Do you bring a backup bass to gigs?

[Dogbertday]

I bring two to 99% of my gigs and i usually dont need it. They arent clones (vmp5 with rounds and fender mb5 J bass with flats) but i also dont switch during the gig mostly. My vmp5 is my #1.

I do it cause im paranoid.

 

[saltydude]

Depends on the band.

One plays everything in standard tuning. So just one bass with spare batteries and set of strings.

Other band plays the songs in the tuning it was originally recorded in. So two of the same basses tuned differently. If anything happens I have a spare axe with me regardless.

 

[MNAirHead]

do you guys also bring a spare PA ... mic etc.

 

[Catbuster]

I bring matching pairs of basses to each show. Two Fender Aerodynes with Roto 66 steels and two Music Man Bongo 5 HS basses with EB Cobalts. If I'm playing a rock gig where I'm playing Fall to Pieces I bring my P bass tuned down a step, predominately because there are some important open notes that would be off time if played in standard tuning because it's not possible to move my hand fast enough.

There is a slight tweak with the Aerodynes with one having an SPB-3 vs an SPB-1 for the P pickup, but they accomplish the same task.

 

[electracoyote]

I only bring a spare to gigs where down-time for unplanned emergencies is completely unacceptable and comes with dire consequences.

In my world, that's every rehearsal and gig. YMMV.

 

[Dogbertday]

In a word, yes. At least two basses, every gig, no questions.

I'm the guy that's had my one bass fail in the middle of a gig. I had a spare, just didn't bring it. Never again.

I'm of the opinion that if you're a working bassist, and if it's in the budget, you find one bass that covers the sonic ground you need, and you buy two of 'em, or in my case, you buy three of them...

I just dont get the 3 of the same thing, unless one was a 5 or had flats or was fretless. No judgment at all but imo 2 is a backup and 3 is never needed.

I generally double, so my URB is my backup. Or maybe my slab is my backup. I guess it just depends on what day it is

Thats my thoughts. Even on my pure upright gigs i have my EB in the car.

 

[MCS4]

Always. No amount of maintenance can entirely prevent the unexpected from happening. I'm sure plenty of bassists will never actually need to pull out their backup bass, but just because it's never happened to you yet doesn't mean you can be 100% sure you never will.

 

[Eilif]

I nearly always have a second bass. Unless it's an especially short gig I'll have them both on stage, strapped up and plugged into an A/B box. Maybe not always "complementary", but usually they're at least somewhat different instruments that I can switch up if I feel they would better suit given song.
Might be:
-Frettless and Fretted
-4 and 5
-Semi-hollow and solid body
-P-bass and dual humbucker bass.

90% of the the audience can't tell the different bass tones but a small percentage of them really will appreciate it, I will notice (and enjoy playing different basses) and having more than one instrument on stage just looks cool. And of course there's the obvious advantage that if one goes down I've got a backup 8-10 seconds away.

Basses are fun and fun to play live. What's the point of having several if most of them don't get stage time? Get a double gig-bag and it's really an easy proposition.

 

[electracoyote]

do you guys also bring a spare PA ... mic etc.

Spare mics, a spare amp for the P.A., anything small enough to be loaded within reason, absolutely.

But I don't pack two complete P.A. systems, no.

But before you keep going with that train of thought, let me elaborate: I also don't bring a spare automobile, wife, brain, oxygen tank (in case a natural disaster sucks all the oxygen out of the room), or digestive tract (in case a wild boar attacks and disembowels me on stage).

It can get pretty ridiculous going down that rabbit hole of logic.

It's not practical or possible to bring a spare for many things. A second bass guitar is arguably not one of them.

 

[jwilson67]

Usually not. I just clean the old strings I take off and put them in a ziplock bag in my case just in case of breakage. The Wilkinson bridge on my Carvin allows me to get one of them on in about 2 minutes if I have to. I also carry spare batteries.

 

[brianrost]

I was caught once with a bass that actually failed on a gig (the pickup windings opened up) and I still made it through the night although with severely impaired tone. The only structural failure in over 30 years of gigs was a strap button sheared off so I had to play sitting down.

I brought backups for a number of years but never needed them, so I stopped, I also used to bring a backup amp, gave up on that, too.

Most of my gigs have me doubling DB and BG (see avatar) so if one goes down, I can just use the other.

I do carry spare batteries and strings, though.

 

[jwilson67]

The one thing I do bring is a backup amp - my old GK 400rb.

 

[bass12]

Okay, who's going to admit that they bring an extra bass because they like to show off their toys?

 

[35hundy]

Every show. A broken string, detached wire or faulty jack can happen out of nowhere. I've had broken strings mid-song on two occasions (once on tour, once at a gig) but my backup bass was within reach both times.

 

[Eilif]

Okay, who's going to admit that they bring an extra bass because they like to show off their toys?

That's me. Not just to show off, though but to enjoy.

 

[elgecko]

It really depends:

electric gigs - usually but not always
doubling (EUB) gigs - nothing aside from an EUB and an electric
upright gigs - no, I only own one upright

 

[jwilson67]

That's me. Not just to show off, though but to enjoy.

If showing off toys includes showcasing an Epiphone Accu Bass for everyone to admire I'm in! Haha!!

 

[lfmn16]

do you guys also bring a spare PA ... mic etc.

Only the professionals. We pay for production now, but when I provided it, I had spare mic cables, mics, speaker cables, power cables, power amps, stands and everything else except speakers and board. Our guitar player had a spare powered Carvin PA head that we brought just in case. You can bet your @$$ that the guy we pay to run sound has a spare for everything.

Today I bring a spare everything except speaker cabinet, including a spare bass head. If somehow my 8X10 cabinet were to blow, I could go direct. I made a living playing music for many years and I don't see any reason to not act like a professional now.

 

[electracoyote]

Every show. A broken string, detached wire or faulty jack can happen out of nowhere. I've had broken strings mid-song on two occasions (once on tour, once at a gig) but my backup bass was within reach both times.

+1

And now come the chest-beaters who will boast how good they are with a missing string and they can cover it just fine.

To which I say...who cares? As soon as the song ends, instead of stopping the show for even two minutes (which feels like an eternity mid-performance) to change the string, I'd much rather spend the ten seconds needed to switch with the spare already plugged in, tuned up, and ready to go. Instead of re-learning and improvising all my fingerings on the spot in front of a live audience, I can proceed business as usual, which I much prefer.

Again, in my world, big gaps with no music, or music without the bass in it, is a big no-no. With certain venues and audiences, you will lose them fast and the stink will stick to the band for a long time. YMMV.

Like so many things, it's situational. If I could get away without the security of knowing I have a spare ten seconds away, I'd only bring one bass. The failures over the decades have been few in my experience, but they were very, very memorable.

 

[jwilson67]

One time the guitarist at a gig I played had his Fender Twin overheat and stop working. Of course he had no backup so he ran his pedalboard through my Ashdown ABM500 and I went directly into the board from my Hartke Bass Attack. He liked his sound through my amp better than the Fender!