• 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.

Has Anyone Had A Bass Go Down During A Gig?

#23
I once broke a string. A-String of all things. That was a bit weird. Got the song finished. Luckily there was a music store in the same plaza as the bar was in. And it was still open. Happened during the first or second song of the set. I had a friend get run to the store and get me the strings, while we played another song. That worked out well. What are the odds that a music store was literally a 30 Second walk away!

A couple of times I've had a batter go in the middle of a gig on my old MTD. Which was a pain because you had to take a screwed down cover off to get to the battery compartment. Luckily I always have a couple extra batteries and my go to tool bag with me. Once at the very end of a set. No problem there. But on one occasion it happened mid set and the drummer had to do a bit of an extended drum solo.

My current active bass has an active passive switch, which rules. I had the battery go not too long ago and I just flipped the switch and I was all set. Lately on most gigs I've been playing with a passive Fender Am Jazz V, so I don't have to worry about batteries going.

For the most part I'm pretty good about up keep on my stuff. So I don't run into that many problems. I always have extra batteries, and tools. Screw drivers, a whole set of allen wrenches, etc. That stuff always come in handy. If not for me someone else is usually in need of them on a gig.
 
#24
I've broken strings, but always had spares, and change them up in about two minutes. Bad cables; swappd them out. An amp that goes on the fritz is more serious, but I've gone through the PA without monitor until break, then spent time swapping out tubes/resoldering jacks/etc. I always had my tool box with spare pieces/parts, soldering kit, black tape, cables, etc. Back in the day, I never took a backup, even when I owned more than one bass. Now I take several, just for the sake of having alternate tones. I'm such a snob! :p
 
#25
i'm a finger player, and i'd say i have a rather aggressive attack and have broken a string or two just as they were hitting that 'dead' zone and losing their sparkle.

i always bring more than one bass just if i want a different sound, and something to look nice on stage. my mains are a '57 RI P-bass and a Rickenbacker 4003MG

only time i've otherwise died out on stage is kicking a wire out of my pedal board, battery in the wireless dying, old cheap rig burning out, or vintage amp parts starting to complain by popping or howling.
 
#26
I carry a tool kit with me that weighs more than all the other gear in my gig bag.

Large and small phillips head screwdrivers for everything from pickup screws to neck bolts.
Adjustable wrench
Needle nose pliers
electrical tape
Small flat head screw driver
Metric and standard metric key sets
A four string bass nut
Ground converter plugs
more electrical tape
Steel wool
Sharpie
Few fender picks although i don't play with them.

I also carry a three foot extention cord, surge protector power strip, extra AC cord and of course extra guitar/speaker/pedal cords.

No wonder I get tired hauling all that around! Actually it all fits in an old canvas diaper bag.
 
#27
I've had a jack go bad, a battery die, and a bass go so radically out of tune that I think it was sabotage from the opening band.

That's why I always gig with a backup. Even if you can fix it on the fly, I'd rather lose the 5 seconds it takes me to set down my bass, step on my Morley A/B/Y switch, and grab my backup off the stand than the 1-10 minutes that it takes to fix almost anything else.

On stage, every second counts and "I never need a back-up" only lasts until the moment you do.
 
#28
I played an SR4 that had a flaky wire in the battery compartment. So we start the first song in the first set, and no volume from my bass. :o I had to whack it with my hand to get the connection back. :atoz: Got it to the local luthier the next day and had it fixed. Which is why I always bring a backup.
 
#29
Din Of Win said:
Hmm... let's see:

-Broken strings. Countless times (usually the E string, too).

-Battery. My battery has died twoce while playing live on my active ATK.

-Unintential detuning. Also many times. I tend to thrash around a bunch. It's not uncommon for my headstock to whack something or someone and detune me mid-song.

-Broken Headstock. Nailed a kid in the head with my old franken fender P. Cracked the headstock and took a halfdollar sized chunk of scalp and hair off of his head.

-Broken Bridge. Soon after i replaced the neck on the franken fender some problems aroze at a show we were playing. A bouncer started choking a 16 year old kid in front of me, so i layed him out with the bass... which poped the bridge out.

-Busted Nut(:hiding:). Our singer's mic cord got tangled around my headstock and somehow broke the nut.

-Broken ME!! I flailed a hand during a basement show and caught it on a low beam, cracking my metacarpal. It was night 1 of a 2 month tour!! We spent the night at the hospital and i just taped it up and delt with it for the rest of tour...

-Amp troubles. I've blown speakers on 3 occations and have had amp malfunctions on about 6 or so.



So yeah... i'm a pretty staunch supporter of always bringing back up basses and an extra head. Also, these are my reasons for not owning any basses over the $600 mark... :bassist:
Click to expand...

So, you play jazz, huh?
 
#30
blipndub said:
I carry a tool kit with me that weighs more than all the other gear in my gig bag.

Large and small phillips head screwdrivers for everything from pickup screws to neck bolts.
Adjustable wrench
Needle nose pliers
electrical tape
Small flat head screw driver
Metric and standard metric key sets
A four string bass nut
Ground converter plugs
more electrical tape
Steel wool
Sharpie
Few fender picks although i don't play with them.

I also carry a three foot extention cord, surge protector power strip, extra AC cord and of course extra guitar/speaker/pedal cords.

No wonder I get tired hauling all that around! Actually it all fits in an old canvas diaper bag.
Click to expand...

That's roughly what I carry, as well. I try to be prepared enough to fix just about anything that could go wrong with my basses. The only time I've had anything go wrong, though, was a cable went dead right before a bass solo...the audience (and tape of the show) picked up my swearing!

Another time I had a problem where my car was impounded the night before a gig. I had my basses at home, but most of my gear - cables, IEMs, tools, etc, all were in a gym bag in the back of my car...as was my pedal board and tuner! I was able to play the show, but had to do a lot of tap dancing to cover up for not having my usual gear.
 
#31
Had a string break on my warwick first time I gigged it, and decided at that point I wouldn't gig without a backup. That lasted about 3 or 4 gigs until I got lazy again. My passive jazz went out on me once (or so I thought), I had been getting some noise at practice every once in a while so I brought a backup thinking it was probably a loose connection in the jack (ended up being my amp). We had some weird stage noise that I thought was my bass so I switched. Turned out no one heard it in the audience, and it was only in our drummer's monitor (guitarist/singer didn't hear it and my monitor was so low I couldn't hear anything out of it anyways). They were training a new sound guy that night.....
 
#34
JTE said:
Once with an active bass (pre Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay) with a bad battery. The ONLY time I've used an Eveready for a critcial application. Once with my passive P bass- the nut cracked and the G string wouldn't stay in place.

John
Click to expand...

I hear you pal, I don't even use active basses and I can't imagine using anything but Duracells, all others pale for these applications.
 
#35
I have had all the usual stuff already mentioned go wrong in 43 yrs of playing pro but I had a first the other nite.
We were wailing away towards the end of a loud rock tune (don't remember what) and I go to nail a note and the strap breaks (Levy) Now strap failure has happened a few times but this was a first. We were on a kind of bouncy, springy plywood topped stage, you know the type where you can bounce up and down and the amps and drums move and wiggle. Well the bass flew out of my hands hitting the floor at a high rate of speed and BOUNCED straight back at me, I caught it just before it hit me in the chin and continued playing without missing a beat!!! we were at the end of the tune and I played the ending with a round of applause from the people in the crowd that had seen it! A couple of guys came up and asked if I had done this on purpose (LOL) I said no, with a rush of adrenaline, ( I should have said yea all the time) and grabbed my back up bass . The show must go on!

peace Capt Kirk
 
#37
I owned a 5 string Ibanez SoundGear that went belly up on me onstage. I tend to be very active on stage, so the bouncing around eventually took it's toll on the active electronics in that bass.. I don't have that bass anymore....

Main bass is my Fender PBass 5 string.. my backup is my Peavey Cirrus CS, and I always bring both. I also bring an extra head and cabinet since I have had things go south on that front as well.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back