Are two basses REALLY needed to bring to gigs?

[Count Bassie]

Playing the same notes elsewhere is not transposing. I mentioned it in case anyone actually thought it was. That's all.

Not sure how you came up with same muscles but... oh well. One of the things I do if I'm playing a repetitious line is change fingerings, playing the same notes in a different pattern. Gives my hands a rest. That too is not transposing. Still playing the same notes.


I mention this also because I know a lot of bassists who can play patterns differently but can't transpose to save their butt. It uses a different set of muscles... in your brain.

I was being... um, abstract, I guess. Doesn't matter. I just mean transferring notes so you can play them in the "current context"- of the moment- and they make sense. No, not really transposing, but altering what you do on-the-fly.

This took too much time! Anyway he survived it, and appears to still be playing. Probably takes 2 basses to gigs now...

 

[Marko 1]

I crack up at the term “lugging” when it comes to a 9.5 bass.

Okay, if you’re taking the subway or a taxi. different story,

 

[Brad Johnson]

The other place where the DI box works great as a backup is in the case of "stupid bassist tricks". Things like bringing your head but not bringing a speaker cable to connect it to the cab. Not that I know anyone who's ever done that .

A microphone cable and a DI box can fix that up real quick. Not that I know anyone who's ever done that

No offense to anyone but it seems most of the need for backups seems to be tied to the aforementioned tricks.

I've been there and done that too. The real trick is to learn from them (better yet, learn from others) and anticipate. When you buy batteries, buy a spare. They carry batteries that'll get you through a gig at the dollar stores. If you use one and get down to one left, that's when you restock, not after it's gone too. Not carrying even a used set of spare strings (a dead string is better than no string and can still get you through a gig) is a bad idea. And so on.

 

[Brad Johnson]

I was being... um, abstract, I guess. Doesn't matter. I just mean transferring notes so you can play them in the "current context"- of the moment- and they make sense. No, not really transposing, but altering what you do on-the-fly.

This took too much time! Anyway he survived it, and appears to still be playing. Probably takes 2 basses to gigs now...

IME there are alot of people here who don't know the difference... so why lead them to believe they're transposing merely by playing on a different string?

 

[Wasted Bassist]

Just a tip. The first gig I ever showed up to without a backup, I broke a string. It was my senior jazz recitial... I had to wait half an hour while someone ran to the trumpet player's house to grab my backup bass.

 

[atheos]

I've broken a string three times, tuner once and electrical malfunction once. Twice didn't have a backup, the string issue was OK since I could simply play using the remaining three. But the electrical malfunction in the active electronics at the end of sound check and about 1 hour before the gig... Yeah, had to make quite a few phone calls to get a bass for the gig. I was lucky it didn't happen in the middle of the gig. Always carried a backup since then, even on short gigs. Changing a string in the middle of a set while rest of the band noodles something and singer tells bad jokes is just lame. And you cannot replace a tuner or electronics or worst of all, neck or body. Always be prepared for the worst case scenario.

 

[lowphatbass]

There's an awful lot of stories about people breaking strings and being @$$ out due the fact that they didn't have a back-up bass. For goodness sake people, when you change your strings take the old set and careful rewind them just like the new ones you are installing. Put them back in the individual envelopes just like the new ones and tuck them away in your gig bag or whatever. If you do break a string you can quickly locate whichever string you need and you'll be back in business in not time at all.
There are times/gigs that don't lend themselves to "on the fly" string changing, so by all means carry that back-up bass, it's foolish not to.

Strings can be defective, but for the most part if you do break strings often there's a good chance that:

A-Your technique needs some refinement.
B-Your bass needs some adjustment or minor repair.
C-You're incorrectly installing your strings.

I've been a victim of (D-All of the above).

Sorry to derail, and VERY sorry if there's a Sticky on this!

 

[motionkid]

Ive ALWAYS brought a backup to any gig Ive ever played... never needed it... but its just a safety net just in case... because I use active basses mainly that extra variable involving the battery live has me on edge even if I change it 10 minutes before showtime... Id advise you keep 2. But if your THAT desparate for cash and sell all but one my advice to you would be if its active to keep the battery(s) fresh, replace your strings regularly (ESPECIALLY before performance) maintancence it regularly ect and just and take care of your bass... cause then itll take care of you.

 

[Wasted Bassist]

Just going to throw it out there that I broke my E string. IN THE MIDDLE OF CHAMELEON. Luckily the piano player had switched to the other electric keyboard, so I just played the line on the grand piano on the side of the stage. It did mean I had to do my solo with three strings though.

 

[Brad Johnson]

There's an awful lot of stories about people breaking strings and being @$$ out due the fact that they didn't have a back-up bass. For goodness sake people, when you change your strings take the old set and careful rewind them just like the new ones you are installing. Put them back in the individual envelopes just like the new ones and tuck them away in your gig bag or whatever. If you do break a string you can quickly locate whichever string you need and you'll be back in business in not time at all.
There are times/gigs that don't lend themselves to "on the fly" string changing, so by all means carry that back-up bass, it's foolish not to.

Strings can be defective, but for the most part if you do break strings often there's a good chance that:

A-Your technique needs some refinement.
B-Your bass needs some adjustment or minor repair.
C-You're incorrectly installing your strings.

I've been a victim of (D-All of the above).

Sorry to derail, and VERY sorry if there's a Sticky on this!

Some people can go decades without breaking a string, others maybe a week or so. If you're the latter and don't at least keep your old strings...

take a spare bass.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Just going to throw it out there that I broke my E string. IN THE MIDDLE OF CHAMELEON. Luckily the piano player had switched to the other electric keyboard, so I just played the line on the grand piano on the side of the stage. It did mean I had to do my solo with three strings though.

No problem, just switch to playing the real bass guitar part*.






*hint: it's not the part most bassists play.

 

[Wasted Bassist]

No problem, just switch to playing the real bass guitar part*.






*hint: it's not the part most bassists play.

I was playing something closely resembling Chameleon to be completely accurate. The bass part I played was what I believe to be the original bari sax part. None of us had written parts, but all of them knew the head and we jammed on it. Without the awesome funky bass part, it really lost something.

 

[Nic.]

A hardshell case. I currently use gigbags for all my basses and I just don't feel comfortable taking these to a gig. with my experience, whenever I put a bass in a gig bag and pull it out to get ready to play, the tuning pegs always seem to get knocked out of tune and a decent hardcase would be way more solid IMO

I started off with a hardshell, progressed to one of those "hard" cases with a cloth exterior, and ended up with a Mono. That's more than enough protection for average use, and it doesn't weigh you down. And my shuttle 3.0 fits into the side pocket.

Carry a set of tools around if you're not bringing a backup.

I would say a preamp is very useful. And carry around something that you can use as a monitor in a pinch. I just did a show over the weekend where some idiot cut off power to the bass amp on stage just when we went up. I played a show on a fretless without hearing myself at all.

Would like to bring a backup with me, but I don't feel like I actually need one. If my bass craps out, chances are, I'm able to fix it on the spot... and if I can't, I can always borrow another from someone, or in the worst case scenario, I suppose I can grab a guitar and run it through my octaver (I did that once when I wanted to jam but no bass was available)

If I had 2 basses, for most pub/small venue gigs I'd still only bring one, just because it's more to break/lose/transport.

Sounds like a really good reason to me.

I played for 35 years with one bass. Haven't broken a string since the day I began playing in 1965, and that was because I tried to tune it too high. I suppose I'm lucky that nothing ever went wrong with my electronics. But if you take two basses as a precaution, shouldn't you also take two amps?

Yeah, so bring an amp and a DI so you can go direct to house!

 

[Korladis]

I cant believe so many people carry more than one bass to a gig. For me and my band its just not a viable opinion most of the time. And if something goes wrong there are always other bands that can lend their gear if needed.

Carrying around two basses would be so much more trouble than its worth for me. I have played bass since 1997/98 and I never had a bass fail on me ever. The things that has happened have been batteries that has run out or string that have been broken. No need for an actual extra bass to fix those things.

Extra cables, strings, batteries are all good though.

You rely on there being other bands whose basses you can borrow?

That's a bit presumptuous. What if there's no other band, or their bassist is a jerk, like me, who isn't keen on letting complete strangers handle their bass?

What do you do then when a strap fails and your bass plummets to the ground, breaking off a tuning peg, or some idiot crashes into it and breaks it somehow?

The worst that ever happened to me was a pickup coming loose and ceasing to work, and it was okay because it was a two-pickup bass. But what if it hadn't been? I'd have been quite thankful to have another bass there.

There was a period not too long ago where only one of my basses was in playing condition (the other two were at the shop). I was very, very nervous about something happening to it. Having a backup is good for peace of mind, knowing that if something happens, it's no big deal and you can just switch to another bass in five seconds.

 

[Count Bassie]

IME there are alot of people here who don't know the difference... so why lead them to believe they're transposing merely by playing on a different string?

Well that's right. I've been distracted with a level of hurricane-like busy-ness at home, and got confused. Not transposing!

Duh. I do know the difference...

 

[Jim Nazium]

OK, so we all need to bring a backup bass, a backup amp, and a backup speaker cabinet. I think it would also be a good idea to have a backup bass player, in case you have too much to drink, fall and injure your hands, etc.

 

[Korladis]

OK, so we all need to bring a backup bass, a backup amp, and a backup speaker cabinet. I think it would also be a good idea to have a backup bass player, in case you have too much to drink, fall and injure your hands, etc.

The suggestion of a backup bass and a DI has been made numerous times.

And a bass player is a person, not a piece of equipment. There's a big difference.

 

[Kenny Allyn]

Jackson Tenn about a year ago, I bring one bass to save space, right out of the case the neck has reset itself with a back-bow unplayable on about 4 frets, never had any issues with that bass before. Now I carry two.

Last year house gig at our MBS (Memphis Blues Society) Jam night, totally random freak thing, a jack breaks off in the input making the amp un usable … back up amp was on stage in about 56 seconds (both Mark Bass LM IIs) no one knew there was ever a problem. Yeah I know this was an amp but you get the point, about having a backup.

July 4th Beale street in Memphis, five minutes before our gig my guitar player Darren J. shows me his Strat has a cracked nut on the E string … as luck would have it he still has the piece AND Super Glue and he fixes it, but what if the piece was lost?

Never bring a backup nothing will ever go wrong … and how much “backup” gear to bring? Well how about this, we do quite a few small tourist venues and when booking them we always ask about “do you have a house PA” (many of these places do) well at one gig they assured us they did, only to find out they had PA speakers but nothing to power it with (kind of a miscommunication there) in true MacGyver fashion out of our band box bag-o-tricks, came the backup LM II I always carry , a mini mixer, a Boss RV5 stomp box instant PA, not only did it get us through the gig but sounded great too.

I know no picture no "instant PA" ... here ya go from my iPhone

Oh and there isn’t anyone out there I can “borrow” a bass from … we don’t do the multi-band gig thing, in a working band doing 4 hour gigs it’s all you.

 

[Simorchid]

In 15 years of gigging I have never brought a spare bass or broken a string on my bass. That's not to say that it is not a good idea, just that it is not really essential. However, if you do take a spare I would recommend getting a sturdy padded gig bag like the ones that Mono make www.moncase.com, which also come in dual cases for two basses. Then you can pop that on your back and still have two hands free to carry your amp rack and your pedal board and you don't have to make five trips to your car to load in and out for a gig.
The things that you always need spares of are strings, cables, batteries and a D.I. box in case your amp dies.

 

[malthumb]

Okay guys, let's face it. Bassists are different, comfort levels vary, and GIGS ARE DIFFERENT. There are some gigs where I won't leave the house without at least two basses, a DI box, extra strings and batteries and a multi point power strip. There are other gigs where I show up with just the bass that's been treating me best, plus the required gig bag candy (batteries, strings, optical screwdriver set, Allen wrench set, wire cutters).

Carry a backup or not? Measure your circumstances and your comfort level and proceed accordingly.

To the OP......I would at a minimum make certain that I have the ABILITY to take a backup, even if I often choose not to.