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Backup amp, a necessity?

#62
Peteyboy said:
Also: the idea of having a backup amp in my car is odd to me. You should probably bring a soldering iron, a sandwich, and a first aid kit too.

Say I'm onstage and my amp fails and I've got a backup in the car outside. Now what? "Ladies and gentlemen, please excuse Pete while he runs 3 blocks to where he parked to get his glove compartment Elf. And his pastrami on rye."

No people like show people.
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Most fit in your gig bag. Besides it's better than saying, "sorry folks, the show is over (after 15 minutes) so enjoy all that money you spent on cover charges, food and drink while you listen to the DJ play the Best of Cardi B".
 
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#64
arbiterusa said:
I gig frequently. I bring a cheap direct box in case something goes really bad. I've never had to use it. If I were seriously worried my gear might fail during a gig, I'd be buying different gear.

Don't bring backup basses either, unless I know someone is sitting in that night - they get my fretless with lines. Little unfair to throw them out into the mean world with an unlined board.

I bring backups of things that are likely to fail: cables. Never had one of those go bad during a gig either, but I've had to lend them to folks who didn't spend the money on high-grade cable.

I mean, do what you want. If you gotta bring a full PA as backup for your PA, because you're worried it's going to go bad, bring it. But you should be buying gear that's reliable.
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Everything is reliable until it fails and everything fails eventually. When it fails may have nothing to do with the brand nor the brand's reputation.
 
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#65
ShawnG said:
I’m still starting out, so no live playing with a band yet. But I am hoping that is in my future.
Do those of you that do gig (small bar/brewery-type venues, private parties, play at churches, etc., not touring bands) feel that a backup amp is a necessary piece of your “kit?”
I tend to be a “be prepared” kind of guy, so feel that if I have committed to play somewhere with a group, I should be committed to making sure I have the equipment with me to make that happen in the event a key piece of my equipment decides that night is the night to quit working. I see myself taking an extra bass, extra strings, etc. But are modern-day amps reliable to the point of not really needing a backup?
I currently have a Fender Stage 800 amp that I like. I’ve considered looking for a used Rumble V3 2x10 expansion cab (thinking that 800 watts through two 2x10s should suffice for almost any venue without PA support). Wouldn’t need to hook up the extra 2x10 if not needed. If I added a used Trace Elliott ELF, or something similar, to the package, that and the expansion cab could serve as a pretty nice backup. At used prices, an ELF and an extra Fender 2x10 aren’t cheap, but also not a huge financial commitment.
The fact that the Stage 800 is basically a computer driving the amp makes me think a backup would be a pretty good idea.
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Most of the shows I play have FOH support. Depending on the sound company and the quality of their monitors, I’ll take either a spare integrated head, and or an Eden WTDI.

I usually play through 2 cabs, and odds are I will not blow up both of them, and for most gigs, one of either of them will be enough. The other reason I use 2 cabs is I don’t have to run them at their peak output level.

800 watts into 2-10s is a lot wattage. One of my 2-10 cabs is rated @ 500 and will handle some fairly large venues, but it’s going to be close to it’s peak output as I play in larger ensembles. Trust me, you don’t want to be rebuilding your speakers, so word to the wise, don’t under engineer your rig.

Be sure of your cabinet ratings before you throw 800 watts into a 2-10 cab. Also, keep in mind the deeper your bass sound, the more wattage you need and harder your speakers are going to work. If you hear a speaker fart (a funny sort of distortion), turn down and or Re-EQ immediately.

Best wishes landing a gig.
 
#66
i voted "no."

(event gigs) - if i smoked an amp on a gig = DI to FOH/monitors.
(dive gigs) - go home and get rig B, or tough it out through the small PA/monitors.

it also depends on how well you take care of your stuff. i use my stuff, don't baby it at all, but i do take reasonable precaution against accidents and i don't throw it around. every rig i have has nicks/scratches/marks somewhere --- but i also test and/or inspect and 'qualify' the rig i'll be using for important gigs.
 
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#68
Altitude said:
Ironically I do have two cars also.
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x3. It is stupid, but I have two cars which seems far more reasonable than two basses. Obviously I wouldn't (couldn't) bring both to a "gig." (Edit: I own more than 2 basses, I've just never taken 2 along)


I only play at church. I bring one (passive) bass, but I have two different basses (identical model) I like for this. I've lost the amp, which is used as a monitor and just had to listen to "house PA" which was a huge exercise in listening and concentration. Fixed by the next service that day, but I don't recall what happened. I bring extra strings, but not a wire cutter so whether or not it would actually work would depend on which string I broke. I think I'd just bow out for the week if something really happened. I'm just not that important. :)
 
#70
ShawnG said:
I’m still starting out, so no live playing with a band yet. But I am hoping that is in my future.
Do those of you that do gig (small bar/brewery-type venues, private parties, play at churches, etc., not touring bands) feel that a backup amp is a necessary piece of your “kit?”
I tend to be a “be prepared” kind of guy, so feel that if I have committed to play somewhere with a group, I should be committed to making sure I have the equipment with me to make that happen in the event a key piece of my equipment decides that night is the night to quit working. I see myself taking an extra bass, extra strings, etc. But are modern-day amps reliable to the point of not really needing a backup?
I currently have a Fender Stage 800 amp that I like. I’ve considered looking for a used Rumble V3 2x10 expansion cab (thinking that 800 watts through two 2x10s should suffice for almost any venue without PA support). Wouldn’t need to hook up the extra 2x10 if not needed. If I added a used Trace Elliott ELF, or something similar, to the package, that and the expansion cab could serve as a pretty nice backup. At used prices, an ELF and an extra Fender 2x10 aren’t cheap, but also not a huge financial commitment.
The fact that the Stage 800 is basically a computer driving the amp makes me think a backup would be a pretty good idea.
Click to expand...
My gigging amp is a Fender Bassman 100T with 2 1x15 Bassman neo cabs. As a backup, I carry a Rumble 500 head. Since I use 2 cabs, it is not likely both would blow, so if the 100T or a cab fail, I'm still in business. I like using the 500 head because it is light and takes up very little space.
I've never had a bass fail or a string break, but I have had 3 amps die on me, but I still carry backups for everything.
 
#71
I suspect most of the time having a backup is more for piece of mind than anything. We just feel better knowing we have the backup even though we never, ever need it. So we bring backups for the easy things; basses, amp heads, strings, batteries, cables. But other really important things have no backup; PA speakers, mixing boards, flakey band members. If any of these crap out your gig is in trouble.

If your gear has ever given you reason to doubt it then apply common sense and fix / replace things to make them reliable. Or bring a backup. Or both. For heaven's sake, if your input jack is loose fix it for real before a gig. Keep tabs on your batteries.

And be sure your backup is reliable. What good is a backup bass if it also has a dead battery? Will that backup amp work for you after living in your car 24/7 for a year?
 
#72
Bassdirty said:
I bring 2 basses, and just my main amp, no backup. never have. BUT, we always have Full PA support, and I get a cab mic and a direct line through a DI box, so if my amp died, I could just have a lil more bass in my monitor, and get by. Wouldn't sound as full on stage, but the crowd doesn't care about the stage sound so much. ;)

If I didn't always go through the PA, I still wouldn't bring a backup..how often do heads actually fail during Live shows? (I don't Use a PF) :bag: :whistle: (oh no he dinnit- Yup, he did) lol. jk…. prolly.

;)

YMMV

T$
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Totally get it & I'm with you. But my MB200 is so small, how hard is it to throw in my gig bag. I don't mind going samples as well. In a pinch it really wouldn't be that big a deal with some sort of monitor system.
 
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#73
If I am on a cross continent van tour with more than say, 10+ shows in a run, then yes, I will throw the ol 400RB in the back of the van trailer just in case. However, last time I blew an amp, it has been on decent size gig where there was a backline available and a stage hand swapped the amp mid song and I was up and running before the next song started, so I wouldn't really call it a necessity these days. Besides, even before I started doing those kinds of gigs, most bands are cool if they see someone having trouble on stage and will offer to help out.
 
#74
I always take a back up amp with me just in case. I've only needed one a couple of times when I had an Ampeg SVT2 PRO. It taught me a valuable lesson and so I take a back up bass, cables, strap and I go through 2 cabs just in case one fails.
I know that sounds paranoid but, hey, I feel that I'm ready for all contingencies.
 
#75
Pings Bass said:
I got this one for my mobile recording rack:

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00006B83A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_.a0CFbY50ZMXQ

These solve the wall wart problem:

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07H9LPFDB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Ad0CFbW43Y5Q4

Works great to power the interface and laptop, plus a PDU for whatever misc stuff I've got on stage. (I have a separate PDU for my bass amp.)
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OOPS! wrong thread! :banghead:

Just so I'm not totally derailing this one, my $.02 on backup amps is that I've never carried one, but I've generally always had good PA support and have had to go ampless for gigs at least a couple times due to equipment failure. These days, I prefer going ampless, so it's not the worst thing that could happen!
 
#79
I normally don't bring a spare but it isn't a bad idea, especially if you don't have 100% confidence in the reliability of your main amp. I've had an amp fail maybe once or twice over the years, but not in recent memory. I've blown speakers a few times as well, but not in a really long time either, and in those cases I was asking for it by pushing the drivers way beyond their rated power handling.
 

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