Call me overly cautious, but I always bring at least two basses, two heads, two cabs, extra strings, and toolbox with soldering iron, fuses, batteries, and of course tools.
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Do you take a back up bass to gigs?
- Thread starter Biggbass
- Start date
You bet yer azz some are more important than others.
That jerk sitting in the back of the venue yelling FREEBIRD for the last half hour when he should have quit drinking 2 hours ago get's an ENTIRELY different level of consideration than the front row of a national act stage.
How totally deluded are you?
So, because of the azzhole yelling "Freebird," the rest of the audience should feel the frustration of a musician without a backup who kills the show?
How totally deluded are YOU???
Nnnnnnope. Not since our conga player started playing bass on one song we do while I play drums. He brings his own bass so it works as a built in back up for me. 
Backatcha.
Risk-takers who like to brag about their irresponsible lifestyles on the internet crack me up.
Tell us more, like how you don't wear a condom, drive around with the gas gauge on E, and don't balance your checkbook.
You're sooooo cool.
Fortunately, you're firmly in the minority and people with common sense know better.
It's all good, no need to get defensive. Stick to yer guns man!
It's amature stunts by other bands, like not having a Plan B when something fails, that lets my band rise to the top, be in-demand, and always have work.
Only recently (this year). I bought a double gig bag, so the process hasn't been much of a stretch. It's not like I'm going from one HSC to two.
The reason was the fact that I've never broken a bass string in my life (playing for 12 years, 400+ gigs). It started to make me real paranoid.
I also started to get paranoid about the fact that my Markbass Little Mark II head has not given me one ounce of trouble in 4.5 years and that something HAS to go wrong at some point. I bought a backup LMKII as well.
Ample peace of mind now. ::sigh::
The reason was the fact that I've never broken a bass string in my life (playing for 12 years, 400+ gigs). It started to make me real paranoid.
I also started to get paranoid about the fact that my Markbass Little Mark II head has not given me one ounce of trouble in 4.5 years and that something HAS to go wrong at some point. I bought a backup LMKII as well.
Ample peace of mind now. ::sigh::
That's why I made sure I got a bass that has a passive option that bypasses the battery and preamp.
sj_bass
Supporting Member
+1,000
Lot's of cables, extra strings... I even used to keep a micro amp behind my front seat. But I bring a 4 and 5 string just because... I can.
I always bring a fretted and fretless and switch between the two, so I have a backup system of a sort already in place. If that wasn't the case, I would bring a back up without question.
Even though I check them before a gig, I always bring extras strings, batteries and cables with me.
If i had a second head, I would bring that as well. (I did have a failure once at a gig...not fun!) Somebody suggested taking a DI box along -- Great idea! I'm going to start doing that as well.
Even though I check them before a gig, I always bring extras strings, batteries and cables with me.
If i had a second head, I would bring that as well. (I did have a failure once at a gig...not fun!) Somebody suggested taking a DI box along -- Great idea! I'm going to start doing that as well.
I have never brought a backup bass to a gig. I feel that I should but I usually just don't have room to bring it (only have a small car). If anything happens, the bassists in the other bands usually are kind enough to share but I do always have spare strings just in case they won't. Most bands I play with are fine with sharing gear.
Just George
Fingers on 4 Flatwounds
- Dec 29, 2008
- 412
- 413
- Disclosures
- Artist Relationship: Wilkins-Ampeg-La Bella
Logic would dictate that it would be wise to bring a backup bass to gigs but in nearly 50 years of playing I never have and it would have been helpful on only three occasions.
1) I broke a string on the last song of a concert and although I made it through, it would have been far easier to have been able to grab another bass.
2) The airline sent my bass to Mexico City instead of Long Island and I had to borrow a bass which I really didn't care for and it made it a really long night.
3) A tiny allen wrench got stuck to my covered pickup and before I could detect it an embarassing length of time went by before the show could start. If I had a backup it would have been easier.
That's it and I survived but I still think it might be a wise choice to have not only a backup bass but more importantly to me, a backup head.
Just my 2 cents.
1) I broke a string on the last song of a concert and although I made it through, it would have been far easier to have been able to grab another bass.
2) The airline sent my bass to Mexico City instead of Long Island and I had to borrow a bass which I really didn't care for and it made it a really long night.
3) A tiny allen wrench got stuck to my covered pickup and before I could detect it an embarassing length of time went by before the show could start. If I had a backup it would have been easier.
That's it and I survived but I still think it might be a wise choice to have not only a backup bass but more importantly to me, a backup head.
Just my 2 cents.
At one gig the only bass I brought was my 1974 Fender Precision. Halfway through my band's second set the pickup for the E and A string died.
After that Inightmare I always bring an extra bass
After that Inightmare I always bring an extra bass
Whatever works for you dude. You be the guy with the backup for everything that goes wrong
I'll be the guy that buys good gear, pays attention to it, maintains it properly and never has anything go wrong.
If it does, it'll be the first time in 30+ years and that still gives me a 999.9999993 batting average. I can live with that.
If you always have a fellow bass player's instrument at your disposal in case you need to CYA, you are fortunate indeed.
My band typically finds itself the only entertainment for the evening, often stretching over a 5-hour period, sometimes in a remote location far from the nearest bass player on his butt at home or music store.
That's fair.
But promoting that lifestyle to others, many of whom will not share your good fortune (regardless of how much money spent on gear), is a little reckless IMO.
I usually bring a backup bass to my gigs but I gigged for many, many years without one. Luckily I never got into trouble because I only had one bass with me. <knock, knock>
