How many Basses Does Everbody bring to a gig?

[ciubz]

I usually bring 1 bass and set of USED strings, they are easier to put on the bass that they where on before. The bass that i use is a 77' p-bass with a J pickup added in the bridge position, it's the most versatile bass i have ever played in my life.

I have a large pedal-board with a lot of effects and a SansAmp but for quick gigs and Jam Sessions i usually carry my Boss Gt6, i have made a lot of nice sounding presets.

A lot of times there isn't a sound-check and the mixing board is on the stage, so i have to be my own sound-man. On the large venues i usually play open strings and a few licks from the music i'm gonna play the night.

 

[Jimbow]

I used to just bring my SX five string jazz. I recently acquired a used MIM Fender jazz that I like better - so now I bring both and use the Fender most of the time and the SX for songs that need the low B / backup.

 

[skiscem]

two of the same here

 

[PocketGroove82]

I normally bring 2. 1 AB and 1 EB, or, 2 EBes.
The reasons are simple. If it's a 4 hour jazz gig, it's nice to have an EB there to cover the last couple tunes when my DB chops are hurting. If it's any other kind of gig, it's nice to have a backup EB and I can mix up my tonal pallet if I need/want to.

As far as soundchecks go, when I actually have the luxury, I play basslines from the tunes that are going to be played that night. If there isn't a soundcheck or we're playing a small bar/restaurant then I just set my amp and off we go.

 

[12stringbassist]

Generally I take 3.

Either of these configurations:
2 actives, plus an active 12 string bass
3 passives
3 actives

Just depends where we are playing and which basses I fancy taking out.

We were supposed to be playing a great venue on Friday and if our drummer
hadn't gone into hospital it would have been 4-5, just to show off.
I would have used probably two and the 12er.

 

[ihateusernames]

2 of 3 for me. Main gig bass is a Sterling - secondary is either the Schecter Stiletto or an old Fender. Rarely switch out, only if tone is sounding like arse from lazy playing, soundman checking chics instead, technical failure, sick of the weight, or boredom.

I'm switching the Schecter to BEAD tuning so it will end up getting a bigger share of play after that, and also grabbing a fretless for a handful of songs that a Sterling just isn't right for.

We use the same sound company for every show, he likes a bass to sound the same as I do - full with nothing hyped (boomy mud) - good mid bite and a snappy top so switching or using a different overdrive here and there is not a problem.

 

[namraj]

I used to bring two when my aria was my main bass, now I only bring one because the warwick is so reliable, i can imagine being slated for putting my self up for problems, but does anyone bring a spare amp or pa mixer, i doubt it.

 

[CPplaysBASS]

3

Up until last month, I had two Godin BG4s with one simply being a backup (which I must say seems to be false paranoia on my part since I've never had a bass fail), plus a BG5 since I need that low B for a couple of tunes.

Now I have a Fender Jazz and a Deluxe P Special... I bring both, but I'll choose one based on my mood just before soundcheck and stick with it for the night (if it's "boomy" room, I'd likley choose the P, but the Jazz which I've only had for 3 weeks or so is quickly becoming my main bass). By next gig I hope the Jazz V I ordered is in since I already sold my BG5!

I suppose I could just have a 5-string as the back to the 4-string, but since I've played certain songs hundreds of times on a 4-string, I'd be making mental errors everywhere playing a 5 on everything if my main bass did go down.

 

[CPplaysBASS]

.... i can imagine being slated for putting my self up for problems, but does anyone bring a spare amp or pa mixer, i doubt it.

I was just thinking that before reading your post. The ONLY thing I ever had fail on me was my amp. I let three bands use my gear before our set, which was our CD release gig, and my amp went down 10 minutes into a 60-minute set My own fault ... forgot to set the fan on high since the amp is usually not working as hard as it did that night and the "thermal shutdown" mechanism (thankfully, in retrospect) kicked in, saving the amp from damage.

 

[namraj]

I was just thinking that before reading your post. The ONLY thing I ever had fail on me was my amp. I let three bands use my gear before out set, which was our CD release gig, and my amp went down 10 minutes into out 60-minute set My own fault ... forgot to set the fan on high since the amp is usually not working as hard as it did that night and the "thermal shutdown" mechanism (thankfully, in retrospect) kicked in, saving the amp from damage.

My old aria used to have distortion problems sometimes, but the only thing I've had completely die on me is an amp, fortunately not at a gig, but it was a beautiful hand built head amp that sounded amazing, i will fix it at some point.

 

[synaesthesia]

For decent sized gigs, always 2 basses. I spare, but never identical, usually I bring two different basses for different flavours, sometimes one for the show and a generic spare (a P bass with 2 pickups).

Soundcheck: I check with a few licks, I walk in the audience area, I soundcheck a couple tunes we do. I soundcheck both basses.

FOH, should be able to adjust to my requirements if I need to change a bass. They need not panic or get paranoid because there is more to do. If they can't cope, they are not cope with me changing a bass mid show when I want to, can they really cope when I have to change a bass because I beak a string? If they can, then there is no reason why I cannot change basses. If they can't, I'll change basses anyway and request a change of FOH personel.

I understand the don't change the settings perspective, but to me it is laziness of the part of FOH. You see people chnaging axes on big shows all the time. Granted some like Billy G with the long beard, did have a set up where each guitar was EQ to sound the same - tone and level wise. Mark Knopfler also had a set up where the 6 - 8 different electrics he would use have their levels balanced via a outboard line matching device. You can carry a programmable line mixer to switch levels if you want to make it easier, but frankly if FOH wants to set it up at soundcheck and forget about it, they are lazy. It does not take much to move a slider and some knobs.

 

[ZonGuy]

I bring what is required for the gig, but go with the minimum required. I hate bring both an upright and two basses to a gig, but I have done it. On a recording job, you bring everything you own.

On regualr gigs, I should take 2 (1 plus a spare) but I don't unless its a really important gig. Sheer laziness vs the odds.

I have broken exactly one string in 8 years ( a D flat unwound during some hard banging on a jazz jam). Sure enough, it was the first time I had left my gig bag with spare strings at home. I played the remainder of the gig missing the D string - that was hard!! People still talk about that.

I have had batteries go dead but with enough warning to swap them out on a break.

On church jobs, there is often no time to swap basses, once the music begins.

 

[gillento]

2 basses: 1 main, 1 backup (Sadowsky MV5 and Sadowksy M5-24 or Sandberg PM5)

Most of the time I let the engineer choose at soundcheck what bass will be the one for the night.
We are working with 2 different engineers and it is funny how they always chose the opposite bass of the other guy....

I have a "Sansamp" preset for pick playing and a "clean compressor" preset for finger playing.
Usually our set starts with pop/funk- finger songs. So that is what I am playing at soundchecks.

Usually it takes an hour or so to get to the rock/alternative tunes. That's where the pick/drive playing takes over for the rest of the show. So the engineer has enough time to focus on my finger playing for the first hour. After that changes should be minimal, as I double check the "Sansamp" sound at soundcheck with the engineer.

 

[JimB52]

One. I've never broken a string or had any kind of failure with a bass. I bring extra cables, strings and fuses. Oh, and water.

 

[Rob Martinez]

I bring 2 basses. My regular bass is a Waterstone Indra I, and I bring another Indra or my Hofner Icon bass for back up.

 

[mongo2]

I never felt the need to carry a spare bass. However do carry spare strings.

 

[Tony In Philly]

I always bring at least two. You never know when a string could break or snap -- even a bass string.

 

[dakpluto]

90% of the things I do I bring 2 basses, a fretted and a fretless.

The other thing I've learned for me to help the sound guys is keep the 2 fairly much the same. If the 5 stringer I bringing is active, I use an active fretless. If my main axe is passive, my fretless is passive. I've found it makes the sound man very happy as the levels tend to be identical and he doesn't have to worry about it much.

 

[Big Cadillac]

Two basses, one in standard and one in flat tuning. In case something goes wrong with one there is always a back-up available.

 

[roadkill2309]

I bring one bass because I don't have a car, and piling my current bass, bodhràn, mike stand and bass stand into a taxi is enough of a drag as it is. Obviously, I ply through the pub's PA unless we're playing with a drummer, in which case I get a ride and bring my amp and cab, as well...