Always at least two guitars each. However, our keyboard player never has a backup organ ...
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Does your guitarist bring backups?
- Thread starter MultiScaleMale
- Start date
I always have a backup guitarist somewhere in my considerations during a gig.
No, and never have I either.
But that will change on my next gig. I’ll keep a mini jazz in the trunk of my car so if something were to happen to my P I got something to get through it. Hasn’t happened in 24 years but TB has me a bit paranoid now with this topic. Lol
The mini jazz is light and fits in a guitar case so bringing it along isn’t really a hassle.
My band has two guitarists that are basically copies of one another, so theoretically if something happens we could get by with just one of them.
But that will change on my next gig. I’ll keep a mini jazz in the trunk of my car so if something were to happen to my P I got something to get through it. Hasn’t happened in 24 years but TB has me a bit paranoid now with this topic. Lol
The mini jazz is light and fits in a guitar case so bringing it along isn’t really a hassle.
My band has two guitarists that are basically copies of one another, so theoretically if something happens we could get by with just one of them.
In professional bands I’ve been in, everybody has at the very least a spare guitar/bass. Otherwise it’s not a very professional band, is it?
if I’m playing upright my spare is an electric, but it will get me through the show.
if I’m playing upright my spare is an electric, but it will get me through the show.
Our band leader and lead guitar player only brings one. It's an old strat that needs work. It's noisy and does not stay in tune. 
Our second guitar player brings a couple.
I used to bring two basses but, now that I bring the pa and monitors, I have cut that down to one bass (and one bass cabinet). HOWEVER... this weekend's gig is two miles from home and I will be bringing my EUB along.
Our second guitar player brings a couple.
I used to bring two basses but, now that I bring the pa and monitors, I have cut that down to one bass (and one bass cabinet). HOWEVER... this weekend's gig is two miles from home and I will be bringing my EUB along.
Yes, at least Im pretty sure he does, as I've seen him have two in a rack a couple times.
A previous band the gp didn't, played a Tele, had a Strat but couldn't play it because his finger kept hitting the volume knob raising it.
I had a Squier '51 (Tele-like guitar) at the time and I'd bring it just in case he needed it.
A previous band the gp didn't, played a Tele, had a Strat but couldn't play it because his finger kept hitting the volume knob raising it.
I had a Squier '51 (Tele-like guitar) at the time and I'd bring it just in case he needed it.
Tele and les Paul are surprisingly interchangeable in a pinch. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen an electric guitarist without at least one backup on stage.
I’d say acoustic guitar players I see playing out it’s 50/50 have a back up / don’t own another guitar.
To answer your question more directly I’m “my guitarist”, and I don’t have any gigs but I’d bring backup if I did.
I used to bring backups for an old guitarist of mine because he was so inconsistent in having a spare whatever if needed.
nope, and i've have been in several bands and none of those guys brought extra guitars...just changed the strings the night before...Maybe an extra acoustic on occasion.
Or the guitarist my kid used to play with who'd forget his guitar. In NYC. When the gig was in Boston.
Yes.
Make this a poll.
And when on a guitar gig, so do I, though the backup may stay in its case all night.
And yeah, backup bass and small head on bass gigs.
Things happen. Play out long enough and find out.
Make this a poll.
And when on a guitar gig, so do I, though the backup may stay in its case all night.
And yeah, backup bass and small head on bass gigs.
Things happen. Play out long enough and find out.
I spent two and a half years as the only guitar player in a cover band and I always had a backup guitar with me. If a bass string pops I can work around it for the rest of a set, but with a trem on my guitars, if one string pops all the strings go out of tune. It happened at a gig this summer - the beginning of the last solo in Separate Ways I bent the high E string end it popped. I pulled the guitar off, threw my backup on, and got back up and running just in time to finish the song….
For bass I just bring an extra set of strings, but I play a 6 string bass so there are lots of ways to play the same note.
I see more guitar players bring backup guitars than bass players do. Busting a guitar string is pretty common and trying to restring is time consuming. Bass string almost never break.
I only take a spare when I am touring. For local gigs I only take one bass.
I only take a spare when I am touring. For local gigs I only take one bass.
My last gig, the guitarist broke a string. He changed it on the spot and it didn't take very long, but it would not stay in tune the rest of the night. After the gig, I asked him if he ever brought a back-up. "Oh, I have one, it's out in the car. Didn't want to run out to get it."
<sigh>
<sigh>
I don’t bring backups of anything. Neither does my guitarist. The lead singer always has at least 2 acoustics tho.
Same, I find it annoying
My band doesn't have a guitarist but none of us typically bring backups of anything. If I do weddings/society jazz gigs I usually throw a Warwick Gnome in my gigbag just in case someone on the gig needs an amp.
