• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Do you really bring a backup amp to gigs?

#43
One of only 2 times that I needed a spare, I had taken my wife's car and I didn't have that needed spare!! The other time it was the cab that smoked (literally) and I didn't have a spare cab (borrowed one from the opening act), but I did that spare head! Lesson Learned: bring a combo amp as an extra! I do however agree with other posts stating that if you have a great p.a/d.i., then your pretty good to go
 
#45
4-string said:
I'm curious. Seems by posts here that many of you actually bring a backup amp? I get that you can get a small, lightweight backup amp for not a lot of money, but still. A separate DI is all I would bother with, but I don't do that either, as every soundman out there seems to have a bunch.

I did my first gig in 1983, and have never ever had an amp fail on me. Never broken a speaker either for that matter. :)
Strings and cables, yes.

I know this stuff happens, but frequently enough to justify a backup?
Click to expand...

Lately I've been bringing a MarkBass SD800 head as my backup. (That's a clean head, and I prefer my SansAmp rack rig for tube warmth).

That said, I try to build redundancy into my rack rigs! The components of my current #1 are as follows:
  • SansAmp RBI preamp
  • SansAmp RPM preamp
  • Crown XTi 2000 power amp
The Crown is a stereo power amp. I usually keep it in bridge mode (my modern rock band plays too loud sometimes) but I could get by with just one channel. Also, the two preamps are connected in parallel, but if one failed I could simply take it out of the signal chain and use the other.

I haven't had many amp failures... the last time that happened, it was a loose wire in my old Alembic F2B preamp. But I was able to use the rack compressor as a preamp and finish the gig that way.

Yes, I bring a spare DI so DI into PA would be another solution, but the bands I gig with most frequently have smallish PA systems used for vocals and kick drum only... so, adding bass guitar to that mix would likely be a bad idea (would make the whole FOH sound bad).
 
#49
Now that 5lb heads abound, it's pretty easy to stuff one in a gig bag, or rack it along side whatever else you are using. I have had amps go down on the gig, preamps fail and power amps stop working. Maybe I'm just unlucky, but I usually bring a backup amp, and/or preamp.
 
#50
jnewmark said:
Now that 5lb heads abound, it's pretty easy to stuff one in a gig bag, or rack it along side whatever else you are using. I have had amps go down on the gig, preamps fail and power amps stop working. Maybe I'm just unlucky, but I usually bring a backup amp, and/or preamp.
Click to expand...

In 30+ years I haven't had many failures, but stuff DOES happen eventually. It's a matter of asking yourself if you want to be prepared or not. I envy those who could simply DI into FOH, but with one of my bands that is definitely NOT an option, the PA is too small.
 
#51
I'm coming at this from the perspective of being my wife's bass tech / roadie and seeing it as my responsibility to ensure that whatever Murphy touches, I can as seamlessly as possible get her back on track and on stage. Ideally without her knowing that anything even went wrong.

As per JimmyM's "backup car" comment, a physical backup of everything isn't possible - but where you've got space it's the most convenient option. A spare head isn't that heavy and can usually be tucked into a corner somewhere.

Where a physical backup isn't possible, you still need a plan of some kind.

(For the car, that means at least two local taxi numbers in my cellphone before setting off. For the cabs, that means knowing how to roughly re-EQ the amp to get a tolerable stage sound when just running on the 18 or the 210 instead of both).

So, overall I'd reply to the OPs question with "you don't necessarily need an amp, but you do need a plan".
 
#52
JimmyM said:
right. that's why i always bring a backup car on a long drive.
Click to expand...

Last year on one of our regular out-of-town gigs (50 miles north), I was clipping along and noticed a little blue convertible Mini sitting on the side of the road with an oddly familiar "Peace" bumper sticker. It very quickly dawned on me that it was the guy I play with, so I pulled over and we loaded his PA and guitar (tiny venue, small PA, car was packed full) into my Cherokee and hit the road while he called for a tow.

Had I been "on time", instead of running 10 minutes late, I'd have missed him. He was on the side of the road for less than 2 minutes before I came along.

I'm sure stranger things have happened.
 
#54
I have seperate pre/power amp setup. So my backup is my other power amp running the monitors. Either power amp fails, I use one channel of the remaining amp for bass, one for monitors instead of running them both bridged. The monitor power amp rack has a furman PQ-3 parametric equalizer, which used to be my main preamp back in the day, so I have spare power/preamp. I use 2 speaker cabs (easier to carry), so if one blows, I still have one. Sometimes I have a spare bass. Used to carry spare strings, I had one bass, a G&L that broke strings. G mostly, also a D. Luckily an ex girlfriend who was a bass player was in the neighborhood and I was great at remembering phne numbers (way before cell phones). She brought out a set of strings and saved me. Never broke a string on any other bass, so i stopped carryign spare strings.

I'm also a DBA (database administrator) in real life. Our job is to make sure we get backups of data, so if our disks crash, we can recover the data on them. Our mindset is backup!!! Make sure there is a backup of your backup. Never keep your resume on the same disk as your database backups, cause if you can't restore the database using those backups, you're GONNA need your resume.

So I'm pretty careful about having backups. Whenever I can, I even have one pistol on my hip, and a backup in my pocket. Don't need 2, just never know which hand might be occupied, so having one available for either hand seems like a good idea.

So did I mention I like to have backup options?

Randy
 
#55
My last cover gig I brought a backup head, but only because I had just bought my 74 SVT that week (or really it arrived via fedex that week) and I didn't want to be SOL should something break down on a relatively untested (by me) amp. Other than that, usually just a DI, or if it's a multiband gig I'm sure some other bass player would be a kind soul.... ;)
 
#57
steveksux said:
I have seperate pre/power amp setup. So my backup is my other power amp running the monitors. Either power amp fails, I use one channel of the remaining amp for bass, one for monitors instead of running them both bridged. The monitor power amp rack has a furman PQ-3 parametric equalizer, which used to be my main preamp back in the day, so I have spare power/preamp. I use 2 speaker cabs (easier to carry), so if one blows, I still have one. Sometimes I have a spare bass. Used to carry spare strings, I had one bass, a G&L that broke strings. G mostly, also a D. Luckily an ex girlfriend who was a bass player was in the neighborhood and I was great at remembering phne numbers (way before cell phones). She brought out a set of strings and saved me. Never broke a string on any other bass, so i stopped carryign spare strings.
Click to expand...
funny you mention that...strings are where i draw the line. i will carry a spare set in my gigbag. way back when, i used to break strings all the time. i would use the crap out of them, boil them repeatedly, and eventually they'd snap. so i always brought spares. haven't broken a string in over 10 years now since i switched to soaking them in denatured alcohol, but since they're small and require no effort, i'll bring them. amps and basses require effort ;)

anyway, what other people do for gear affect my life in zero ways, so if you want or don't want redundancy, far be it from me to argue. i'm always shocked at how bass players put so much thought and effort into what other bassists do, though. who cares? do what you want!
 
#58
shadowmac said:
I guess I'm alone here; NO. Knock on wood, I've never had an issue.
Click to expand...


Your not alone.... Ive never carried a spare amp or bass in 40 years of playing and only once ever had an amp go down so just plugged in the board to finish the gig. I do believe in carrying extra cables etc. never needed them either but seems like guitarists never carry decent cables and always need my spare. I do carry a vt pedal with me all the time though. I also use a precision so no need for a spare bass, just a spare set of strings.
 
#59
JimmyM said:
how dare you! curly said that, not me!

besides, what's the difference? if you don't bring a backup car on your gig, if your car breaks down you're stuck.
Click to expand...

Sigh.

It's practical and relatively convenient to bring a spare head, cab, bass, or cord. It is not practical or convenient, however, to bring a spare car.

Own a spare tire? How about jumper cables? Those things are practical and convenient, and can be carried with ease. I'll bet you have at least one of those things...........
 
#60
I'm sure that I don't need a backup, but here's my story.

Played one of the first ever "toys for tots" shows in like 1974 or something like that...a crap load of headliners..3 dog night, Chicago, Jonathon Edwards (remember him)? and a host of others

Well, our equipment gets set up (yes, in those days every band used their own equipment. Anyway, we'e introduced, we come on, first note - my Kustom head bites the dust. Fortunately for us, a roadie for 3 dog night quickly throws one of theirs on top, hooks it up in like 2 seconds and off we go.

This taught me a valuable lesson....I have never needed one (knock on wood) but it's there, just in case ;)
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back