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Has Anyone Had A Bass Go Down During A Gig?

#61
Only problem was a dead battery....I learnt!
If you look after your gear and check batteries/strings you should never need a backup...I couldn't imagine lugging two basses plus my amp to a gig....pointless.
Some people really need to learn how to look after their gear...its so easy to check a battery before a gig....sort it out!
 
#62
I've never had a problem, with passive basses, it's kinda hard for something to go wrong, and my amp rig is a Hartke and Bag End, I pretty much blindly trust both of those things to always work, no matter what. I do have another bass on stage though, it's not really a backup, because I use it for certain songs, but if something were to go wrong, then it's there.
I've never broken a string, and I play fairly hard... I don't see how some people break E strings and such...
 
#64
Oric said:
I've never broken a string, and I play fairly hard... I don't see how some people break E strings and such...
Click to expand...

I'm with you.
Mine used to break....you'll nearly always find it because of bad hardware on a bass....if you break a bass string it [usually] because the saddle or bridge are too sharp where the string rests on it....again it all boils down to looking after gear.
 
#69
I've been pretty fortunate overall. For the past several months until recently I only had one bass (BB3000MA), so I had no choice but to use one bass. I did start having some issues with the pickup switch sometimes cutting out the J pickup, so I had to get that fixed. I had a friend willing to let me borrow one of his basses until my bass was fixed, so that was nice.

I've never had a string break or a battery completely die on me.
 
#70
Din Of Win said:
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.
Click to expand...

Great punk move! This just made my morning. I know it was at the expense of your broken bass, but thanks for the laugh. :)

As for me, I guess I've been lucky. The worst things I've had happen to me are broken/unraveled strings, and a tuning key giving up the ghost so I had to retune after every song. :p
 
#72
When I was very actively gigging, I always bring at least one other bass, and sometimes two. I've had batteries die, strings break, solder joints decide to let go, and a strap button screw decide to pop out mid-song.

Nothing worse than being stranded at a gig without a freaking workable instrument. When I had a solder joint let loose, I would have been screwed had it not been for a backup!
 
#73
From Different Shows... had more then just bass trouble:
==========================================
1. broke an (A) String at the bridge on a 5 string bass

2. Blew a 1x15 Carvin Cab - Not My fault - I will never let an Opening band use my stuff again.

3. Blew 4x8 Ampeg Cab - Ok, this one WAS my fault. :)

4. Leather Strap Broke - Caught bass before it hit the floor.. and yes I used strap locks :) I change the strap during a breakdown in the song..


I always bring backup basses... and now, backup amps, strings, batts.
 
#75
Not at a gig thankfully - but in the middle of Jazz Summerschool - which was worse in a way, because it was playing all day!!

So I had a Yamaha TRB6P and was changing the battery and inserted it the wrong way round - fried the electrics - no sound from bass - no passive option at all!! :bawl:

It was also difficult to fix - I ended up buying another bass - a passive (no battery) Fender RBV!!
 
#76
i had one of the wires on my input spontaneously disconnect in the middle of a song... couldn't figure out what was wrong as my lead singer was killing time talking to the crowd. who'd a thought i'd need to bring a pocket soldering iron to a gig?

i always had two bases in that band anyway for the two tunings we played in, so that came in handy.

the very same show my rhythm guitarists line 6 spider caught fire during soundcheck. bittersweet since he got to rock out with the headlining band's mesa triple-rec, which sounded soo much meaner.
 
#77
Man threads like these are a good reminder that if you don't gig with a backup, you're really only safe until your bass goes down.

Two points I would like to make
1) Time: Alot of folks have mentioned being able to solder joints, change strings, etc. All of that takes time, and if you're trying to put on a professional set, those kinds of delays are not really acceptable. I make it a point to never be the one to delay a set. If a task takes more time for me than it would take my guitarrist to tune up between songs, then it's too long.

2) Reliance on others for a backup bass. This can work sometimes, but the opening band is not always around, and alot of the shows that a band will do they may be the only band. That makes relying on others a pretty risky proposition.

Some folks can't afford a backup, and that's understandable, but most folks here already have a second bass and a 2-bass gigbag can be had for less than 50 bucks. That's pretty cheap for the peace of mind that you will never be unprepared.

This has the added advantage of when the bozo in the opening act has his bass go down, you can lend him your beater instead of your main.
 

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