Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
1 bass or 2 for gigs
- Thread starter Tj smith
- Start date
, 2 
Smooth_bass88
vaxx!
- Oct 31, 2006
- 12,122
- 16,795
- Disclosures
- have been on nationally released albums, charting on the Billboard 200
well, it depends on the gig. For the really big shows or if it's like a mini tour, absolutely yes I bring two. But for some of the gigs right here in town I don't usually bother.
I had a battery die once on the gig on a StingRay rendering it useless. If'n I do bring one of my two active basses, they're Laklands so they work without a battery. But that's really rare. I very much prefer passive basses. Of my eleven basses, 9 are passive.
I had a battery die once on the gig on a StingRay rendering it useless. If'n I do bring one of my two active basses, they're Laklands so they work without a battery. But that's really rare. I very much prefer passive basses. Of my eleven basses, 9 are passive.
Always 2 basses, and many times a backup amp. Murphy is immortal !
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,013
- 1
- 31,725
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
With the price of strings these days I don't keep spare sets. I just bring a backup bass in case of breakage. It hasn't happened yet but you can bet your last dollar that if I leave the backup at home I'll break a string.
Almost always 2. I’ve only needed to switch quickly a handful of times in about 20 years, but I pulled the E string off my main bass about 3 songs into an hour-long set last year, and that was one of the few times in a long time that my backup was left in my truck. I played the next song on 3 strings while the guitarist’s brother ran to my truck to grab the spare. Not doing that again.
- Aug 21, 2003
- 11,607
- 18,652
- Disclosures
- A-Designs Mike Lull GK Tsunami Cables GHS Strings RMI Basswitch Nordstrand Pickups Darkglass
Does the carpenter you hire to build the addition on your house bring 1 saw or 1 hammer?
I almost always bring 1-- punk circles have always been good about loaning instruments in a pinch (I've never needed an extra guitar, but I've loaned out my rig a few times to people in need). I've brought 2 on a few occasions where I wanted to play something different for songs, but that's more about having fun with the experience than it is about being prepared.
I never have but would for tuning if the band called for it. I've never played a high enough profile gig to where changing a broken string or whatever would be a massive no-no, but I've also never broken a string live. Or in a decade or more. Batteries can be changed. If the neck somehow exploded on stage I am not sure I'd have it in me to just pick up another bass and keep going. I'd definitely nope out on a destroyed bass, but it'd be crazy circumstances.
It depends how much I'm being paid vs the cost of failure.
I ALWAYS bring two, and in a double gig bag- pretty heavy, but if you are playing more than a ten minute drive from your house- you SHOULD bring two.
I play gigs up in Virginia City, Nevada, 22 miles from my home. It takes me about 35 minutes each way, up and down one of the most winding, challenging roads in the state. If one of my basses failed for some reason, a round trip to get another, would be a bust. The guys in the band would be let down, and they'd always remember it. I see it as a fairly simple, professional thing to do.
I play gigs up in Virginia City, Nevada, 22 miles from my home. It takes me about 35 minutes each way, up and down one of the most winding, challenging roads in the state. If one of my basses failed for some reason, a round trip to get another, would be a bust. The guys in the band would be let down, and they'd always remember it. I see it as a fairly simple, professional thing to do.
Two basses always. You are paid to play. If you have a bass and it goes down you are not playing. Even if it is just a few minutes of downtime, you are not being paid for downtime.
wow I’m officially shamed, almost always has been 1 bass, one amp, in 25+ years. Have had good luck I guess, but I think it’s time to turn over a new leaf, start bringing 2 basses and a backup amp for shows…. The passive Fender basses I use seem pretty bulletproof to me, but amps these days, I don’t know, I feel less secure about them! I’m going to show my wife this thread when I order that backup amp… 
2 because everyone sings but me and i gotta compliment some of the drop D tunings, dont wanna be left in a lurch if something fails. Our sets are 3-4hrs....Besides i have 7 basses and i like taking each one out to stretch the legs. One hartke 4x10 a head and two gig bags....ready to go
My Dad (RIP) played professionally for years. He taught me that (1) amateurs practice until they get it right, while professionals practice until they can't get it wrong, and (2) failing to prepare is preparing to fail. I prepare for bass failure by taking a backup bass, and it's always a copy of my #1. It's come in handy quite a few times over the years as I've had tuning machines, controls, and output jacks fail, strings break, bad batteries, and so on.
I prepare for failures of my DI by carrying a spare DI. I prepare for failure of our backing tracks iPad by carrying a copy of that iPad. We prepare for failure of our mixer by making sure the sound guy brings his. We have a backup amp in the rack. We have extra mic cables and power cords on the reels. I have extra strings, patch cords, mics, mic clips, power strips, batteries, picks, drumsticks, ears, ear amps, iPad cords, tools, etc. in a small stage bag. The drummer brings an extra snare. The guitarists bring extra guitars.
Things we're using multiples of on-stage, like keyboards, toms, lights, speakers... we can get by with an individual failure that wouldn't kill the show. So, we don't being additional spares of these. But we do have plans on how to work around failures.
For outdoor gigs, our weather can be extremely hot, windy, and stormy without warning, so we have to plan for that too. So, we bring extra tarps, bungees, weight bags for the canopy, sunglasses, sunscreen, hats, fans, drinks, etc.
When someone has to miss a gig, we have a list of subs, and we could also cover them in backing tracks if we can't get a sub.
To be clear, preparing for failure doesn't necessarily mean having a physical backup piece, many times it simply involves having a plan.
I've had my share of failures over the years. There have been a few late starts and brief disruptions, but with a reasonable level of forethought, planning, and preparation, they have been kept to a minimum and I've never had to cancel a gig because of an equipment failure or a missing person.
Our early attempts at failure planning went through several preparations. Preparations A through G were progressively better. But our current plan... Preparation H... really does a great job of saving our butts!
I prepare for failures of my DI by carrying a spare DI. I prepare for failure of our backing tracks iPad by carrying a copy of that iPad. We prepare for failure of our mixer by making sure the sound guy brings his. We have a backup amp in the rack. We have extra mic cables and power cords on the reels. I have extra strings, patch cords, mics, mic clips, power strips, batteries, picks, drumsticks, ears, ear amps, iPad cords, tools, etc. in a small stage bag. The drummer brings an extra snare. The guitarists bring extra guitars.
Things we're using multiples of on-stage, like keyboards, toms, lights, speakers... we can get by with an individual failure that wouldn't kill the show. So, we don't being additional spares of these. But we do have plans on how to work around failures.
For outdoor gigs, our weather can be extremely hot, windy, and stormy without warning, so we have to plan for that too. So, we bring extra tarps, bungees, weight bags for the canopy, sunglasses, sunscreen, hats, fans, drinks, etc.
When someone has to miss a gig, we have a list of subs, and we could also cover them in backing tracks if we can't get a sub.
To be clear, preparing for failure doesn't necessarily mean having a physical backup piece, many times it simply involves having a plan.
I've had my share of failures over the years. There have been a few late starts and brief disruptions, but with a reasonable level of forethought, planning, and preparation, they have been kept to a minimum and I've never had to cancel a gig because of an equipment failure or a missing person.
Our early attempts at failure planning went through several preparations. Preparations A through G were progressively better. But our current plan... Preparation H... really does a great job of saving our butts!
