Do you ever actually NEED more than one bass?

[Pimpernel Smith]

Yes. I need two, just in case one falls over and breaks something, again.

 

[JMacBass65]

When the neck pickup on my jazz died at a gig, I sure was happy to have another bass with me.

 

[Savage_Dreams]

Always have a backup. The point of how often does your bass fail isn't a valid question. It's like saying how often do you use your spare tire. Do you really want to be caught without one when needed?

 

[JACink]

I don't need anymore basses, what I do need are more excuses for buying more basses

 

[bassstrangler]

It's deja thread all over again.

For the record I need 1, I prefer many.

 

[G19Tony]

I have a few. I'm not even a good bass player. I likes what I likes.

 

[Toddbass65]

Gigging bassist definitely need a backup. I always bring 2. At a gig once I had a tuning peg break. Would have been in big trouble without an A string all night.
If you're getting paid, you need to be prepared for work.

 

[JGbassman]

A small sample of my basses. I always bring two to a gig, I’ve had crazy things happen to disable basses in the past, mostly when touring full time, I still have the habit as a weekend warrior.

I have 4 and 5 string fretted and fretless basses. I play in three different groups, some in standard and others in drop tuning. Some bands I play five string basses exclusively, others only 4 string. Some have flats, some rounds. I don’t need them all, but it’s nice to set them up based on the particular situation I need and leave them that way.

The picture shows my normal basses I have in rotation for gigs.

 

[dindinbre]

Two basses. In case one grows legs

 

[Munjibunga]

I need 41 but have only 13.

 

[saabfender]

Two basses. In case one grows legs

Which one do you think will grow legs? That's the one I'd keep.

 

[Andy Daventry]

You need to find the right bass, and then you need to find another right bass for the next project. You're going to end up with 2 or 3 even if you keep selling them. Then there's the entry level instrument you started on - it has memories.....

 

[dindinbre]

Which one do you think will grow legs? That's the one I'd keep.

View attachment 3173561

The one you leave in your car

 

[4001]

If something catastrophic happens to your bass, without a backup, your gig is over at that point.
Maybe you might want a different sound altogether or perhaps the song calls for a fretless...

Lots of reasons to have a second bass... one is that it allows you to get a third.

 

[Kmonk]

I play some songs on my MIA Fender Jazz, some on my MIA Precision, some on my Spector 5 string and some on my upright. Depends on the song.

 

[saabfender]

The one you leave in your car

Probably the biggest thing I've ever learned watching one of Scott Devine's videos. He lost one that way. That won't be happening to me.

 

[dindinbre]

Probably the biggest thing I've ever learned watching one of Scott Devine's videos. He lost one that way. That won't be happening to me.

I know several people whose instruments grew legs in car or during packing/unpacking gear. Main reason why I prefer heavy amps and cabs.

 

[pcake]

How often do you need different tunings in a gig? Genuinely curious - not a wind up.

depends on what songs you play. different tunings or having both a 4 and a 5 string can be a true necessity - again, depending on what you're playing.

btw, i've seen two bass players break a string on stage. having that second bass was very handy for one of them. the other guy, who turned out not to be very good on the fly, had to try and make it work without that string, and it didn't turn out too well.

that being said, for my first two or three years playing bass coming from guitar, i only had one bass at a time and luckily nothing went wrong either at rehearsal or at shows.

Do you ever really need to drink anything other than water?

i'm drinking water right now...

 

[MDBass]

EDIT: I can understand if you're creating very different sounds, like an electric bass with brass wounds and an acoustic with nylon flatwounds, but in the ordinary course of rock 'n' roll......

As a session player, almost always.

Folks like Carol Kaye are the exception, even guys like Pino and Sklar use different basses for different gigs.

 

[NOVAX]

20 something pieces of "Playable Art"