How many Basses Does Everbody bring to a gig?

[Korladis]

Usually only one, sometimes 2, but never as a backup, if i bring 2 its to fit the songs or cause i feel fancy!
All my basses are passive and checked on a regular basis and i never broke a string.
I know, **** always happens when you last expect it but i feel the risk is pretty low!
The only thing i ever had was a flat battery when i used an active bass years ago.

Mind you i drive without a spare wheel to so who am i to talk...

Yeah, I've had to replace a blown out tire, too.

I guess it's just because if there's one thing I'm NOT known for, it's luck. Lots of things in life seem to rearrange themselves to mess me up.

Lots of talk about breaking strings on here, but honestly that's not even what I'm worried about.

 

[Mike]

For a gig lasting more than an hour (2-3) sets, two basses. Otherwise, one for ease of travel.

 

[MegaSwing]

I usually bring two, because weird stuff happens.

Stuff falls over.

Stuff comes loose.

Stuff gets impacted.

I've never broken a string while playing, but breaking strings would be the least of my worries. A bass with a broken string is still playable.

I marvel at the number of years I owned only one bass, so that's all I could take to a gig. Never had a problem that way, but I was easy pickings for some misfortune.

Having a backup at a gig is a prudent thing to do. Wherever money is at stake, you should have backup equipment where it is practical.

 

[Antny]

I don't worry about breaking a string. It's never happened to me in all these years, and even if it does, so what. Tear off the broken remnants so it's not in the way and I'll play on til I can slap a new one on between songs. That's the kind of fun that makes live gigs memorable! Rock n roll, baby!

If my bass goes out of tune, I retune on the fly.....ahhh, the beauty of the TC Electronic RH heads and foot switch with the built-in constant-on digital tuner!

My gig bass is passive, so no battery, pre-amp or extra wiring issues to worry about.

 

[godofthunder59]

Always come prepared! I carry extra strings. Just because you never broke one doesnt' mean you won't and believe me when it does happen it will be at the worst time possible! Strings, batteries, back up amp, back up bass etc. etc. all friends of working pros and non pros.

 

[kellyrojo]

I am a one bass guy w/ extra strings battery cable and DI. I trust my basses as I use them for hours upon hours of practice and rehearsal with out problems...now I'll probably get screwed at the next gig ): But to each their own. I totally understand having back ups! I guess I am just lazy....also have a small car.

 

[AmadeusXeno]

I used to bring 3 basses with me to a gig. I had 2 6-strings and a 4-string. I loved the tone of my 4 but on most of our songs needed the extra range of a 6. I played the 4 whenever I could and mainly just used one 6-string as my main bass. The other 6er was a backup. You never know what might go wrong so I always have at least 1 backup bass.

 

[GoesThump]

I had a string break on me, it was at an audition. Once.

Almost 30 years ago.

I'm scarred for life.

So I always bring two basses, although I realize (rationally) that I probably only need one. Irrationally, it makes me feel less paranoid, so I deal with hauling two cases around. For years I used a Steinberger copy as a backup. Small & light.

-GT

 

[Baird6869]

I always bring 2 basses. Mainly because I use 3 different tunings throuout the night, not in case I break a string (broke maybe 2 on gigs in 25+ years).

 

[jaywa]

I have a 78 P-Bass and an Ibanez BTB. Up till now, I've only ever brought 1 or the other to a gig.

However, in the new band I'm starting in next month I will probably be bringing (and playing) both, for the following reasons:

1) Very wide range of material (old-school country to 80s-era Michael Jackson to Lady GaGa) requiring two basses to cover tonally

2) Some material requiring drop D (I play 4-stringers)

3) Lots of gigs in remote areas where running home for a replacement is simply not an option.

And FWIW, not that this is the point of the thread but I have played 30 years and never broken a string.

I'm playing a gig this weekend (not with the band I'm joining), and will probably bring both basses to that one too because of breadth of material and also to start getting used to switching within a show.

 

[fullrangebass]

i think it's very important that you bring at least one bass.



if you're hard on your basses, bring more than one for sure. but even though i like showing off my different basses, the reality of changing basses is that it's kind of a pain in the ass unless they all sound the same. so i tend more these days to stick to one bass only. and i almost always only bring one because i'm not so hard on them. and on my fly gigs, i can only bring one anyway. flying with a bass sucks enough without having to bring two. i do bring extra strings, though.

JimmyM has nailed it again.

 

[SteveC]

25 years for me. This whole notion of the "backup bass" has always seemed like a GC sales promotion to me.

But I do bring extra strings/batteries...

I used to think this, and I still only bring one bass - two for jazz gigs as I use an EUB - but my "trusty" bass that has given me no problems for 6 years until now and it gave me "issues" at like 3 gigs in a row. Part of the reason I am looking at a different bass these days, and I'm getting tired of the active 5 string tone and loving the passive 4 string jazz tone.

JimmyM has nailed it again.

Jimmy often nails it...whatever that means.

 

[DERECOLA]

only need 1...

 

[klejst]

I usually bring two, my main and a backup just in case. Never needed more than that.

 

[Blackbird23005]

I usually bring two but have only ever needed one. I guess for me it's better to be prepared.

 

[Winemule]

I've never broken a string. I've never had an amp crap out on me. I don't use batteries.

On the other hand, now that I have two basses (first time in decades), I'm thinking about bringing one tuned to Eb. I only need it for one song, but hey, why not?

 

[SaucyJackBass]

I usually had played entire shows with one bass (Fender American Standard Jazz), but always brought a backup bass "just in case". Have brought as many as 3 if I needed a 5 string and a bass with difficult tuning (full 1/2 step different) just to speed up transition time into the next song.

 

[Mushroo]

Some gigs require multiple basses (4 and 5, fretted and fretless, etc.) but assuming the gig only requires one: I bring two. The spare bass (often my SX P-bass) sits in its gig bag with a spare strap, cable, tuner, power cord, strings, earplugs, etc. and I also bring a small combo amp with a good DI in case of amp failure. In other words I have a spare for everything that could possibly break--except for myself!

If you're breaking strings often, have a good tech take a look at your setup. I used to break G strings all the time until a tech filed down a "burr" on the G string bridge saddle. Since then I have not broken a string in 20 years. But I still bring a spare bass in case I break a string; go figure!

 

[lowfreqgeek]

I only take 2 if I have a specific reason to have 2, like a fretted and fretless, or five string with rounds and a Pbass w/flats (very rare), or if I have a new bass I don't trust yet and/or want to compare. I've never had a bass fail me on a gig, but I have had issues in the studio once and ended up doing the session with my P-bass instead (wise move).

As long as you have good gear and take good care of it, and know it well, there's no reason to worry about it. Take some extra strings, but even those can be an old set - something to get you through in an emergency.

 

[KJung]

If you double on fretted and fretless/DB... two.

If you don't, and you also don't suck, one.

If you don't, and you do kind of suck, you might feel the need for 3 or 4