Do you need a backup bass.

[Altitude]

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

The chances of experiencing a flat tire at some point approach 100% and unless you have a spare the failure is catastrophic relative to your ability to get where you’re going.

Plus, cars are usually designed to accommodate spare tires without affecting the utility of the car. As in, you don’t have to set it in the seat next to you.

The chances of catastrophic failure of a bass are far, far lower and the “cost” of carrying a backup is much higher. I don’t think it’s a fair comparison.

 

[dangevans]

Luckily I never had to switch, but I know if I don't bring a backup, it will be the first time something will go wrong!

 

[Ostie]

Apparently I need five backup basses, as my wife has pointed out.

 

[Das Jugghead]

Like others here have commented on regarding backups I too bring more than a backup bass on the road/to gigs.

Primary and backup amp
Duplicate backup speaker cables
Spare string sets
Spare straps
Old strings (I have given these out to other bassists at shows when they needed them)
Tool kit
Guitar cables even though I am wireless (loaned one to our guitarist at a show in Green Bay when his guitar cable failed during soundcheck)
Power cords
Extension cords
Furman power strips (two)
Spare 9 volt rechargeable batteries with fresh batteries in each bass prior to sound check
Nail clippers (I'm a fingerstyle player)
A bag of ear plugs​

I'm sure I have left something out of the list above but I can promise that I have whatever I left out at a gig as everything gets packed and has its place in this pack. I even fit one of my amps in this:

D'Addario Backline Gear Transport Pack Musician's Accessories Backpack

I have broken strings onstage (B, E and G) and being able to switch to the back up bass has been a life-saver. I have had electronics fail (oh how I hate the onboard preamps), I have had output jacks fail, and I have had wiring break.

 

[silky smoove]

Unless it’s a fly date I always bring a backup bass. I’ve never had to use a backup bass, but I will continue to bring one to every gig I do.

 

[Fuzzbass]

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've been gigging over 40 years, typically playing one bass throughout the entire gig -- but I always bring backup. In four decades of steady gigging I've only had a half-dozen or so mid-gig failures, but each time I was grateful to have backup. Examples:

• Had a nut break on a brand new bass -- the E string went flopping off the side of the neck
• Had a wire come intermittently loose on a jack... not fun for the audience (or me, or bandmates)
  
• Had a preamp start cutting out (that was the last time I bought an active without a bypass)
  
• And in the course of four decades I've suffered a few broken strings

Some of those examples were not field-repairable -- so, without backup I would have been unable to finish the gig. Grabbing backup bass resulted in a very brief pause in my playing during the song (though there were a couple of occasions where I could wait 'til the end of the song).

Even in the case of a broken string: it would be ridiculously unprofessional to force the band to halt the show while I replaced it. And limping through the rest of a set with a missing string is not my idea of fun.




TL;DR: This is proof enough that quality gear that is properly maintained is not 100% immune from failure.

 

[kevindahl]

I have played over a thousand gigs and never had my main bass go down. Having said that I always have had a spare. Extra strings and extra batteries. All the tools I need to adjust anything on my bass. I would be more worried about my amp because if went down I would not have a clue how to fix it.

 

[Killing Floor]

Last time I broke a bass string playing was in 8th grade. Last time I broke a bass string installing it was 20 years ago and it was 100% my fault. Last time I broke a guitar string playing too hard was also a long time ago. The battery in my MusicMan basses will last over a year if I forget to change it. The battery in my East preamps goes pretty quick but it has a passive switch. The idea that any would-be serious player would walk on stage with a dead battery is about like walking on stage and forgetting a strap or a cable.
So no, "backup" is not there for a failsafe.
Usually I'd bring a P and a fretless or something sonically different like a J or a Ray. But not because it's a safety factor in case my ape fists punch out a string. Because it's a different layer. And if a meteor hit a bass on stage I'd be totally willing to play everything on a fretless (for example) anyway. Backup, no. Second, yes.

But having only 1 bass would make one incomplete and possibly would exclude them from the kingdom of heaven. Why risk it?

 

[Ric Vice]

If I were on the road for months at a time then yes, but I'm not. None of the few basses I own would work great as a backup anyway. Their all different from the other (fretless vs fretted ect. Once Upon A Time when
I was on the road for a couple of years. I had a 1966 Fender Jazz and a Ampeg B-15N. Back then, playing hotel bars one was good enough. We didn't even think about that. Since I play DB 50% of the time I have one of those with a backup. Just my take. Frankly, since I don't do my own adjustments, even maintaining the basses I have costs a fair bit.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Yes always, I learned the hard way.
Even a crappy cheepo bass beats not playing and not finishing the gig.

 

[brianrost]

The only two bass failures I've experienced in 40 years, one was my own bass, the other wasn't.

I had the screw holding the upper strap button snap so I had to play sitting for the rest of the night.

I was at a jam session one night where I was the only bassist besides the house guy. In the middle of a song, his P-bass died. I got up and played my DB till the set break. The guy located a bad solder joint on the output jack but had no tools so he was down for the count and I played the rest of the night.

That said, I don't bring any tools with me and the only time I bring a spare is doubling gigs where I have both a DB and BG with me.

 

[Bassman Spiff]

Probably not.

 

[Rib 13]

The chances of catastrophic failure of a bass are far, far lower and the “cost” of carrying a backup is much higher. I don’t think it’s a fair comparison.

The chances of experiencing a flat tire at some point approach 100% and unless you have a spare the failure is catastrophic relative to your ability to get where you’re going.

Plus, cars are usually designed to accommodate spare tires without affecting the utility of the car. As in, you don’t have to set it in the seat next to you.

The chances of catastrophic failure of a bass are far, far lower and the “cost” of carrying a backup is much higher. I don’t think it’s a fair comparison.

Not necessarily: back when I was playing for a living, all of my basses were Active with no Passive option (and most of them now, too ). Although rare, Ive had battery failures onstage (Alkalines) over the decades for whatever reason (temp? humidity? defective from manufacturer? On store shelf too long? left on and didnt know? who knows?) - to me, that is a catastrophic failure and being able to grab a different instrument mid-set was crucial - especially when doing high dollar function gigs.....Now, granted, I can count the times this has happened over the decades on less than one hand -- but its still more times than Ive had a flat tire

 

[MobileHolmes]

I always do. Got a mono 2 bass gig bag, which makes it easy. For one of my bands, I bring a 4 and a 6 to gigs because I need the variety for certain songs (4 is my default, 6 for funny keys or solos). I have on a few occasions had to finish a set with the other bass when something has gone wrong (rapidly dying battery once, wonky jack another time, both had been fine at start of gig). My other band is 4 strings only, but I always bring a back up. Not real picky. I play most gigs on my J type. Usually bring a P or Stingray as the spare. So far, haven't had to use it, but should something go wrong, I don't want to tank the gig or make people wait around while I change a string.

I also bring a couple cables in addition to my wireless, and use a sans amp as a DI which would let me keep going should the amp crap out.

 

[mongo2]

I agree it's better to have it and not need it and I took a backup for several years but I never needed it so I stopped taking it. Over 45 years later I've never experienced a bass failure and I check the bass prior to every show.

 

[Matt Dean]

I always bring a backup amp (I have had amps fail during gigs) and have two different types of basses - one a 5 string jazz and the other a 4 string P that I use for differing types of music. If one gets wonky, i can always use the other.

 

[MobileHolmes]

I always take two basses on the road/to gigs. I haven't had to use the backup bass yet but in my mind it is always better to have and not need than to need and not have. It is a minor hassle to deal with two basses compared to dealing with issues in a live environment or coming across as unprofessional.

Exactly. I can fix most common problems at a gig, but I'm not going to keep the audience waiting while I do it. At a minimum, you lose their attention, at worst, you honk off whoever is paying you to play and don't get invited back. It would take a couple minutes to change a string, or about 10 seconds to swap basses.

 

[Pings Bass]

I've never carried an identical/similar backup bass, but I generally have two on a given gig: DB + BG or fretted + fretless. If one gives out, at least I still have "a bass," even if it's not "the bass" for a given song. The audience won't know or care if you play the wrong bass, but they will notice if the bass is missing.

I have also just winged it and taken one bass for gigs that I wanted to travel light for.

I guess I've been lucky, but never had a bass fail, besides a broken string or two. I've had amps fail for sure, but just use the pa for backup in that scenario. I'm definitely not carrying a spare bass rig at this point.

 

[Jack Butler]

I want to be as prepared as some of the folks here, but I've never brought a backup to a gig, and it's always been fine. That said, I'm really particular about keeping my gear in working order. Of course I've broken a string or 2. My logic is that if you are trying to be prepared, a bass is no more or less likely to break than an amp or cab, so if I'm not bringing a backup everything, why bring a bass?

 

[Benjamin Earl]

Yes, I broke a tuning peg once. The metal just disintegrated when I was tuning up before the show (mid 90s US Peavey Cirrus). I could have limped through with the remaining strings, but that would have sucked.

 

[Eilif]

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'.

It's a false dichotomy.
I've got the backup to ward off set-killing dead space and awkwardness and to be as professional as possible (even in my low-stakes gigs). Being able to play two instruments in one gig is an enjoyable side benefit.