How Many Basses at the Live Gig?

[Luckydog]

1 bass (my "Stradivarius" =meaning the he best bass I could have)
+ 1 exact copy of that bass, in case something happens in the middle of a song.

Myself I have a EBMM Stingray Short Scale (my "Stradivarius)
-with a Sterling Stingray Short Scale as a spare.

I always keep the spare tuned and on the Hercules stand, next to me on stage.

In the middle of a song there is no time to
"check out the volume and EQ of the spare"
=> it has to be the same level and tone as the main bass.

And the best is if they both have the same sound of the strings,
-or I have to know how to change the tone-knob
if the spare has brand new strings with to much brightness
for the main-bass-settings in the mix.

BUT if some song requires a different tuning
I could have the spare tuned in that tuning.
(Drop-D I ususally do directly on the main bass...)

What about all the advantages of
changing to the perfect bass type & for the different songs
-as I do in studio...?

SORRY...on most BIG concerts I have seen
the only ones to really hear - and appreciate- those different characters of bass sounds
are the people listening in the monitor systems...

On BIG concerts that doesn't happen... I am sad to say.

The latest BIG concert I attended was Rolling Stones in July 2022
(Stockholm Sweden, arena-roof closed)
-and I really tried to hear what BASS-NOTES Darryl Jones played,
BUT except from hiss bass solo
I COULD NOT HEAR WHAT NOTES HE PLAYED!
= and of course not hear any nuances in his bass sound,
expert from the overdriven bass-solo.

It was the usual arena sound:
BOOM BOOM BOOMY bass (kick...)
-like the sound You hear from a bling-bling-car passing by:
You hear there IS bass, but You don't hear the NOTES
(and not any trace of character in the bass sound).

And that is not unique.
But it is a little sad for us bass players,
-as we hope that the audience will hear- and appreciate
the nice sound & funky touch we deliver
(the things we hear in our speakers on stage...)

HOPELESS...?
No.
I hope the Motown type of mixing returns:
-having the bass in the bottom (not SUB...) frequencies
making the groove rolling, and the legs starting to dance.

That is our mission

++++++1 million to your comments!!!
And its particularly hard for someone like me, who grew up listening to 60s/70s music recorded on analog equipment without all the cr@ppy autotune and sub frequencies. When I go to the “charts” lists on Apple Music, or on Spotify, it seems the entire universe of popular music tries to include every single trashy effect, with lyrics that are almost always explicit. It seems like almost every piece of “popular” music that comes out today is produced by engineers who share the same vision. I guess it makes the industry execs wealthy (which is their purpose I suppose), but for this old codger, I will always prefer something produced more akin to Stax, Fame, Muscle Shoals, Motown, Atlantic, (old) Warner Bros, etc.

forgot to add…the same vision seems to apply to the live music industry as well as recorded.

 

[Jefenator]

Swapping basses mid set is actually a relief on the back IME - especially if one of them is a hollowbody or an upright.
If I had a dedicated tech I might indulge multiple axes. For my actual situations, two is plenty.

 

[mahsidivad]

For me, two, one fretless, each as the other's backup.

Same boat and I'd occasionally bring a third, either a novelty (for me) or a recently acquired bass to see if there's potential to swap out one of the other two.

 

[Ryan W]

I have 4 basses total, and I ALWAYS bring 2 to a gig. Partly because I don’t want to feel like I’m neglecting any of them, but the main reason is 3 of them have active EQ, and no bypass. Instead of changing batteries before every gig, I bring my passive Fender Boxer bass along with one of the active basses.

I’m mostly a recording hobbyist, but a songwriter I respect asked me to play an extended set with him, and I jumped in. I’m having a great time woodshedding the material. Feeling some rare musical fulfillment.

First few times running through the material, I was on my go-to P with flats, but pretty quickly one tune started to beg for the fretless. So I got that locked in; sounds good.

And then another—90’s R&B vibe in A-flat—really wanted the 5-string with rounds. Done.

Last night, as I was packing up the 3 basses for today’s rehearsal, I thought “Am I insane?” I want to get the perfect sound for each song, but am I going to look ridiculous up there? Like I’m in an 18-song flex all about myself?

It was shortly after that thought that I decided to refresh myself on something real quick and, with the P packed up, I just grabbed the Mustang off the wall and…smh…now I need to have that sound (Mustang, La Bellas, foam mute) on this one song.

Is 4 basses over 18 songs a ridiculous look? Will I hate myself at the end of the night—or more specifically, will my 55-year-old back hate me? For you guys, what’s the most basses you would bring to a gig?

 

[Rich Fernadez]

4 basses for 18 songs is way, way, way too many for me. I've learned the only person who is likely to care about the bass tone besides me is any other bass players in the crowd. Otherwise, folks just wanna hear/feel it, and I'd say nailing the material is far more important

I agree, one bass, another for alternate tuning or backup. At a live gig, the emphasis you are thinking of don’t come through. I stay with one general setup and stay with it. I usually just transpose in practice for alternate tuning. I rarely bring a second bass, I use my Fender Jazz as my primary but sometimes use my p bass.

 

[fclef66]

I'm 56 playing in a classic rock trio. I bring 2 fretted and a fretless (for the Bad Co. songs) to every gig and play all of them throughout 3 sets. On any gig I ALWAYS bring a double gig bag so I have a backup, and doing that has saved me on more than one occasion. As a recording musician, myself, I own too many basses for covering all types of sounds and the only way I justify that to myself is gigging them all! So no, I don't think 4 is excessive for a gig where you're covering a lot of musical territory.

 

[DanM01]

At the moment, I don't have the financial means to own more than one bass (a P-bass). If I did own more than one bass, I probably would not bring a second one to a live gig. Well, maybe leave it in the trunk. As an amateur band, we already have a lot to carry and set up ourselves (mixing board, seemingly miles of cables, PA, etc.). Being the de-facto sound engineer, I'd spare myself the trouble of a second instrument.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I've found that with my preferred Thunderbird and pedals, I can get whatever I need for live sound. If I take a second Bird it's a backup. I tried using two a couple of times at my last church but we seldom had any time with me not playing between songs so I gave up. If I get back into a band at some point I can see taking two under certain conditions, but as someone else noted, the visuals would have a lot to do with it.
We'll see how I feel after I finish modding (far too slowly) my third bass, which will be tuned BEAD.

 

[hdscout]

ONE for the money
TWO for the show
THREE to get ready
and Four to...

 

[Capn Cack]

One. In forty years of gigging I've never had a bass fail. Only once have I had a string break at a gig. So yeah, just one.

Same here. Come on, how often does a bass string break? The only thing I needed to remember was to have spare batteries for the active EQ.

 

[rtslinger]

Two 1 with flats one with rounds

 

[funkinbottom]

Same here. Come on, how often does a bass string break?

Once in 40 years.

 

[mcrawfordmusic]

I would bring the 5 string and the fretless. You can 'fake' flatwounds using technique and a mute.

 

[Smokey P]

well I’ve only got the one so I only bring the one…and yes it has come back to bite me in the y’know once or twice. Not a catastrophe tho, was able to borrow the opening bands MIM jazz bass with the ole “idk what a truss rod is” banana neck special. A recent output jack replacement i had done at a shop failed on the gig.

 

[SamBassPlayer]

Same here. Come on, how often does a bass string break? The only thing I needed to remember was to have spare batteries for the active EQ.

I generally bring one. If my 'one' is an active bass I sometimes bring a passive PJ as a backup. I played a place with just my active J bass and it was picking up some crazy interference from the lighting or something and there was nothing I could do about it.

I've never broken a bass string, whether at home, rehearsal, or gig. However, my amp wold not cooperate at a gig right up until a few seconds before we were about to go on. I think it was something in the input jack. Took it apart and tested it and it seemed fine but I replaced the jack anyway. And then sold the amp. I do now bring a D/I box just in case I get stuck ever again and need to plug into the PA.

 

[lokikallas]

I can't see switching basses that often for 18 songs. I'd bring the 5 and a backup. If there is an appropriate moment to switch between songs that is not going to interfere with the rest of the band, OK, but less is more.

 

[mellobud]

2 basses for me.
The backup is a modded Squier Mini P to save weight and space. I haven’t had to pull it out yet.

 

[GrapeBass]

Most of the time I bring one unless the gig merits two.

 

[JIO]

one bass & a back-up amp

 

[funkmaster p]

If you feel that bringing all of those basses contributes to the songwriter's vision and provides you with a spark of inspiration, by all means do it!