1 bass or 2 for gigs

[Tj smith]

Do u guys bring a backup bass to gigs? I’ve been gigging for the last 10 years pretty consistently and have never taken 2 basses. I do have extra strings and batteries but have never even needed those. My amp did die recently so I just went direct and problem solved.

What’s everyone think

 

[Plectrum72]

I do, but only because they are each tuned differently. One could be a backup for the other in a pinch. Would just require more retuning between songs.

 

[birminghambass]

Always 2. In 30 years of gigging I've only had 3 instances where I had a catastrophic bass failure though.
I also just enjoy playing different basses. I'll use each for a different set sometimes.

 

[embellisher]

I always bring two. Second as a backup, but usually something different from the primary, so I'll have an excuse to play them both.

For my weekly Sunday afternoon church gig, it's almost always these two.

 

[DrBnz]

Backup???? Whatever..... I'd bring 2 just to show them off.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Rule of redundancies: “two is one and one is none”. If something goes south, we need to move on post haste. Even the Blue Angels bring a spare jet.

Riis

 

[alembicbones]

Depends on the gig. If it is a one set affair with a multiband lineup, I'll just bring one bass. If we are playing multiple sets, I'll bring two.

Bones

 

[SteveC]

Always 2, just in case and for different sounds or just because I have a few basses and they’re fun to rotate. P with flats, active 5 with rounds.

 

[eweise2]

My battery has run out a couple of times so now I've ordered a backup bass. Its a Sandberg and unfortunately there is like a two years atm so didn't really solve the issue.

 

[warptheory]

1 bass, and an extra set of strings just in case. If I break one, I can limp along till set break. That is until I make it big and get roadies to haul my gear.

In 15 years of bass playing I've only had a dead bass once, and that's just because I tightened a loose jack and it rotated in the socket so that it grounded out the jack and shorted out.

Most of our songs are the same type of genre, but I could see wanting a 4 for most songs and a 5 for others.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

For gigs, often 2, rarely a backup. Usually fretted and fretless, though I have been known to use a P w/flats and J w/fresh rounds.

Etc. and so forth.

 

[HelpImaRock]

1 bass. We play 30 to 45 minute sets of original music. Take only what you need to survive.

 

[chris_b]

It's been a few years since I've had an equipment failure on a gig but stuff breaks and doesn't work and gets left at home.

How serious are you when gigging? I am very serious and will never let the band, audience or promoter down because of an equipment failure. I take 2 of everything. Basses, all leads, tuners, straps, fuses, ear plugs, batteries, strings, amps, cabs, the lot. I even have a spare piece of foam for my Precision!! Anyone can screw up but it won't be me.

 

[Wyrdlow]

A fretted and a fretless. If one failed, the other would be an adequate backup.

 

[rockdoc11]

For several years now I've been splitting the difference. I bring an inexpensive backup bass, but leave it in the car.

So far so good! I haven't needed to run out to the car mid-gig.

I've come to think of having a back up bass in the car as my good luck charm!

 

[wjcstp]

I just bring 1 bass to shows. A 45-60 minute small club set is fairly low risk of me breaking something, if it worked in sound check it’s probably fine. If we start playing bigger shows or out of town, then I’ll bring along a spare.

 

[57pbass]

2 Basses
2 Heads
2 Cabs (unless I bring a 4 x 10)
Multiple cables.. both instrument and speaker
Extra Strings
Tool set

 

[Hundred proof]

Always been a “run what ya brung” kinda person, maybe 5 times in all these years carry 2
But I do carry stuff like pre cut spare strings

 

[ryco]

2. A back up, or, for one oldies band, bring a fretted and a fretless.

Nice to have another in case something goes awry. But confess those instances have been decades apart = string breakage. I haven't gigged 5/6 nights a week in decades, so just kind of a habit, or a superstition, if'n ya will.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

After decades of gigging and thousands of gigs and 10's of thousands of hours playing, my advice is to know your gear and whether it's gig-ready. Yes, bad things happen, but you're much more likely to experience a failure if the only time you touch any gear is on a gig. If you're regularly using your bass and in tune with it's state at all times, you're much more likely to catch anything before it becomes a problem.

Exceptions do exist. My worst was when a tuning peg on my upright broke without warning while tuning my bass. Carrying a spare bass wasn't an option and I had to have new wooden pegs turned for my 150yr old bass. Those will probably last another 150yrs, at which time it won't be my problem. It's otherwise pretty rare for a bass to outright fail without some warning signs, if you're paying attention.