Do you bring a back up bass to gigs?

[chrls_vns]

I ALWAYS bring a backup.. I had the battery die in my active bass one night during the middle of our set.. A battery change is simple enough, but at the time I didn't know it was the battery, nor was I gonna dissect the problem right there on the stage.. I grabbed my other bass and finished the set and figured out what the problem was after the show. Also, most of our songs are played in drop tuning, but a couple are standard.. So I tune one to standard and the other in drop tuning and play both basses.. That helps me justify hauling both basses around, rather than having one that never gets played.

 

[electracoyote]

Maintenance, guys & girls. Good insurance against failures.

I'm all for maintanence.

But some things you can not "maintain," and regardless of how closely you inspect your bass, it can still fail you at the worst possible moment.

Anyone ever have an output jack fail? Just suddenly die on you? I don't mean come un-wired, I mean fail, die, turning your bass into a cacophony of screechy white noise. On a $1,200.00 T-Bird, not an el-cheapo. Well, 35 years of playing guitars and basses, I didn't even know it was possible.

But it happened to me, right in the middle of a very important gig. There was absolutely no way to anticipate it.

It took my electronics tech a half hour to figure out what was wrong. It was the last thing he checked, and he couldn't believe it. He said he couldn't remember the last time that happened. The jack was toast, needed to be replaced, but it worked just fine right up until the moment of impact when my world came crashing down around me for about a minute.

Again, there is no "maintenenace check" for that one. And there is no maintenance check for many things that can suddenly and mysteriously go wrong with your bass.

If I hadn't had a back-up, me, my band, the audience, and the venue would have been screwed until some heroic emergency measure was taken, and a lot of time wasted in the meanwhile.

Just be smart. My spare is right next to me in it's case at all times. If you can't look after your gear, that is a problem. Anyone tries to steal my bass is asking for a broken hand. And decent starter basses are so cheap these days, there's no excuse for a gigging musician not to at least own a second bass. Judging by the threads, about 2/3 of TB'ers swear by the cheapest basses made.

Or, tempt fate. It's no skin off my back.

And @ lowfreq33: Yeah, I'm being everyone's mom with this advice. So what? Take it or leave it, the smart players will take it.

 

[Johnny Crab]

Is it necessary to bring a back up bass, or should I just bring my main?

YES!
Your main bass WILL have a problem someday but YOU never know in advance which day(or night) that will be.

I carry 2 or 3 to every job.
The ONLY time I did not was due to private jet size.
My main bass at the time, Greco LP clone, decided to need a neck adjustment once we got to Mexico(altitude & humidity?). I was fortunate that we soundchecked the night before the show and I adjusted the trussrod, action, intonation that night in my room. It was such an experience that I took a picture(below). Loosen strings, put the foam under fret 7, push down near the nut to relieve some tension, turn rod 1/4 turn. Reset everything else and YAY!!! It was back to excellent.

 

[Fuzzbass]

I'm amazed that people think that TLC and maintenance will prevent failure. It's like saying "I don't smoke, so I won't get cancer".

In thirty years, I've had less than a dozen bass failures. Most were broken strings, but I've also had some that were not field-repairable: a couple were due to bad electronics, and at one gig the nut broke on my brand new Music Man Cutlass and the E string went flopping right off the side of the neck.

Even in the case of a broken string or other field-repairable problem: it's unprofessional to force your band to take an unscheduled break while you deal with it. Just grab the backup!

 

[krstko]

I many times don't have even a extra cable with me xD

 

[Marginal Tom]

The worst thing that can happen if you have a backup bass (or amp or cable) is that it could be stolen. If you're worried about this, buy cheap backup equipment.

The worst thing that can happen if you don't is your band getting booed off the stage, fired on the spot and stiffed on the pay.

If you think the first alternative is worse, then you don't need backup.

 

[The Stoke]

I bring an extra bass and amp... You never know.

 

[lowfreq33]

@electracoyote- I don't know who you are. You don't know who I am either. I do what I do, and it works for me. Feel free to do your thing, it's your life. Best wishes.

 

[Simorchid]

In 15 years of playing live I never did until this year the battery in my pre-amp died during a set. I had a spare, so it was only a five min break and then back into it but still embarrassing enough to make me a back up bass convert. Once bitten

 

[mcnach]

Those were going to be my words exactly! I always take two basses even though I have rarely needed the backup. I have broken strings and had my preamp battery die during the set. I could have kept one bass and stopped the set to fix it since I have spares. However, this is very unprofessional in my opinion. It will certainly kill the vibe with the crowd and clear the dance floor. If you have backup, you can switch basses, keep rocking, and fix it during the next break.

I won't deny that having a second bass ready is a good thing.

But...
Battery dying. This was totally preventable by you and it amounts to bad maintenance on your side. Why wait till it fails?

Another thing is my band would be able to play great stuff even with a member missing. I agree with you that stopping everything while someone changes a string, even if it is only 2min, is not good. But you can still entertain without a bass, or a guitar, or even drums or singer, for 2minutes or 5, surely?
The type of gigs 95% of people here do (or 99%) are the type where you can do that and turn it into a highlight of the show, fun and with good music, rather than a "shame", if the band is half decent. Of course it would not do if provide the music to a play

 

[Liam Wald]

Expect the best prepare for the worst.
I have never had an amp or bass fail in 40 years of gigging.
I always take a back up bass and amp head.
If I ever stop taking them something will fail...
Wanna bet?

 

[cacio]

dano longhorn is my back up bass.Short scale and lighweight,so really transposrtable,and perfectly for r'n'r.If my precision stops working my dano will do the job perfectly

 

[Nickthebass]

I will always take a back up. Better to have it and not need it. What do you gain by not doing so (assuming you already have 2nd bass)?

I've been to a number of gigs that were interupted by technical issues and I don't remember them ever being a highlight of the show. Reputation is all in this business. Of course you should take a back up bass.

 

[Rob Martinez]

Sometimes. Depends on the gig and where. Yeah, it is good to be prepared. Still, you have to be able to deal with certain situations. I always make sure I bring a reliable bass. A back up is if something goes MAJOR wrong with the bass. That has never happened to me. For 25 years I owned one bass: a Rickenbacker 4000. It NEVER broke or let me down. I broke a string once, I just finished the gig with three strings. Was it less than desirable? Yes. Can I do it? Yes. These days, I play a Hofner Icon or a Waterstone Indra bass. Both are very reliable and well made. Never had a problem.

Also, for a four hour gig, yeah. For an hour set, no.

 

[jimmydean]

I will only bring two basses if the music dictates it or if I'm playing two or three sets. if you have an active bass , bring a backup .

 

[mcnach]

I'm amazed that people think that TLC and maintenance will prevent failure. It's like saying "I don't smoke, so I won't get cancer".

No, it's like saying "I will reduce the chances of getting *LUNG* cancer by not smoking", perhaps.

Maintenance does not miraculously make you immune. Of course not, and it would be silly to state that. However, maintenance gives you this:

1) awareness of dodgy elements in your gear, and therefore you can do something about it before you have a failure

2) when you keep things in order, they are less likely to fail. Not immune to failure, but less likely. Just like if you maintain your car properly it will run for years, but if you neglect it it will become a pile of junk relatively soon.

You can't prevent every possible mishap. It just makes sense to avoid being in a bad situation *when you can* avoid it.

Like the example of batteries, something that a lot of people comment on.
You may have a duff battery. Yes, it can happen. It is possible. But it is a very rare event. Most people talk about battery failures which are simply due to not keeping an eye on it and not replacing it on time. This is very easily avoidable. Just on example.

I am not saying "don't use a back up, it's silly".
Ha! I have taken a spare bass and a spare amp, as well as extra DI box, cables etc... you don't need to convert me
But I have only done that at gigs that had to work well. In that case, the spare bass was tuned and onstage, and the spare amp head was also onstage, on top of the active one, ready to be plugged in and run should it be necessary. because that's another thing, I sometimes meet people who have a backup... back in their parked car on the other side of the building. Yup, it's going to be real useful there

What I'm saying is that a backup is a good plan in case something happens. But you can reduce the chances of anything happening A WHOLE LOT by maintaining your gear.

When to bother to carry backups etc and how you do it, that's up to you and the gigs you play. A bar gig, for instance, can easily tolerate your dropping out for a couple of minutes to replace a string if your band knows what they're doing. The music does not stop. The entertainment does not stop. THAT is unprofessional. But a good band does not do that, they find ways around the problems and still play music and get the people having a good time.

 

[GBassNorth]

Yep, I bring a Fender USA Deluxe 5 to back up my Squier Affinity 5 when I'm in a Jazz mood.
I bring a Kala U-Bass to back up my P/MM bass on most occasions.
I also usually throw my Thunderfunk in the trunk as a backup for my SVT-VR if needed. About the only thing I don't bring a backup for is the Bergantino cab.
Everything else is in an emergency kit in the car if needed (Strings, picks, strap, batteries and more batteries, instrument cables, patch cords, screw drivers, allen wrenches, speaker cables, toothpicks, wood glue, clip on tuner, etc).

 

[TinIndian]

Always, Always, Always bring a backup. I bring a backup bass, cables whatever may fail for whatever unexpected reason. Think Boyscouts, always be prepared.

 

[beefandbones]

I never bring a backup and here's why: I'm willing to let someone borrow mine if they need to. If a band on your bill has a major equipment malfunction and none of the other bands are willing to help them out, then those guys are a-holes. You are part of a community of musicians and you should act like it. No its not ideal to have to borrow someone else's gear and you should never ever mooch, but an emergency's an emergency. If they won't do the same for you, don't ever play a show with them again.

 

[godofthunder59]

I have had heads die, speakers blow, cords fail, batteries die, headstocks broken off you name it, it has happened. I always try and be as prepared as I can cause when you need something there ai'nt a music store open to be found.

Too right Scott-sounds like we've learned the hard way-you make that mistake once!ONCE! lol