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.
Well you know, a back-up amp isn't really ever needed
until your primary amp dies on you. And if that happens at a gig and you don't have a back-up, you're pretty much done for the night. An easy thing to do is to not sell off the last amp you used before you bought your primary amp. Easy-peasy you have a back up amp. Of course then you have to make a point of taking that amp with you. And, if this is your first amp, that's not an option anyhow.
I have an Eden WT500/800 amp that is my primary. It was upgraded to 800-watts bridged and that's how I use it. My first Eden amp was a Nemesis RS400, which to me was a surprisingly good amp. When I had my primary in the shop, it stepped up and became my primary amp for a couple of months and I gigged with it just fine. It doesn't have the warmth that my WT amp does, but it's still a great sounding amp. I didn't carry it with me all the time, but I didn't have the problem with my primary during a gig either, so no big deal. However when you have a catastrophic failure of your primary at a gig, unless you carry a back up with you...you're done!
Last year I bought an Eden TN-226, which is a 225-watt class D amp that weighs all of 4.7-lbs. and I keep it in a shoulder bag. Now, I usually bring it along as a back-up in case my primary fails during a gig. I haven't had the problem yet, but I can easily carry that little Class D amp with me.
But you know, if your group has a PA system that you use for gigs, you don't need a back-up amp. If you have a DI box with a built-in preamp, you can plug that right into your PA system and you're good to go.
I had purchased a WTDI (street price $149) to plug into a Peavey 112 combo that I was required to use at this small brew pub where we hosted open-mic nights on most Fridays for about 2½-years. I just could not get a sound I liked out of that amp. So, I would plug that WTDI into the effects return of that Peavy amp bypassing the Peavey preamp and only using itspower section. Since my WTDI has a built-in Eden WT preamp plus an adjustable compressor, I can make virtually any amp sound like my Eden amps and that worked great.
Then, one Friday night I showed up and there was no little bass amp there anymore. Come to find out it belonged to someone who worked that and after about 2-years hey decided to take it home. Scared me for all of about 10-seconds. Then I pulled my WTDI out of my gig bag, plugged my bass into it and plugged my WTDI into a channel of the PA. It worked beautifully, I still had my Eden sound that I like so much and I had extra room on what was a tiny stage because I wasn't using an amp.
So I'd recommend that you get yourself a DI with built-in preamp of whatever flavor you want. Since I use Eden and DNA gear, which were all designed by the same guy, I got the Eden WTDI. Other brands make their own versions of DI+preamp, so check them out if Eden isn't your bag. It is mine, and for just $149 and at just 1¼-lbs in weight, it lives in my gig-bag. So I have a back-up everywhere I go and I can always get clean, clear, and warm sound.
If your group doesn't have its own PA or the venue doesn't have an FOH system, then that won't be enough and a class D backup amp would be a good choice. It's light enough that you'll take it with you. But if you can get bay with the DI+preamp in a stompbox, that's by far and away the easiest and least expensive choice.
Here's my Eden preamp and compressor built into a stompbox:
