Have you ever NEEDED a backup amp? VOTE!

[ThinCrappyTone]

Backup amp no, backup bass yes!

 

[HertzWhenIPlay]

Lead guitarist had an electrolytic failure in a vintage Mesa Boogie guitar amp. Smoked the tubes. Cool stage effects. Backup fender amp on stage and running in less than one minute.

 

[coreyfyfe]

Once. Transformer on my B15 shorted when we went to take a set break. Had a backup head ready to go for the second set.

If I'm the only bassist for the night I'll bring a backup head, usually a small class D that can stay in the car or get tucked in a corner.

 

[JRA]

i've had equipment failures (very few). but those have never stopped a show. so i voted "no."

 

[garp]

Head worked fine during the sound check, but on power-up for the first set, the protection circuit kicked in. I double-checked all of my connections but couldn't figure out what the problem was, so I swapped it out with my spare. I guess it wasn't truly a show-stopping event, but rather a show-delaying event. The problem turned out to be a short in the head's power supply.

 

[stringthrough]

Never needed one but for a while carried a small combo in the truck in case I did... Guess I just got lazy after a while...

 

[interp]

In fifty years of gigging, approaching 3,000 gigs, I’ve broken a string once and had an amp fail maybe twice. Once was when I let some idiot sit in on a tune and he dimed my Walter Woods Ultra and blew it up. (He walked off the stage, handed me my bass and said, "hey your amp blew up, man" and walked out of the bar without another word.)

I don't always bring a backup amp to gigs, but I always have a backup.

 

[grimjim]

I smoked an SVT-4 at a show once. My fault, I used the other bands 8x10 cab and assumed it connected the same as mine. I was mistaken and basically fed each side of the amp back into itself.

 

[jaysbass2002]

Once upon a time I purchased a brand new Peavey Firebass amp. Powered a 4x10 and 1x15 with it. First gig half way through first song it shut down. Let it cool for a moment turned it back on and same thing. Had to run through the monitors. Luckily I was using a Boss GT 6B at the time and routed into monitors. After bringing it back to the dealer he found the internal cooling fan was never plugged in from the factory. I told him I wanted a new one. He gave me some grief but did order me a new one. From that gig on I BRING A BACKUP!

 

[BooDoggie]

I understand if bass is your living but I usually see this in weekend warriors or people who play in church. Is this just a reason to buy more gear?

Yes... or unfounded fear in "what if"

 

[DD Gunz]

Three times. Twice it was tubes and once was the board in a SS head. You never know and a backup is never a bad idea. If you have FOH support a DI will work fine.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

I've been playing a little while, my first high school dance gig was in 1970. I've needed a backup amp twice. The first time, in a local bar around 1997, I just went direct and put bass in the monitors. The second time was last September while playing a week long engagement at a dinner theater in Jacksonville. The Eden that the backline company provided went belly-up at soundcheck on opening day. They had the forethought to provide a backup Eden head. I plugged it in and played the whole week with it.

So two failures, but neither stopped the show.

I don't often carry two bass amps with me unless it's a reeeeeealy important gig. I have four amps and three speaker cabs total in my garage. Since most all of our gigs have full sound support I'm going direct anyway. I almost always take at least two basses unless it's a fly date.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[4SG]

My band toured England last year and the promoter rented gear for us. I got a playable Classic 50's Precision and an ancient Trace Elliott 1x15 combo. By the end of the tour (9 gigs in 10 days) I had to dime that amp just to hear it. It NEVER sounded any good. I would have liked a backup in that situation but at home I'm careful not to gig with battered old crap that's literally falling apart.

 

[honeyiscool]

Isn't a backup amp known as a DI box?

 

[lowfreqgeek]

I've had a few failures in the last 30 years. Once, I blew a fuse on a gig in a small town in West TX with no backup amp in sight. The local grocery/hardware store happened to have a multi-pack of fuses and I found one that worked. Oddly enough, I expected to blow it again as soon as I powered up, but it was ok.

Another failure was due to a shorting outlet that did some major damage to my ShuttleMax 9.2. The amp continued to work through a rehearsal, then blew up at home. I shipped it to Andy and he replaced the module, while I used a backup amp for a few weeks.

Otherwise, I have multiple amps for different reasons, but I never carry an extra amp to the gig, nor have I had to pull one out on a gig. I do have a tiny Acoustic Image Clarus SL that fits in a gig bag pocket, should I feel the need to carry an extra amp.

 

[madbass6]

Hey TB, I sometimes see threads about TBers asking "which backup amp" they should buy. I see people with 750-1000w, top of the line amps who want to spend a ton of money on another high-wattage expensive amp just to keep it in a gigbag. I understand if bass is your living but I usually see this in weekend warriors or people who play in church. Is this just a reason to buy more gear? I get that, but is it more about different flavors or the actual NEED for a backup? In 24 years of playing, several hundred (over 1000? ) gigs, I've never once NEEDED a backup amp. One time I had issues with a backline amp so I used my Sansamp to FOH, worked great. I have had many bass issues, and needed my second bass, but never an amp failure. So go vote and then let us know the situation that caused you to use your backup.

hey better safe then sorry!
Besides a back up amp I always have a back up bass as well! No matter the gig!!

 

[Paulabass]

In the past I've always had a Bass Bone, and nowa Mesa Subway DI. On my board, or at least with me. It's mt ampless AND emergency rig.

 

[mikewalker]

First big rec center gig as a teenager - the big rented Peavey went up in smoke, played the last hour through the PA. (1970s)

Twenty years later, (1990s) was using a Peavey DECA single-space rack amp and it made blue fire come out my ALTECs! Switched to some extra PA bins to finish the gig.

*The Altecs got re-coned, but I have not used a Peavey amplifier since...

 

[Wicked G]

I have been playing for 30 years and have only had an amp failure 4 times with no back up amp. Show never stopped though as I just went straight through the board, but it is not as much fun as having an amp behind me.

Funny thing is all of those failures were within a few short years of each other and they were all LOUD Technology amps. A Crate BT220 followed by 2 more refurbished BT220's that LOUD sent me and a few years later an Ampeg PF500.

Luckily now that I use other amps I have not had anymore failures, but still always carry a backup just in case. Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself.

 

[2112]

I've had amps crap out at a gig before. Typically I take two identical amps and alternate them between gigs, so I haven't had a crisis yet.