Do you need a backup bass.

[Rib 13]

SOoooooo........back when I was gigging fulltime, not only did I bring 2 or more basses but I (sometimes) carried a spare amp...AND there was a period when I also carried extra drumsticks, guitar strings, pegwinder, extra tuning pedal, picks (didnt use those), and all kinds of extra cords, misc, and a toolkit...Why? Because I learned early on that many musicians are just plain ol irresponsible and, with my paycheck relying on it, I had to ensure the show went on

I havent had a flat tire in over two decades either but I always carry a spare tire in my car just in case my tire luck runs out

 

[bigthemat]

I've never had a show stopping issue, but did come close during a 2 week run of a musical, the input jack started going out. I could get by for the rest of the matinee by adding some pressure on the cable. The drummer knew someone that could fix it for me before our evening show (I had no backup at the time), luckily he worked fast... dropped off my bass, went to go get lunch, and one bite into my orange chicken he called me to say he was done.

I also recently played a show where the other band's bassist had a bass die on him, most likely the battery on his active electronics. He ran into the greenroom in a hurry, threw his dead bass on the couch, grabbed his backup, and ran back on stage. Made me really glad that my bass has a passive/active switch lol.

But that's the closest I've had to a total failure. If I have room I try to bring a backup but it's not always feasible.

 

[LBS-bass]

I havent had a flat tire in over two decades but I always carry a spare tire in my car just in case my tire luck runs out

I was on my way to a show a few weeks back. My husband and I were both in the car with all of our gear. We lost power on the on ramp to the freeway and were stuck there. We didn't have a backup alternator or battery, so we weren't able to smoothly transition back to immediate functionality, but we did have AAA so were able to call them and get towed to the venue.

The dispatcher who took our call told us it would be 90 minutes before we could get a truck out, which would have put us very close to our scheduled start time and we would not have started on time. A state trooper pulled over and called them to request an expedited tow because we were at risk on the side of the road. We ended up getting to the venue and set up with about fifteen minutes to spare.

You can anticipate most things, but stuff will still happen.

 

[Plutonium244]

Oh, this again. For most of my "professional" career, I and just about everyone I know really only owned one instrument. My keyboard player didn't bring a "backup" DX7 and my guitar player might have brought an acoustic and an electric but I don't ever recall seeing two electrics on the stage.

In that decade I probably played 3-set shows anywhere from 3 to 5 nights a week, depending on the time of year. Summer was busier. Count up all those shows over ten-plus years and in all that playing time I broke two strings. Both times I was able to get by with what I had; I think once I just tuned up the remaining strings and played that way until the end of the set and the other time we were close to the end of the set anyway so we just finished the song and took our break a little early.

Given the number of failures I experienced over the many hours of stage time, I think that the likelihood of failure is overstated. Given the type of shows I tend to do nowadays, I feel like I'm taking myself a little too seriously if I'm dragging along another instrument that I'll likely never need. If I have to bring two then I'm going to play both of them, so a four and a five or something like that. But most of my shows are not shows where I'm going to be unable to accommodate a problem if it happens.

I do take backups of the most likely failure points. Extra cables, strings, batteries, tuners, power cables, all the things that typically do or can fail. I don't care if someone else feels like they need a backup instrument, but it seems like overkill for the situations I'm usually in.

The "likelihood" of failure is low; the consequences can be great depending on the gig. I have insurance on my car and house even though the likelihood of their destruction is low. And I have never totalled my car or burnt the house down. Still glad I had the insurance all those years.

Also, almost every serious guitar player I know and play with brings 2 guitars. poopie happens. If it's a local gig close to my house and not a big deal, I have gone without a backup. To my detriment. Every time I travel, and every time its an important gig regardless of location, I have a backup. And almost always do bring one even for casual gigs - I don't like the stress of having to come up with a fix on the fly, regardless of who I am playing for, or where. And yes, I have had on-gig failures. You play enough gigs, it's going to happen. On one of these instances I was lax on my rule, and didn't have one... 75 miles from home...found out I had a problem 30 minutes before start time, somehow managed to locate and obtain a substitute bass. Nerve-racking! After that... pretty much ALWAYS. Don't let a lack of problems before lull you into a false sense of security.

One of my most harrowing experiences, which convinced me to ALWAYS bring a back-up for any gig of consequence, was one where I could not bring a back-up - a tour in Europe where I could only bring one (air travel). On stage in Belgium, in front of thousands, the first song starts with about 4 measures of drums before the full band comes in - my theretofore failure-free bass, even in sound-check - no sound!! Loose connection in the vol pot. I wiggled it, jiggled it, turned it up and down- nothing - then with only a split second to spare, fear shooting through me like electricity, I gave it a desperate turn, and it came back. Literally, a quarter of a second before I needed to come in.

I cannot imagine what would have happened if I couldn't get it back, being abroad with no back-up. I did not touch the volume control the rest of the show, worried constantly that it might just go out again on its own. Got it fixed the next day but jeez - nerve-racking.

A back-up for everything = peace of mind. IMO, professionalism means never being an obstacle to a flawless performance. People will not hire someone who is unprepared for the unexpected, in a professional setting.

Final note: I saw Marcus Miller's bass fail on stage once. He had a backup and so he was up and running again in 20 seconds. If it can happen to a guy with a professional sound tech to prepare his gear, it can happen to me and you.

 

[LBS-bass]

depending on the gig

Right. If I were Marcus Miller, I'd have a backup. I'm not playing those sorts of shows. Nothing is at a high level of risk with any situation I've been in recently.

I think JRA has it right when he says everyone has their own comfort level and it really is circumstantial.

 

[JRA]

if you take a second bass because you like it and want to make sure you get a chance to play it, that's not exactly a backup.

you're right, of course. in my case = one to play and one to "show off" but which has "backup potential."

I think that the likelihood of failure is overstated.

me too.

I do take backups of the most likely failure points. Extra cables, strings, batteries, tuners, power cables, all the things that typically do or can fail. I don't care if someone else feels like they need a backup instrument

same! also, in my older age i'm likely to prepare for things a lot like my grandparents did: a hanky and a box of kleenex.........tweezers...

Only had to use it in an emergency situation twice, but I was glad to have it and just I enjoy being able to play more than one bass in a gig. Really helps me appreciate the differences between them.

i agree with this, too --- it's fun on that count alone...but as @Altitude points out: that fun part is not the same as 'preparing to ward off panic'.

 

[dave64o]

Do you need medical insurance? No, not all the time. You only need it when you need it. Same goes for a backup bass.

I have duplicates of just about everything I use on a gig. I always bring a backup bass, a backup amp, and a DI. I can do most any gig I'll ever play with just one of my cabinets but I always bring both. I have extra speaker cables, instrument cables, mic cables, strings, batteries, and even an extra wireless unit (and I still run an instrument cable as a backup in case of wireless issues!) and music stand light.

The one thing I don't have a backup for is my pedalboard. But effects pedals are not critical to my sound, so I can always just remove it from my signal chain and continue without it in case of malfunction.

Regarding the backup bass. Since I always bring two basses, I'll play both basses at every gig. But I only switch between sets and I use one bass for an entire set. The exception would, of course, be if I have a bass malfunction and need to quickly swap out one bass for the other.

I'm just a bar band bassist, but I still don't want to jeopardize a gig because of an equipment failure.

 

[MustangWally]

Yep, always, tune it up and it sits in the rack with a lead plugged in, makes swapping over quick and easy.

Never had any issues other than string breakage and that dancing crowd is for sure NOT going to wait while you change a string! Quick swap over and right back to the groove. Actually I had a brief flirtation with ultra light gauge strings many years ago and I used to tear them right off the instrument with some regularity - really needed my spare bass a lot back then. Not so much these days but the habit remains.

Edit: and I carry a couple spare sets of strings, spare leads, a zillion picks, tuner batteries, etc. and I always have the option of DI into the PA if I need it I just think that it is professional to be prepared is all.

 

[primusfan1989]

So my question is do you need a backup bass. I realize during a show a string may break or a battery may go dead but have you ever actually had to change basses during a show and for what reason.

I can't ever think of a time I actually needed a backup, I bring an extra more often than not but usually only use one of the two

 

[wango55]

I've broken a string on stage 3 times during a set. 2x playing bass, and 1x playing guitar. Both times playing bass, I didn't have a backup. I quickly restrung my bass while the rest of the band filled time with a quick jam, and the other time was at the end of a set, where I could finish the song with 75% of my strings. Both times, it was the low E (GHS Bass Boomers). I haven't gone back to using those strings...and knock on wood, haven't had a string break since. When I played guitar, I broke a string mid-song once, and had a backup behind me to quickly switch it out.

I have also had my active bass battery go dead during a set - but I had a backup with me. I've also had an Ampeg PF350 go out on me mid-set. Also had a backup head with me. So yes, given my accident prone-ness, I take 2 basses, and my TE Elf with me for every gig. For my band these days, it is important to minimize downtime since we are usually playing with other bands and need to stick to our stage time as much as possible.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

Do I? No.

 

[logdrum]

When I toured with a NZ singer in the SE US, my bass crapped out just before the second set. Luckily, the band before us, the bass player had a backup ESP jazz bass - Salmon (ahem pink) color. He sold it to me after the gig for really cheap (it had Bartolinis). That was my backup bass moving forward and I always carried two, using a double bass bag if using public transport - that I still have that bag but has seen better days.

I stupidly sold the ESP in 2001. It was made in Japan also but yes it was pastel pink.

 

[twinjet]

INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR MEANINGFUL ANSWER.

 

[Cave Puppy]

Yes.

 

[QweziRider]

More importantly… how the heck am I going to get a second double bass in my car?

Well, given that it's a BG forum this was posted in and not the DB forum, seems logical one would not be hauling around two double basses.

As far as the "pro" aspect, I find it rather un-pro to stop a gig to change a string or hunt down some other electronic problem with the bass. Most of the work I do would get me fired and "You'll never work this gig again" if the show stopped so I can repair something.

 

[Geri O]

I don’t know what anyone else needs or wants and I’m not gonna debate it with anyone for any reason.

I need 2 basses on a gig. 3, if I feel like it. I do want to have a spare on hand, plus I may get the urge to switch basses. Yes, I’ve been careful to make sure the output gains of basses are as similar as possible.

 

[Jared Houseman]

I rarely bring a backup with me. I typically gig with an upright but do bring out the electric fairly often. I'm confident in my ability to play with a broken string and have faith that my band mates will figure something out should I need to step off stage for a song. I'm probably should bring a back up but I just never remember to.

 

[Dave Leighton]

My only "gig" anymore is at church 3 times a month or so. Never had a bass related failure when actively gigging. So for me no.

I just like having them...

 

[pjbassist]

These days, a gig for me is often either opening for a national, or a wedding reception (2 different bands). I WILL NOT be responsible for ruining someone's "most important day"...plus, IMO its just the professional thing to do. I also bring a backup amp. I have had both basses and amps fail me. Never again.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

So my question is do you need a backup bass. I realize during a show a string may break or a battery may go dead but have you ever actually had to change basses during a show and for what reason.

For me it’s just a matter of better safe than sorry. It’s happened to me before where a bass’s wiring went wonky in the middle of a big show, and I didn’t have a backup. Luckily, the folks running sound had a soldering gun on hand and they fixed it while the singer was doing an acoustic number. Lesson learned! That being said, for certain ‘low level’ gigs I don’t bother to bring a backup, but most of the time I do.