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Has Anyone Had A Bass Go Down During A Gig?

#81
Eilif said:
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.
Click to expand...

BIG Plus 1 to all that. Spot on.

I've personaly broken more strings than I can remember, and no, this isn't from a "bad" bridge saddle, as I've broken strings on every bass I've ever owned regardless of price. Hard playing with a pick, and lots of sweat will play hell with the strings. I'd love to put a new set on for every show, but that's just not realistic without an endorsment deal. On fingerstyle shows, this was much less of a concern , but it can still happen. Stopping a show that people have paid good money to see you play, to change a string is unproffesional (required IMO).

Had a strap pin get torn out of the body twice.

Broken nut on a gig playing guitar one night.

Strap lock fell appart on me.

Guitar player had a Dunlop strap lock lose a retainer clip that sent his Gibson to the floor mid song, breaking a tuner clean off the headstock.

Things happen that you don't expect.

I give my gear a once over after every show, regarless if I get home at 3:30 A.M. or I have to take my basses into the hotel room on the road.

All the preventive care in the world doesn't solve every problem that might come up.

Those that think that is enough... well... good luck to ya, and keep your fingers crossed that nothing ever happens.
 
#82
I've never had a bass crap out on a gig. (Drummers.... now that's a different story....). I've been gigging for about 20 years and have often played without a backup. I understand the sentiment that "you should always be prepared", but I think there are other factors to consider when thinking about bringing a backup:

1) How reliable is your main bass? My cheap 25yr old bass with active electronics and no active/passive switch that was cutting in and out at the last rehearsal pretty much screams for a backup. My Sadowsky... maybe not.
2) How safe is the venue? The more stuff that you bring, the more stuff that can get stolen. That has to be considered.
3) How much room do you have onstage? Depending on how many are in the band and how big the stage is, a backup may have to sit off stage. In that case, see point 2.
 
#85
I've been gigging for about 35 years, and I've had only two things happen:
A strap button pulled out once.
I broke two strings in one weekend (obviously something in the bridge-- a grain of sand or something).
I used to tour for weeks or months with no backup. In recent years, I've brought two basses, but since nothing bad ever happens, I've done it to cover different sounds, e.g. 5-string with roundwounds & 4-string with flatwounds.
 
#87
slagbass said:
1) How reliable is your main bass? My cheap 25yr old bass with active electronics and no active/passive switch that was cutting in and out at the last rehearsal pretty much screams for a backup. My Sadowsky... maybe not.
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Even the best bass can have a solder joint go, take a fall, get knocked off a stand, rip out a strap button get beer thrown at it. That's stuff you can't control, especially when someone else is the factor.
slagbass said:
2) How safe is the venue? The more stuff that you bring, the more stuff that can get stolen. That has to be considered.
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More stuff to bring is more stuff to dissapear. That's true, but one more bass is not a huge burden, and if we were that worried about this, we'd all exhange our rigs for a sansamp pedal and our pedalboards for an ME50B

slagbass said:
3) How much room do you have onstage? Depending on how many are in the band and how big the stage is, a backup may have to sit off stage. In that case, see point 2.
Click to expand...

This is a pretty good one. However, I've played on absolutely tiny stages, and I've never found one where I couldn't find room onstage for a backup, whether on a stand, or in a case (tuned and ready to go).
 
#88
Never had one die....but have had a couple act up. I now gig with 3 basses in tow; active, passive, passive fretless. As others have mentioned, I have a toolbox with basic tools, 4 or 5 sets of spare strings, extra batteries, cables, etc. I find that I save other people's bacon much more than my own, usually other bands that don't think ahead or live in the "my gear will never let me down" delusion. I don't gig with a spare amp, but I do carry a DI box with.
 
#89
1-Have had batteries die. Someone in an earlier post said that Duracell was better than Eveready. You've got my attention. Is that pretty much a consensus? I have used Eveready for some time.

2-Broken G strings several times

3-Broken E string (this one really surprised me)

4-On a different note, blown speaker trying to be the nice guy a let the opening act use my cabs.

I always travel with an extra bass, strings, batteries, cords, pre-amp and even strap.
 
#93
Eilif said:
This is a pretty good one. However, I've played on absolutely tiny stages, and I've never found one where I couldn't find room onstage for a backup, whether on a stand, or in a case (tuned and ready to go).
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Have to agree, played last night in the tiniest corner of the tiniest pub in the universe, and I still managed to keep my spare bass stuffed down the back of my rig where I could get to it in a hurry. Didn't need it, but I bet I would have if it hadn't been there.
 
#94
YES! It was a horrible thing! My aerodyne went down and i didnt have a back up. Luckily we only had one song left, and luckily i was a little drunk and happy so i didnt care so for the last song i still played my bass with no sound!!
 
#95
Its usually problems with my jack. I've had nuts break before too. I've had bridge saddles on my 70s Jazz slip so my strings stick to the pickups.

I've had strings break before. The worst was when on my 08 P-bass broke the A string, and than the E string (different spots over the fretboard) all within the space of 15 minutes.

I flung a bass once by accident, and slammed its neck into pieces.

Yeah, I always bring a backup.
 
#97
GeneralElectric said:
Monster bass cables destroy your input jacks because they stretch out the jack. Its not a problem when you keep using that same monster cable, but every other cable will fall out on you.
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I've found this to be true of my Monster cable as well, but since I always use the same cable with my bass (I love that lifetime warranty they offer on these things, it's the only reason I use Monster, and a darn good reason as far as I'm concerned) it's never been a big issue. My problem is my jacks keep corroding to the point that no cable (Monster or not) can make solid contact on the ring portion. I'm not sure if it's the weather around here or what, but it sure keeps me up to snuff on my soldering technique...
 
#98
john nam said:
I never knew that input jacks can even short out. Has anyone had that happen on a passive only bass? What about a passive/active bass?
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I've had jacks get flakey but never short out so bad that you had to change them at the gig. You just wiggle them around to get them going and then fix them before the next gig. The problem can happen on either active or passive.

I always carry a spare set of strings and a spare battery for active basses. I've never had a string break on the gig and only lost a battery a couple of times. Happily most of my basses have an active/passive switch which saved the day. Next best are the basses I have where I installed the Carvin battery box thingies. Makes changing batteries almost as fast as the active/passive switch. Happily (knock on wood) I've never had one loose a battery that was active-only and was the type where you have to unscrew the back plate to change the battery

Often (but not always) I carry two basses but for the purpose of having two different bass sounds of various kinds. But, I figure that it also works as a backup bass in a pinch. But I've never had to resort to that.
 

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