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Do You Bring A Backup Bass To Gigs?

Do You Bring A Backup Bass To Gigs?

  • Yes, always

    Votes: 213 45.3%

  • No, never

    Votes: 124 26.4%

  • Sometimes, it depends on the band and venue

    Votes: 115 24.5%

  • Who has the money for a second bass when you need a continuous supply of carrots?

    Votes: 18 3.8%
  • Total voters
    470
#201
Here's another reason why I bring two basses to every gig....

On a gig last weekend, I was in a rush and quickly grabbed my Squier VM P5 and my Valenti 5er before heading to the gig.

I was on vacation and busy for the last few weeks so the Valenti hasn't been played in a while. I got to the gig and the Valenti was unplayable. Due to temp/humidity changes the strings were almost sitting on the frets. Nothing a truss rod adjustment and maybe a few bridge saddle tweaks couldn't fix but I didn't have my Allen keys with me. I was SOL without a backup bass.

I should have played the bass before packing it, but what are the odds that the neck would go off so much in a few weeks? The bass is incredible but I just forgot to do my biannual adjustment to this bass. The gig was a good hour from my house as well.

In any case, I played the Squier and adjusted the Valenti when I got home (took 2 minutes!). The Valenti is an amazing bass and the Squier isn't even in the same league, but I got thru the gig and nobody was disappointed by my tone or playing.

Sure life has risks. I could get clocked upside the head with a chunk of frozen airplane poo on the way to the gig or have a brain aneurysm. I find that carrying an extra 9lbs in a double got bag is worth the effort IME. I have had only 3-4 potentially gig ending bass issues (and maybe 2 broken strings) in the last 30 years. Pretty rare for a bass disaster as I have done likely over 1000 gigs, but I wouldn't have been able to play at all at a few of them.

My Squier was about $200 used. Worthwhile investment even if I never have to pull it out at another gig.
 
#202
I used to always carry two basses no matter what. I also carried my amp, a gig bag, a stool ( I play seated most of the time), and a music stand, and bass stand. As I have gotten older and 57 years makes carrying all that harder than it was when I was 37. After my joint problems hit I have gone to a stack to a single 12 inch cab and a class D amp head, carrying only one bass, a small backpack with extra batteries, a Snark tuner, extra cables for bass, XLR and speaker cab, and a short power chord, and a smaller stand. I can get it all in the back seat. I keep a couple of old sets of strings that are already cut and ready to put back on the bass in case of breakage. AND....one bass.
 
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#203
fretlessguy said:
I used to always carry two basses no matter what. I also carried my amp, a gig bag, a stool ( I play seated most of the time), and a music stand, and bass stand. As I have gotten older and 57 years makes carrying all that harder than it was when I was 37. After my joint problems hit I have gone to a stack to a single 12 inch cab and a class D amp head, carrying only one bass, a small backpack with extra batteries, a Snark tuner, extra cables for bass, XLR and speaker cab, and a short power chord, and a smaller stand. I can get it all in the back seat. I keep a couple of old sets of strings that are already cut and ready to put back on the bass in case of breakage. AND....one bass.
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Same for me. I'm 55 and rheumatoid arthritis (an auto-immune disease, not regular arthritis) has taken its toll. I'm afraid my gigging days are almost over, but I'm going to do what I can do to keep going as long as possible which means bringing minimal gear.
 
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#204
Showdown said:
That was a lot of words to tell me I'm dumb and dishonest. One sentence would have been enough.
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Okay, all snark aside, what you're sharing and proposing is a tough sell to many of us with more than a decade of experience.

I play hotel gigs. I've played at the local Hard Rock. I understand that some load ins are relatively harder than others. There is a ritzy joint called The Brown Palace here in Denver, and it's a maze through the kitchen to the service elevator and cut across to the main elevators and (finally) up to your floor. But they do let you pull right up to the door in the middle of a busy downtown Denver! And those gigs generally pay very well.

Those are not the "throw away" gigs you described earlier where a bass failure wouldn't matter. Those are gigs where you had better bring your A-game and do everything you can to maintain the relationship, and you're trying to say that one 9-pound bass is a deal breaker for the load in. For better gigs like you describe (or any gig for that matter), a second trip to the car is sometimes more than justified.

Any gig at any venue that can't have me pull up within at least 100 feet of the door and park temporarily to load is hard to imagine. What do you guys do if you have to bring PA? Acoustic drum kit? Do you actually roll it several blocks? I've played music in several busy capital cities and I've never seen or heard of anything like that. I even carry a stack of orange cones, switch on the hazard lights, and create my own loading zone if I have to. No tickets or bitching from management yet. It seems everyone I've encountered understands that you can't be expected to roll your load across several blocks. They even have loading zones in NYC fer cryin' out loud.

BTW, 58 here. Yeah, I'm older and slower. But as long as I want to get out there and entertain, I'll do everything I can to avoid crapping on the audience and my band mates, including bringing a second bass along. When the day comes I can't do everything in my power to ensure a trouble-free show, I'll hang it up.
 
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#207
electracoyote said:
No. Yes.

Does this prevent you from making a second trip to your car?
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It can. I paid for this gig in pain and fatigue for 3 days, and I only had to carry my bass since I used the house amp:

IMG_0701_zpst6pbfykp.jpg
 
#211
Showdown said:
It can. I paid for this gig in pain and fatigue for 3 days, and I only had to carry my bass since I used the house amp:
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It was a rhetorical question, because you obviously stand throughout the performance and carry your one and only bass back to the car after the gig. Far less effort would get your back up bass to the stage before the gig. Hell, if I was your bandie, I'd run out and grab it for you.

Are you trying to say that once you pull up to the venue, you are only good for one round trip to the car, and anything more will literally incapacitate you? If you're that frail, how do you manage to stand there and play music for any duration? Serious question.

You have my sympathies, but you enduring pain and fatigue in order to gig is your choice. It is a separate issue from being prepared for an unforeseen catastrophe on stage once you have committed to provide entertainment for a roomful of people. If your bass fails, are you going to go through this detailed explanation of your health issues with the audience? Your band mates? The talent buyer for the venue?

Ya know, I have a wife with MS, so I actually understand these things better than most and I don't appreciate the attempt to label me unsympathetic.
 
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#219
Showdown said:
You must never play in urban areas.
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I've played plenty of urban areas.

All of them have had loading docks/loading zones. The Budweiser delivery guy was never hauling beer from blocks away, and I was never hauling my gear from blocks away.

Showdown said:
And pay? If you are playing bar gigs to make money here you will be very disappointed because you'll barely cover your gas and parking and have a little left over. You have to do it for the love of playing gigs.
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I love playing gigs - but I can play gigs lots of places where other dudes aren't making a profit off my work. If I'm going to lose money playing a gig - I'll play those places instead.

I like gigs - but I'll play backyard parties, charity gigs, community orchestras/jazz bands, etc. - I'm not interested in paying to play bar gigs.
 
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#220
Some people don't seem to understand that their experiences aren't the same as other people's experiences, and the places they play aren't the same as the places other people play. Everyone has a different experience, and what works for some doesn't work for others.

We aren't all the same, we don't have the same challenges, the same viewpoint or the same situations or the same solutions for problems. There is nothing wrong with that.
 

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