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back up bass

Pete Nixon

Pete Nixon

May 17, 2018
13
16
68
UK
#1
Hi all, my first post in a while. After many years of GAS and trying various basses I have ended up with a new Musicman Stingray special, 4 string, which I love. I have been gigging without a backup bass but everyone tells me I should get one. So my dilemma is what bass. I'm considering a Sandberg VM4 or VS4, Dingwall Combustion or the Modern Vintage MPV4. I am based in the uk. I currently play in a covers band playing all styles from rock to pop and everyting in between, from all eras. Any thoughts/advice would be most welcome, what do you use, if anything.
 
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#3
what @chris_b said, above!

some folks like to back up their main player with something similar, and some folks prefer something different. but adding a second instrument (and more, and more :laugh: ) is fun, so have at it. get a backup if you think it would be fun to have another ax, not because you think "everyone" knows what they're talking about! if you get a second one = don't skimp! it doesn't have to be expensive but it has to play well for you. you want to pick it up and be torn, i.e., "is this one better than my #1?" :D ;)

me: i've tended to go with 'duplicates', more or less, of whatever my "#1" has been at the time. but these days any of my axes are a good backup for another --- they all play well, so it doesn't make a lot of difference. e.g., i'd take two axes to a gig for sport, but i'd probably only play one of them, and either one could be my #1....for that moment, or forever...just because they're fun to play, and they're reliable.

Pete Nixon said:
I have been gigging without a backup bass but everyone tells me I should get one. So my dilemma is what bass.
Click to expand...
"everyone" is blowin' smoke. you only need one, reliable, great-playing instrument. ;) disclosure: i have 6-7.

good luck with a "back up bass!" :thumbsup:
 
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#4
I think a backup amp/head would be more useful. Nothing fails on a passive bass, active eq is usually a battery. If the nut fails it can be temporary fixed with a matchstick. But if you are gassing for something else, buy it. But just for a backup? Something inexpensive, it may sit in your vehicle in a bad parking lot.
 
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#15
I was always a "I-can-only-play-one-at-a-time" guy, even with my main band screaming at me to get a back-up, until I was at practice with my side project on a Sunday afternoon and broke an E string with my main band having a gig that night.

This was 1983 and there weren't a whole lot of places open on a Sunday evening. I wound up paying $55.00 (USD) for a cheap set of bass strings at the only play which was open for about 30 miles.

GET A BACK-UP BASS! I highly recommend it.

That said, don't necessarily go with a "I-HAVE-TO-get-something-better" (or "cheaper") mindset. This is a blank canvas for you. Get an instrument that speaks to you.

Hunt the used music stores and pawn shops. It will enlighten you to instruments you might not be thinking about (or necessarily have heard about). Most importantly: play a bunch of instruments before you pull the trigger. When you get the right bass in your hands, you'll know it.
 
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#16
Michael Stanley 2112 said:
I was always a "I-can-only-play-one-at-a-time" guy, even with my main band screaming at me to get a back-up, until I was at practice with my side project on a Sunday afternoon and broke an E string with my main band having a gig that night.

This was 1983 and there weren't a whole lot of places open on a Sunday evening. I wound up paying $55.00 (USD) for a cheap set of bass strings at the only play which was open for about 30 miles.

GET A BACK-UP BASS! I highly recommend it.

That said, don't necessarily go with a "I-HAVE-TO-get-something-better" (or "cheaper") mindset. This is a blank canvas for you. Get an instrument that speaks to you.

Hunt the used music stores and pawn shops. It will enlighten you to instruments you might not be thinking about (or necessarily have heard about). Most importantly: play a bunch of instruments before you pull the trigger. When you get the right bass in your hands, you'll know it.
Click to expand...
A spare set of strings would have saved a lot of the hassle... ;)
 
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#17
4StringDave said:
A spare set of strings would have saved a lot of the hassle... ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah ... that was 40 years ago. I've picked up a few tricks o' the trade since then. I was assuming most of us here carry spare strings. I don't even gig anymore and you should see the size of my gig bag I still haven't managed to empty out.

In spite of that, what if it had been a broken tuner or a bad connection in the electronics?

There's nothing wrong with bringing "extras". My car has a spare tire and I carry jumper cables and oil and two spark plugs.
 
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#18
Thanks for your input guys, always informative and entertaining. I agree about backup amps etc, however I go straight into the desk via a radial pro48, just some compression and everything cut below 40hz and above 4k. I also use Ultimate pro11 iems. A p bass might be a good idea, wont consider a fender though as I hate glossy necks.
Watch this space.
 
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#20
My concept of a backup bass has changed thru' the years. I've been a Stingray5 guy since around 2000, and for years my backup bass was another Stingray5. In the last maybe 5-6 years I started diversifying my stable and for some projects I consistently didn't use a Musicman. So the concept of a backup bass started changing (couldn't afford to have 2X every bass I used with a certain regularity live). In early 2019 I got what I think is the most versatile "impersonator" bass I've ever owned (probably on par with a Peavey T-40 I briefly owned in 2016), a Schecter CV-5. I swapped the factory 3 position pickup selector for a pickup blend knob, that's all it needed, plays great, super skinny neck, a real good fit for my preferences. It's a 2 (guitar looking) humbucker bass with a series/single/parallel switch for each pickup. It can get in the ballpark of allmost anything (Fender tones, Musicman'ish, Thunderbird'ish, etc.) but also offers a range of modern and hi-fi tones. So, I strung my "backup" Stingray5 with flatwounds (have 2 very distinct usage situations for both of them now) and for a while now this CV-5 (similar in pickups/electronics configuration to Schecter's C5 Apocalypse model BTW) has been my "multi-employed" backup bass, no matter what I bring as #1 (Stingray, P, J, Warwick Star Bass).
 
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