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Always bring a backup bass!

#41
Let It Fall said:
I'm sure the upright bass guys must bring two also :/
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Ba-Da-Doomp!

Nope, as you clearly imply. I have broken a string (once), and do carry spare strings. There are fewer things that can typically fail--although seams can open, and there is always the joy of cracks. :p
 
#43
THPBass said:
I always take all 3 of my basses to gigs (they all get used at some point in the set). I also have at least one set of spare strings in each basses case, since they're strung with different gauges. Then I have my C.Y.A. box, it's the tote I use to store my patches and power cords (as well as spare speaker cables, xlr mic cables, and spare guitard strings) in, but the top is a flip up/tool box divider dealie that houses: leatherman tool, pocket tuner, allen wrench sets in metric and sae, small flashlight, de-oxit, a small spool of solder and a coldheat battery powered soldering iron, micro-screwdrivers, a passle of 9 volts, gorilla tape, a lighter, a tube of super glue,a pack of razor blades and 2 extra 12ax7 tubes. Overkill? Maybe....but my guitar player also carries a similar C.Y.A. kit, and we've Covered other band's @$$es on more than one occasion when they weren't as prepared as we are.
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What? No condoms?
 
#44
I've never had a problem with a bass at either a practice or gig over the last 6 years, and have never brought a backup.

Most of it is about instrument maintenance, IMO. If someone takes care of their (good quality) bass, almost all issues will be eliminated.
 
#46
Baird6869 said:
I always bring a backup bass to gigs. IMO, it is unprofessional not to do so.
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I've been in threads exactly like this before, and to say people are "unprofessional" for not bringing backups is a complete and total load of crap.

Go tell any philharmonic they are "unprofessional" for not bringing a whole 'nother orchestra of backups. Tell me what happens.

Or, you can go tell some poor kid who can't afford two instruments that he's somehow "unprofessional" merely on account of his gear.

What's "unprofessional" is not taking care of the primary instrument, as a large amount of issues that happen are at the very least indirectly related to lack of maintenance, or a disregard for taking care of your gear.
 
#47
I always bring a backup bass to gigs. Its the worst OH SH?T moment when you plug your bass in and its not working. I may go years with out needing my backup but on that rare occasion I do I'm glad I have it.

Rehearsals are different I just bring one bass and like someone else said if something goes wrong rehearsals a little shorter that night and we go get a beer or two.
 
#48
Steve said:
I did my first paid gig when I was 13 now I'm 50. Many of those years where spent as a full time player. I'm all for the belt and suspenders approach if that's what it takes to make you feel comfortable and professional but, I have never had a bass let me down. Not once. NEVER.

Buy quality, take care of it, pay attention to it and it will be the most reliable thing in your life.


You know what doesn't do much for your reputation? Having gear so crappy and poorly maintained that you need to have two with you at all times.

IMHO
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+99999999999999999999999999

That goes for amps too. I'd be much more worried about my old Ampeg crapping out before my bass - but I'm not hauling two full stacks around.
 
#50
I always bring an extra bass to a gig. My band got a last minute call about being the worm up act for a bigger local band, I only took one bass with me. On the next to last song I broke my E string... I have a Atlansia 2 string bass...

For the last song I had to borrow the main act´s bassist 5 stringer, I did not feel confertable with that. Will never happen again. Allways 2 basses (or 3-4 :) ).
 
#51
Baird6869 said:
I always bring a backup bass to gigs. IMO, it is unprofessional not to do so.
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On the one hand, I agree completely with the sentiment that it's unprofessional not to be 100% prepared for any possibility.

On the other hand, I've been a gigging professional bassist since 1974 and in all those years I have needed to resort to a backup instrument exactly zero times. I.e., never. Not once. Nothing has ever happened in the thousands of shows I've ever done that rendered my bass unplayable. Never broke a string. Never had the electronics die. Never even had a battery die. Never had it fall off a stand or chair in such a way as to damage the instrument. Never had it spontaneously burst into flames. Never had it stolen before the gig (though I did have one stolen after the gig once...)

So I realize I'm way overdue for a catastrophe and that I'm pushing my luck by not bringing a backup...but I almost never do.
 
#53
It is not lack of proper maintenance that exposes you to trouble when you travel without a backup. When it comes to keeping up my stuff, I do it well. What not having a backup bass exposes you to is plain old misfortune: someone else knocking your stuff over, jacks breaking off, etc.

A band isn't like an orchestra where there's three of everything already. If any part of a four or five-piece band goes down, that's HUGE.

It's nothing personal when someone opines that it is unprofessional not to carry a backup bass. The fact is that it is a prudent thing to do, especially if money is at stake. Not 3 or 4 backups, just one. The backup doesn't have to be a world class instrument, or even up to the level of your main squeeze, just something to keep the show from crashing. All this is true of backup amp heads, too.

There is no earthly reason to take a backup cabinet. That's just silly.
 
#55
Edward G. said:
There is no earthly reason to take a backup cabinet. That's just silly.
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The funny thing is, I've had more amp/speaker failures over the years than bass failures.

When I was doing more high profile shows, I always had a second on stage. I needed one exactly once. It was by my side and saved a very important showcase for some major label honks. As I've gotten older, and I'm out of that realm, I bring a second, very inexpensive bass and leave it in the car. I've never needed it. If I do, the KB player and singer would break into the "string break" song, and I would be up and running before the tune was over. Of course, if I get there and someone had stolen it, that would be a whole other matter.:D
 
#59
I think a backup is a very good idea if you have one . I did a gig a couple years ago that was about 40 miles from our home town at an outside festival . I brought my 80's TL5 and my SX jazz 5 for a backup . We were the opening band an were to do a three hour set so the band following us wasn't even at the gig yet . I did the sound check with my TL5 and the sound guy gave me a thumbs up after getting it dialed in . I went out to the board to talk to the other guys in the band and Jimmy , the sound guy , said he would like to do one more adjustment to my sound . When I got up and played a little more the bass started making some crackling sounds through my amp and the PA . The barrel jack was going bad and if I didn't have a backup I would have been screwed .Luckily the noise my bass made didn't blow any drivers in the PA and the gig went great .

Granted , that was the only time in 40 years of playing that I had a bass screw up enough to be unplayable but I was sure glad I had a spare . Also the first 15 or 20 years I only had one bass most of the time because I bought the best bass I could afford and wasn't making much money , just like most young people . Back in the 70's there weren't decent cheap basses like there are now so if you wanted a backup you pretty much had to buy a Fender , Ric or maybe a Gibson to get something decent .

If you can't afford a backup learn the basics of setup like truss rod adjustment and how the bridge saddle work . Have a few tools that work for those in your gig bag or case . Also when you change your strings save the old ones and keep the for a spare set in case you break one unless you can afford a new set for a spare . Also if you have an active bass keep a spare battery always .
 
#60
- Determining need by the fact that you haven't previously had a failure - hmm, that's some interesting thinking there. ;)

- I think there are different rules for the orchestra. It's easy to see how impractical it would be for an orchestra to show with backups. There wouldn't be real estate. But, that's not the case in the electric world.

Just-in-case planning is an essential part of life - and business. In my line of work, if you didn't demonstrate just-in-case type of planning with your projects, you would not be successful. And you'd probably be unemployed.
 

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