didn't personally own.

DaZombieWoof · #8 03-28-2011, 08:33 AM

Two types of use:
Permissive use where someone actually asked is usually fine.
Presumptive use where they didn't ask would piss me off big time.

M Sterling · #9 03-28-2011, 08:34 AM

If the communication between you and your bandmates is such that, they don't ask you before letting someone use your gear, and you don't want to say anything for fear of it being "blown out of proportion", then IMO there is a bigger problem there.

glenb73 · #10 03-28-2011, 08:35 AM

What if my bandmates asked me if the second bass player could use my amp and I said no? Would I come off as being a greedy douche bag???
Honestly, I just don't like people touching my stuff.

Russell L · #11 03-28-2011, 08:35 AM

Tell them what you feel. If they get pissed, I wouldn't wanna play with them anyway.

Phalex · #12 03-28-2011, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaZombieWoof

Two types of use:
Permissive use where someone actually asked is usually fine.
Presumptive use where they didn't ask would piss me off big time.

Yeah! What he said!

jgroh · #13 03-28-2011, 08:36 AM

I do not let anyone use my stuff at any time, and I would pissed at your bandmates if they told the guy he could use your stuff without asking you first. I guarantee that if he blows it up you would never get him or your bandmates to pay for it.

M Sterling · #14 03-28-2011, 08:44 AM

Some people are fine with others using their gear, some are not. If it makes you uncomfortable, and there is no benefit, then you should say something.

Kinetic Monkey · #15 03-28-2011, 08:46 AM

The easy solution would be to take your amp home with you. The other bass player would then be forced to either bring his own, or ask you if it's okay to carry on borrowing yours. If he brings his own, problem solved. If he asks you for yours, you can either say yes, or make some excuse about needing it at home for practice or whatever.

This would eliminate all conflict with the other bass player, and (most importantly) your band. Being part of a band is as much about getting on with friends as it is about making music.

madmatt · #16 03-28-2011, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glenb73

My band plays in a private space, however my bandmates play in a secondary progressive type band in which they use a different bass player. This different bass player has been playing through my amp. This bugs me a bit as I don't think he should be using my gear. What do you all think? Should I just let it go or raise it up as an issue? if I raise it , I'm sure it will get blown out of proportion, but still I feel like it's wrong for them to let him use my gear.

Nothing wrong with being selfish with your gear. It is your gear. Maybe if it were someone I knew, and they knew how to baby equipment, maybe, and that is a big maybe.
If you believe it will get blown out of proportion make sure you are louder than anyone else. Don't let yourself be pushed into a corner, just state your mind. But if someone makes the mistake of opening their big mouth make sure you put him in his place quickly, and harshly. If they do not respect your position, well then you'll just have to respect yourself.
But chances are nothing will happen, they may not say a thing.

pbassnut · #17 03-28-2011, 09:06 AM

The key here is that you weren't asked for your permission to use it ... that's tacky. Even if you were asked permission, you'd have been well within your rights to decline or stipulate that if anything goes wrong with your amp while being borrowed, the person using the amp or the band allowing him/her to use it are responsible for fixing it.

pbagley · #18 03-28-2011, 09:16 AM

I'm not saying to do this, but you could just stop by the practice space some time when no one is there and change all the settings on the guitar player's amp(s) and move a few drums and cymbals on the kit. Maybe in a few weeks mention that you're toying around with a second group and using the practice space for some informal jams. After you see their collective heads explode you can confess that no other musicians were involved, and that you just wanted to see if they were as generous with their own gear as they were with yours.

Of course, this would be wrong headed, passive-aggressive behavior. Wrong wrong wrong. But a little funny.

Good luck!

Thor2 · #19 03-28-2011, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaZombieWoof

Two types of use:
Permissive use where someone actually asked is usually fine.
Presumptive use where they didn't ask would piss me off big time.

Looks this caputures most folks views on this (mine included).

AwkwardLoudness · #20 03-28-2011, 09:48 AM

Without permission for use, yeah it would piss me off. The extent of that would somewhat depend on whether it's a vintage valuable amp with old glass or a cheap SS head or something in between.

If you leave the amp in the jam space, then you could likely take out a fuse to disable it. What amp is it?