Am I Being Played?

[Slough Feg Bass]

oh that is a good one!

What I did for many years was just keep the 'ol Peavey 300 Series with a 1x15 no name cab in there.

Served it's purpose for many years being the practice space rig.

 

[Skasteadyb]

Or just leave your cab only there

 

[GranSportMan]

Repeat- "Never leave the head." Why leave a light head that you can pack up in two minutes flat? (I used to own a Markbass LMIII head as well- and I could setup my whole rig (two cabinets) in 5 minutes. The cabinet- that is a little more acceptable to leave, but if it is in new condition, I wouldn't leave that either.

Exactly. I have a Little Mark III and it goes where I goes. Period. At least take your head home with you as well as your guitar. The worst that will happen is they will blow your cabinet. If that's a worry, then take that home too.

 

[DamienMTL]

just pop out the fuse in your amp if it's just in the power cord block.

 

[gustobassman]

No reason to beat a dead horse. I think OP probably gets it by now. Take stuff out, all is good.

That being said... just wait until you have a manager that "ok'd it with the opening bands that they could use your stuff" without asking you FIRST if that was cool. I recently dealt with that on a tour. After 2 gigs of me saying no politely (to the other bands) and angrily to the (now ex) manager, he finally got it. It's kinda hard to play a gig with no rig.

Granted I am always appreciative if a band says "sure, use my cab", but I will never assume their stuff is mine to use/abuse.

 

[vmabus]

If it were me, I'd peruse Craig's list and pawn shops for some Peavey gear from the '80s. Heavy enough that anyone would think twice before grabbing; rugged enough not to worry about damage.

 

[Lichtaffen]

This is just me, but i never leave my gear anywhere that is not a friends house and even then I am very cautious. I do not like people touching my stuff without me being there. I ABSOLUTELY would not leave my bass anywhere though.

To answer your question, I would feel very taken advantage of. I would just take your rig home with you one day so the other dudes would get the hint.

Exactly how I feel. It sucks lugging your cabs back and forth, especially a 4x10. That's why I bought a 1x12 and I used to bring that to the rehearsal space with a lightweight head. Yeah, you have to make more trips, but think about that trip you have to make to the repair shop if any of your gear gets damaged. Plus you don't want suspicion or bad blood. Just tell them you jam with a friend once a week at his place and you need to take your gear home. As far as those other bass players are concerned F*** them, buy your own gear.

 

[Melodicgroove]

I'd say let them keep using it as not to show distrust. Know better next time though.

 

[hexybeast]

Occasional use is fine but when it becomes a habit of two to three times a week, forget that. Are they at least leaving a beer or two in the fridge each week? Do they put you on a cool guest once in awhile? No? Time to discuss some terms.
Perhaps suggest to them you each pitch in for a practice rig for the studio and if thats meet with a cool response I think you'll have your answer.

 

[firechariot]

from a reverse angle.......
I used to rent a rehearsal space with a Drummer in Vancouver B.C. to practice bass'n'drums. He provided a very powerful PA for my bass(direct) and his Kick drum. One week, another local band, who was friends with my drummer used the space, and left their bass amp with him. When it was our time to rehearse again, I asked drummy if I could use their Eden Combo Bass Amp. He called their bassey and got approval.(The guy said,"Just dont blow it up....cuz if you do, you're gonna pay for it")
Well, I worked that amp out that night. I ran it at @ 75% for @ 2 hrs and it sounded Great! No problems at all. Well, A few days later I got a call from the Eden's owner. He angrily said that I broke his amp, and he wanted me to pay for it. I told him that the amp worked without a hitch, and when I shut it down I was relieved because there were no problems. He said," well....it just doesn't sound the same. I gotta turn it up to a higher level to get the same volume that i'm used to. And It sounds different now." "Different How?"I asked. "JUST DIFFERENT...I cant explain it" he shouts. He was kinda frustrated because he couldn't articulate what the audible difference was. "So it's not broken, but it sounds different? Is that what you're saying? What do you want me to do?"I asked.
"AHHHHH...F--- IT!" he shouted and hung up.
I realized that I'd probably worked his amp more than he ever had and even though I didn't 'break' his amp, I did put mileage on it. City Mileage. When I tried to compensate him, he refused, but stated that I could never use his amp(s) again.
Thus:
I dont borrow amps for rehearsals anymore, and I don't lend them either. It's like lending running shoes.
Some folks step light, but some step HEAVY.

 

[Kukulkan61]

I want to know where you got the gimmick tube amp

 

[SAlcott]

The bass Key club came along a bit later when the demand for bass guitar really kicked in.

 

[jive1]

If the PA is decent you can bring a DI and go straight into the board. I used to do that for rehearsals, no problems. I played a Blues gig for years without bringing an amp.

 

[jive1]

just pop out the fuse in your amp if it's just in the power cord block.

Sounds like a good idea, but I could see the following happening....

Guy tries to play through the amp but gets no sound. The guy freaks out because he knows it's not his, and doesn't want to get busted. They start to take apart the amp to try to figure out what's wrong, and the next thing you know it's more messed up. Or they figure out the fuse is missing, and they get a replacement fuse.

Actually, I can see a sitcom episode from something like this.

 

[gumtown]

or he substitutes the fuse for rolled up tinfoil fuse shaped thing which blows at 800 degrees or 4000 amps, which ever comes first.

 

[Halvorsen]

Best bet is to find a used cab that you don't care about to leave there. Then I would ask for a small discount on your share for the rent each month.

If you take your head and bass home and leave your nice 4x10 there you never know what mismatched head will end up plugged in to it.

I've had one blown this way. Giant tube head run full blast through a vintage 2x15. Oops, we don't have any money because we're on tour.

Or how about mismatched ohm ratings and sketchy power cables. Or someone who doesn't know the difference runs an instrument cable in to the back of it and cranks along for a few hours.

Sooner or later, you'll find out it's been dragged to someone else's gig too.

GET A BEATER CAB!

 

[Frank Tuesday]

I leave all my gear in our shared practice space which is shared with 4 other bands. My gear has been damaged twice: Once, one PA speaker got blown, and it was replaced with no cash outlay on my part. They called me in the middle of their practice as soon as it happened. The second time, someone spilled a drink on my cab. They left a note offering to pay for any repair costs.

I know everyone that I share space with, and would consider many of them to be friends. If you don't trust everyone that has access to your space, don't leave anything behind.

 

[Runlikegregg]

i'm in the same situation.
i trust the people using my amp and have made a point of trying to meet them all. But most importantly I trust our drummer (who is the one is multiple bands).
Things happen. and they are often no one's fault. I trust everyone is reasonable.
and why not? is my amp so precious? would it really be better to have 3 bass rigs in the room?

 

[Runlikegregg]

This is just me, but i never leave my gear anywhere that is not a friends house and even then I am very cautious. I do not like people touching my stuff without me being there. I ABSOLUTELY would not leave my bass anywhere though.

To answer your question, I would feel very taken advantage of. I would just take your rig home with you one day so the other dudes would get the hint.

that's some baby-poopie right there. why would you do that? just to shag up their rehearsal?

 

[DaveLS]

WOW! 7 pages of dead horse beatings including a few floggings that start with, "don't want to beat a dead horse" right before the whip comes out! Awesome.