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Always bring a backup bass!
- Thread starter Stinsok
- Start date
- Aug 5, 2005
- 7,243
- 92
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: J.C. Basses
That's a pretty poor mentality to have, as a musician. The venue may be a dive, and the gig unimportant to you, but it matters to someone in the crowd.
Sure, if you keep your wire cutters & spare strings on stage. Take a stopwatch time next time this happens to you on stage & see how long it REALLY takes you to change that string. THEN, have to deal with the string breaking in & retuning all night.
YOU may not care, but the bar owner will notice. The patrons will notice. The sound tech will notice. Does this mean they'll all care? No. BUT, the sound tech & bar owner will, if they're even somewhat concerned about their business.
Even if your bass line is simple root notes, you're the rhythm behind the band. There's a reason people cry for drum & bass, not drum & guitar.
Here's an example: Some Kind Of Wonderful - No guitar, just bass & drums.
Anything by Mumford & Sons - No drums, just guitar & bass.
The bass drives the action on stage & it sounds empty without it. We, as musicians, should be taking pride in this & doing our best to ensure that WE don't screw up a gig.
Get a double-sided stand. Problem solved and it takes up only a minute amount of extra room.
I'm sorry, but just doing something for 45 years doesn't make you a professional.
Are you playing gigs every night, or are you a weekend warrior?
Do you teach private lessons daily as a job, or is it an on-the-side thing for money under the table?
Do you slave away weekly writing material & recording it for your next record release, or do you fart around in Garage Band and ProTools on saturday nights?
If you answered yes to the first part of any question, congrats. You're a pro. Just playing a bass in a band doesn't make you a pro, regardless of how long you do it.
We could be discussing shoelace preferences, and the opinions would just as strong. It's the nature of the internet beast.
I only wear neon shoelaces. They hold better without slipping than Black formal laces.
That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! How unprofessional! You call yourself a bass player?
I am one of those guys who never brought a backup. For 20 years, I never broke a string. Then one night a couple years back I broke an A, didn't even have an extra set of strings, and played most of the last set on three strings. I got through it all right, but also swore I'd never let myself get in that position again. Went out the next day and bought myself a $250 Ibanez insurance policy. Naturally, I haven't broken a string since, but it's cool, I tuned the backup to Eb and use it on one or two tunes a night.
You went 20 years without breaking a string, then one night you broke a string without a spare string...
...and so you bought another bass?
I love it! I can imagine how that conversation went with your wife. "Sweetie, I absolutely need this, look what happened to me, I can never let this happen again...and Sweetwater is having a great sale."
In peace - I think most of us have been there.
haha!! yeah i just added that to fuel the fire. i should go to the hardcase vs. softcase thread and add "jaco didnt need a case" LOL!!
15 seconds to grab a backup, vs 2-5 minutes to change a string. Which do you think The audience & your employer will notice more?
Quit being so arrogant in your staunch defense of your opinion.
I am one of those guys who never brought a backup. For 20 years, I never broke a string. Then one night a couple years back I broke an A, didn't even have an extra set of strings, and played most of the last set on three strings. I got through it all right, but also swore I'd never let myself get in that position again. Went out the next day and bought myself a $250 Ibanez insurance policy. Naturally, I haven't broken a string since, but it's cool, I tuned the backup to Eb and use it on one or two tunes a night.
I believe the technical term is "panic buying."
Don't be too hard on yourself. Seems to me you might have purchased insurance against more than just a broken string. You purchased insurance against limping along with a missing string or haulting your band's momentum while you change strings mid-set.
Now you are five to ten seconds away from business as usual and peace of mind. $250.00 (if it doesn't break the bank) is a small price to pay for that kind of insurance to me.
I believe you may be grossly misinterpreting Mr. Greer's post.
I read it in a humorous context which made sense.
No, I'm a fretted bass guitar artist. In the 1 year I've been wearing neon shoelaces, I've never had them come untied!
I believe you may be grossly misinterpreting Mr. Greer's post.
I read it in a humorous context which made sense.
Given his previous comments in the thread, my reaction still stands.
Most stages I play have room behind my rig for my spare amp, spare bass and gig bag containing spare other stuff (batteries, strings, cables, etc).
I'm a nobody and play pretty small places, this has never been a problem.
My bass did brake at a gig, that was almost a huge problem. Luckly, the sound guy was McGyvers cousin and saved the day with a soldering iron.
I'm definitely on the "one bass" side of the discussion, but I did mean that post in fun.
I admit that it's fun to see how worked up people get.
Although I fall squarely into the pro-backup camp, I do appreciate dissenting opinions for stimulating discussion.
As long as it's civil.
