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Bass Malfunctions that Impacted Gigs - With Poll!!!

Has one of your basses ever died/broke on a gig?

  • Yup.

    Votes: 50 33.8%

  • Nope.

    Votes: 98 66.2%
  • Total voters
    148
  • Poll closed .
#81
I've had several malfunctions in the past, and a couple recently, but nothing that ever stopped a show. The best one was when I was 19...in a rock band that used flashpots, and my cord was directly over a flashpot. I told the drummer to hang on before he counted off the song but he ignored me. Burnt the cord completely in half. Boy do I miss flashpots...stupid Great White ruining it for everybody.
 
#82
18 years and many 100s of gigs, never broken a string or had a battery die. I have had output jacks fail, knobs fall off, cords crap out. Had a backup every time.
The worst incidents both involved Music Mans: on a break my singer moved one of the floor lights out of his way, closer to my Stingray. Melted the finish right off. The second incident was an old Sterling. That neck was so unstable the action would get higher between sets. I remember wondering if it was me (drinking heavily) or the bass that was the problem.
 
#83
For years I always took a backup bass and never had a problem that needed one. Never broken a string or anything. Then about 4 years ago my band was playing a gig in Waikiki in a place where the parking garage was only 6'2" tall. My Xterra is 6'2". So I took my small Nissan Versa. Room for one speaker, amp head, gig bag, two wheel dolly and one bass. Shoulda strapped a beater bass to the roof rack.....

I took my Lakland JO4 with Audere preamp. I plugge it in, and distortion. Not the good kind of distortion. I can't get a clean sound. Battery is dying. Look through my gig bag and cant find the spare that I always keep there. Must have used it and forgotten to replace it.

No problem, I'm in Waikiki and there is an ABC convenience store on every block here (sometimes more than one). I go to 4 or 5 of these stores, as well as a couple of other places and all I find is AAA and other small camera type batteries. Not a 9V in sight. Damn. Go back to the gig and the guitar player gives me an old battery he took out of one of his effects. It was distorting a little, but better than the one I had. I play the gig distorted and farting every time I dig in. But I make it through.

So, the first time I don't take two basses is the first time I've ever needed two basses. Just my luck.

Things I learned. Always take two basses (I like to make one of them passive, less to go wrong), or at least everything you need to fix yours, including batteries, strings (old ones will do in a pinch), tools, etc.

I made it through the gig. Didn't sound that good, but got the job done. And had a great time, which brings up something else I've learned. When the "stuff" hits the fan make the best of the situation and don't let it get you down. Just have fun anyway.
 
#84
One other thing that happened to me. In 1999 my band was hired to tour military basses in Japan and Korea. I get to Japan and discover that teh neck is back bowed and the strings flat on the fingerboard. No one has an allen wrench that fits. A young Navy guy takes us on the subway to Yokohama where there are a bunch of music stores and in one of them I find an allen wrench kit that will work. I adjust the relief and play the show - and always carry any allen wrenches I may need now.
 
#85
Had an issue where I played the strings, nothing came through the FOH. It was through the amp and the monitors but nothing FOH.. NO one could figure it out, luckily it was a small venue and I have an 8x10 fridge so we moved it to the front of the stage and cranked it. Wasn't the best sound but I really enjoyed drowning out the guitarists for once :D
 
#86
I always bring two basses. That being said, we play songs in two different tunings (C standard and Drop D), so to retune one to the other would suck. I've played the songs we usually need drop D tuning for on my C bass after the output jack on my D bass died, but transposing on the fly sucks. I guess what I should really do is just adjust to playing everything on the C bass. Besides, that gives a an excuse to buy another Dingwall as a backup!
 

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