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Headline turns into double-bill turns into sharing backline...

#21
riotorgun said:
he switched from guitar to bass just to join a band,that just p***s me off
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That is weak.

I generally dont let anyone use my gear. Ive spent enough money and put too much time into it to see some jackass piss all over it. As others have said, if I know the guy no problem, just respect my gear!!
Last time I let someone use my Stingray, I got it back with a dead on-board preamp. Guy said it didnt fall or anything. Later a friend told me that he discovered it lying strings down on the floor and picked it up!! I WAS RAGIN'

guy:can I use your gear for tonights show?
Me: Sure *as I put my rack back in car* hope you brought your head!!! :hiding:

:D:D
 
#22
My band was asked to open for ex-Monkee Peter Tork a few years ago. Before we had even accepted the gig, the club called again and asked if Peter's band could use our gear - for no additional compensation from the club. I was already on the fence about taking the gig, but letting them use our gear for nothing pushed me into turning it down.
 
#23
busmandan said:
My band was asked to open for ex-Monkee Peter Tork a few years ago. Before we had even accepted the gig, the club called again and asked if Peter's band could use our gear - for no additional compensation from the club. I was already on the fence about taking the gig, but letting them use our gear for nothing pushed me into turning it down.
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good call. that was a sucker move for sure
 
#26
Jazznfunk, did you talk to anyone at the venue about this situation. The venue adding another act without your knowledge IMO is very unprofessional, as is their assumption they could share your gear. I would have let the owner/manager of the venue know that this is not how we do things and you don't appreciate being put in this situation, even if it ends up costing you the gig. Does this place have a history of being difficult to work with?
 
#27
Stinsok said:
I would have turned him off.
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Same here.
If someone assumes they can use my gear, well, sorry.
Because if you blow up my gear, I'm screwed. Not you.

I don't care if Marcus Miller walked in. I work hard and buy my own stuff.
If I know you and have a personal relationship with you (my friend) then sure.
But if you're someone who I don't know. Sorry.

Now, the flip side to this is I wouldn't expect or assume to use any other bassists gear ahead of time.
I pretty much always bring my amp (it's a micro amp so it's small as hell anyway) so all I need is a cab.
And if no cab is available, then monitors it is.

I would totally respect if another guy says no to me using their gear.

Don't ever ask a question to where one of the possible answers could be something you don't like.
It's a 50/50 shot that you may get the answer you didn't want.

I was at a show to see my buddy play a while back. The bass player in the opening band (inde rock) was good, real good actually, but POUNDING away on his bass. He broke a string.
Turned around and asked Ryan "Dude, quick lemme borrow your bass!!".
Ryan said, and I qoute "Are you effin' crazy?!?! I'm not letting you beat my bass like you did to yours!" (Ryan has a nice Sandburg).
One of the other bass players thought he was being an arse (Ryan) and handed over his Jazz (laid into us for not just handing over a bass). And we proceeded to stand there and watch that nice Jazz get pounded on for another 15 min.
Suffice to say, the guy who handed over his bass ripped the bass player a MAJOR new ass.
The other player.....was like, yeah, whatever, it's just a bass relax.

Maybe my rig. Maybe. But don't plan on it.
My bass.......umm.....no.
 
#28
I have done it twice once by choice the other I felt I had to. I let a bassist from a national band we were opening for use my rig while when they came to town and we opened. This was discussed before the show by the promoter. The bassist was a very cool guy and a tasty player...no issues.

The second time was this past summer at a festival. My band had finished the set and I had packed my car and was going to walk around with my family and check out the event when the next bands bassist(Teenager) and his Dad appraoched me and said his son had forgotten his bass amp :rolleyes: I said What? Your the bass player how do you forget the amp? He said he was in a hurry and just forgot. I had to decide and Dad said he would make sure all was ok. I let them use it.

Funny thing is the Kid was the bassist and lead singer and the band was really good..I enjoyed their show allot. As for the OP that suks and I would of turned him off and took my amp back.
 
#29
I always bring my samsamp DI with me. I'm cool with friends to use my gear and will loan it out no problems to them. Strangers in a situation like that would get DI & monitors. And even if I decided to let the guy play on my gear, once you see him mistreat it I will unplug the amp so damn fast he wouldn't know what happened. NO SOUP FOR YOU! I was at a bar watching a blues jam band play and was asked by the guitar player too jump up for the 1st few songs of the next set with my old band. I said find your bassist and let him tell me it's OK before I do. It was a very nice Aggie DB750 and Aggie cab. Even after his permission I just flipped it off standby, turned up the volume off the bass and nothing else. I also thanked him when I handed the bass back. Very sweet rig by the way. It's all about courtesy. A sometimes forgotten thing in music.
 
#30
The only person who is free to assume they can use my gear is my fiancee, and then only if my band is not booked. I love her, so she gets the special pass. I no longer use a bass amp, instead I bring my PA. Its convenient for me as its less gear to haul, since if there is not a PA already we've got that covered, and we can put our keyboard player through it as well. I manage to get a god tone out of it as well. It works well when there is a sound guy as we can DI and go into the main PA as well without sacrificing stage volume.
But no, if someone wants to borrow my gear for their set I have no problem saying no. I'll let some people, as Im a fairly nice guy, but when my set is over I want to break my gear down and put it away. If people persist in asking or give me gripe about telling them no I tell them that I run sound, and will gladly let them use my gear as well as run it for them, for a price.
 
#34
This sharing backline is nonsense to me. Guitarist aren't made to share amps, but it's just assumed that bassists are ok with it. It doesn't take longer to setup a bass rig than it does a guitar rig.

It's similar to micing the bass cabinet. Bassists are just assumed to go DI. Guitarists aren't made to run DI.
 
#36
I don't lend my gear out to anyone outside the family, and I don't borrow gear from anyone - period.

We played a church a few weeks ago, where the P&W team had left a tasty Marshall head and cab on the stage (far too much power for the room, but that's a different topic). 20yo son was confused initially when I said that he couldn't use the Marshall instead of plugging into our small PA - until I explained that (a) we didn't have permission from the owner, and (b) it was over $1k of kit that we couldn't afford to replace if it got damaged.

The other aspect, of course, is that if you use strange kit, how do you get that perfect sound that you've searched for all those years?

Pete.
 
#37
well ive been in both situations and i can honistly say i DONT lend my rig. most venues have a good enough one or a d.i. theres no need to use mine.

the problem is though one of my band mates thought it would be a good idea to say to a band we wernt even playing with "yeah you can borrow our bass players amp" when i got there i just said "ok befor i give you the amp give me £200 incase you blow a tube"
 
#38
jmac said:
This sharing backline is nonsense to me. Guitarist aren't made to share amps, but it's just assumed that bassists are ok with it. It doesn't take longer to setup a bass rig than it does a guitar rig.

It's similar to micing the bass cabinet. Bassists are just assumed to go DI. Guitarists aren't made to run DI.
Click to expand...
Bingo hits the nail on the head.
 
#39
busmandan said:
My band was asked to open for ex-Monkee Peter Tork a few years ago. Before we had even accepted the gig, the club called again and asked if Peter's band could use our gear - for no additional compensation from the club. I was already on the fence about taking the gig, but letting them use our gear for nothing pushed me into turning it down.
Click to expand...

And the worst part would have been having to sit through Tork's set! :D
 
#40
I will let people play though my rig, and I don't mind borrowing a rig if it's convenient, but I always check well in advance of the gig if I am really gigging, and not just sitting in for a tune or two. When someone plays through my rig I tell them basically how to set up the gain, and tell them that if this light blinks (the post-EQ limit/clip light, indicating power amp clipping), they HAVE to turn the master down. Surprisingly many bassists, even good ones, don't seem to understand bass amps, so they get a bit cowed by my brief explanation, and they don't twist a knob. Works for me. But it's always nice to see a player who knows how to quickly get a good sound out of a different rig.

When I play through someone else's rig (I almost never borrow a bass unless I wasn't planning to play...) I try not to change the knobs too much, but sometimes you need to lower the gain to avoid clipping the input- that's just courtesy- and sometimes you wind up with someone who way over-EQs so it sounds like crap without turning down some of the extreme EQ settings. But I try to make as few changes as possible.

I think you (OP) would be well within your rights to refuse letting this guy borrow your rig again, and explain to him you asked him not to clip your rig and he ignored you, so now he's on his own.
 

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