I will never gig without a backup ever again...

[Remguy]

Every venue with PA will also have DI boxes. In the event of an amp failure, a quick swap over to only a DI box shouldn't take more than 1 to 2 minutes.

Don't most amps have a DI "throughput" option? My Markbass combo does - unless I am horribly, horribly wrong, of course. Here's a shot of the back of the amp (from Markbass website).

Is this not an XLR connector marked "Balanced" (with pre/post EQ, ground ON/LIFT options) and if so, does this not perform the same function as a DI box?
PS - I'm not being an @$$, I'm seriously asking. I've never owned a DI box (if I'm even saying that right).
PPS - Oh, my Zoom multi-effects pedal (B2.1u) had one, too. Until it died (sob). My new one, B1Four, alas, does not. It WAS about half the price tho, and also great.

 

[Ric Vice]

I have had a few close calls in the past, that could have prevented me from playing the gig, but I'm generally close enough to home to retrieve my backup gear. I have had and amplifier go down, several times and had to have my wife bring
me my "reserve" bass head. The one thing that I've done now for my entire career is only use "dual channel" heads and preamps, so if something goes wonky in Channel 1 I can easily switch to Channel 2. Just my take of course.

 

[JC BASS 91]

I plan on having myself cloned, in case *I* break down during a gig...

Yeah, last night's gig was rough. Standing on concrete for too long has an adverse effect on me. By the end of set 2, my feet were starting to hurt. By the end of set three, I was hunting for ibuprofen. Over 2 hours later, my feet were still killing me and kept me from falling asleep. If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself. As the great fictional professor Henry Jones Jr. stated, "Its not the years, its the mileage."

Don't most amps have a DI "throughput" option? My Markbass combo does - unless I am horribly, horribly wrong, of course. Here's a shot of the back of the amp (from Markbass website).
View attachment 5234193
Is this not an XLR connector marked "Balanced" (with pre/post EQ, ground ON/LIFT options) and if so, does this not perform the same function as a DI box?
PS - I'm not being an @$$, I'm seriously asking. I've never owned a DI box (if I'm even saying that right).
PPS - Oh, my Zoom multi-effects pedal (B2.1u) had one, too. Until it died (sob). My new one, B1Four, alas, does not. It WAS about half the price tho, and also great.

Yes, that is a DI out. I think the idea is that if your amp fails, you won't be able to use that and would have to use a different DI. I have that DI on my Fender Rumble 500 combo. Should the amp die on me, I have the DI out on my BOSS GT-6B and on my Sansamp BDDI, both on my pedalboard. I can run those to our PA and have my signal added to my IEM feed.

 

[JIO]

I bring a small TC Electronics back-up amp, as a mid-set amp failure happened once years ago. Luckily I lived a few blocks from the club. I bring extra cords for sure & tools for a loose this or that, but I only bring one bass. I don't play hard enough to break a string (never have) and we usually play with two other bands for the night so there's two basses that could be borrowed in case of some sort of unexpected mishap. I'm already carrying in enough gear - another bass for 45min of playing is not necessary. We also play a few 3 set gigs but I still only bring one bass. Maybe I've been lucky all these years...

 

[Pocket Dave]

Yeah, last night's gig was rough. Standing on concrete for too long has an adverse effect on me. By the end of set 2, my feet were starting to hurt. By the end of set three, I was hunting for ibuprofen. Over 2 hours later, my feet were still killing me and kept me from falling asleep. If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself. As the great fictional professor Henry Jones Jr. stated, "Its not the years, its the mileage."

Yeah.

Last night was a short/early restaurant gig, though the concrete floor made it feel like 4 hours. Didn't help that I had to sit in a car for an hour drive afterwards.

Next time, I'm bringing a rug.

 

[JC BASS 91]

Yeah.

Last night was a short/early restaurant gig, though the concrete floor made it feel like 4 hours. Didn't help that I had to sit in a car for an hour drive afterwards.

Next time, I'm bringing a rug.

Around where I work (a hospital) there are these cushioned rubber floor mats for those folks that have jobs that have them standing in one place all day. I'm thinking about getting one for gigs where I will be standing on concrete.

 

[Les Fret]

I know it's a little late for advice, but you could have taken the G string tuner and swapped it for the A. Since there's no money above the fifth fret anyway, you still could have finished the gig. Any parts that couldn't have been reached in the upper frets of the D string could have been played an octave lower. Hope this helps in the event you suffer another similar catastrophe.

Won’t work for all players though. There are people who use the G a lot fortunately.

 

[halcyo]

I play 200+ shows a year in a busy show band. For years I’d set up 2 basses on a stand, ready to go. Only needed the backup 1-2x, so I’ve gotten smart- I BRING the backup but leave it in the car outside, so I don’t have to load it in. If there’s a trainwreck emergency we’ll just take a short set break and I’ll go get it outta the car.

 

[BlueTalon]

Yeah, last night's gig was rough. Standing on concrete for too long has an adverse effect on me. By the end of set 2, my feet were starting to hurt. By the end of set three, I was hunting for ibuprofen. Over 2 hours later, my feet were still killing me and kept me from falling asleep.

Last night was a short/early restaurant gig, though the concrete floor made it feel like 4 hours. Didn't help that I had to sit in a car for an hour drive afterwards. Next time, I'm bringing a rug.

Around where I work (a hospital) there are these cushioned rubber floor mats for those folks that have jobs that have them standing in one place all day. I'm thinking about getting one for gigs where I will be standing on concrete.

A career in the military was unkind to my back and knees and feet. I bring a stool to every gig -- a little foldable keyboard stool. I keep it in my car so I never forget it. I don't play sitting much, I usually spend most of the night standing. But being able to sit for 30 seconds or 60 seconds at a time, between songs or during long guitar entros or whatever, can make the difference between an enjoyable gig and agony at the end of the night.

 

[FRoss6788]

I play 200+ shows a year in a busy show band. For years I’d set up 2 basses on a stand, ready to go. Only needed the backup 1-2x, so I’ve gotten smart- I BRING the backup but leave it in the car outside, so I don’t have to load it in. If there’s a trainwreck emergency we’ll just take a short set break and I’ll go get it outta the car.

This.

My move as well, haven't had an issue yet, but if I did I'm covered.

 

[FRoss6788]

Around where I work (a hospital) there are these cushioned rubber floor mats for those folks that have jobs that have them standing in one place all day. I'm thinking about getting one for gigs where I will be standing on concrete.

We play three set gigs and this is what our lead vocalist uses, she's in her mid 60's and can belt it out!

 

[Polfuste]

I play 200+ shows a year in a busy show band. For years I’d set up 2 basses on a stand, ready to go. Only needed the backup 1-2x, so I’ve gotten smart- I BRING the backup but leave it in the car outside, so I don’t have to load it in. If there’s a trainwreck emergency we’ll just take a short set break and I’ll go get it outta the car.

Same as you except for the backup except i don't let anything in the car. Too much stories with stolen gear in cars.. I see with the Venue people where i can stock my backup inside without get it out of the case.

 

[Pocket Dave]

I play 200+ shows a year in a busy show band. For years I’d set up 2 basses on a stand, ready to go. Only needed the backup 1-2x, so I’ve gotten smart- I BRING the backup but leave it in the car outside, so I don’t have to load it in. If there’s a trainwreck emergency we’ll just take a short set break and I’ll go get it outta the car.

With Texas weather, especially in the summer, I won't leave a bass in the car. I carry them both in and leave the backup in a padded gig bag behind the backline.

(I play about half the number of shows you do - 93 so far this year, with 14 on the books through December).

 

[Pocket Dave]

A career in the military was unkind to my back and knees and feet. I bring a stool to every gig -- a little foldable keyboard stool. I keep it in my car so I never forget it. I don't play sitting much, I usually spend most of the night standing. But being able to sit for 30 seconds or 60 seconds at a time, between songs or during long guitar entros or whatever, can make the difference between an enjoyable gig and agony at the end of the night.

Yep. I usually just grab a stool from the venue, though last night was a restaurant with no high-tops, so I sat on a booth seat that someone pulled off to my side of the stage. Useful between songs, during BL story-time, etc.

And let's not overlook the sitting opportunity ballads provide.

 

[dave64o]

Around where I work (a hospital) there are these cushioned rubber floor mats for those folks that have jobs that have them standing in one place all day. I'm thinking about getting one for gigs where I will be standing on concrete.

Our singer uses one of those padded kitchen sink mats that seems to help a lot. And our keys player puts down a 4’ x 4’ square of those “puzzle piece” flooring pads under his set up. I’m thinking I should do something like that for myself. When I do four sets on hard bar floor, I feel it the next day.

 

[JC BASS 91]

Our singer uses one of those padded kitchen sink mats that seems to help a lot. And our keys player puts down a 4’ x 4’ square of those “puzzle piece” flooring pads under his set up. I’m thinking I should do something like that for myself. When I do four sets on hard bar floor, I feel it the next day.

Yeah, I'm feeling it today. My lower legs and feet ache as does my lower back. I will live, and it was totally worth it to do the show, I just have to work through "gig hangover" today.

 

[dave64o]

Yeah, I'm feeling it today. My lower legs and feet ache as does my lower back. I will live, and it was totally worth it to do the show, I just have to work through "gig hangover" today.

 

[Les Fret]

I play 200+ shows a year in a busy show band. For years I’d set up 2 basses on a stand, ready to go. Only needed the backup 1-2x, so I’ve gotten smart- I BRING the backup but leave it in the car outside, so I don’t have to load it in. If there’s a trainwreck emergency we’ll just take a short set break and I’ll go get it outta the car.

Here the bass is not insured when it is stolen from a car. So I will never leave a bass in a car unattended. How much trouble is it to take the bass inside?

I always take a spare bass to a gig. It’s not much extra carrying and it feels safer. I can’t imagine any professional band not bringing a spare bass.

 

[halcyo]

Here the bass is not insured when it is stolen from a car. So I will never leave a bass in a car unattended. How much trouble is it to take the bass inside?

I always take a spare bass to a gig. It’s not much extra carrying and it feels safer. I can’t imagine any professional band not bringing a spare bass.

Well, to be fair, my backup bass is a Sterling By Music Man Ray35. Good bass but not that expensive. If it got stolen it would suck, but not completely devastating.

 

[jamro217]

Won’t work for all players though. There are people who use the G a lot fortunately.

True, but as with most other emergencies, it's "any port in a storm". What if there was no backup bass available? Would you cancel the gig? Sometimes you have to improvise (and not just with the music ). The show must go on. In this instance, any one tuner could have replaced the broken one. Which would you choose? The E string would be a poor choice, because the lowest notes would be gone. The D would have basically the same effect as losing the A, only up a fourth. The leaves the G as the odd string out. The ability to play runs in the upper reaches of the D as well as playing the whole part an octave lower seems to be the best solution. You're not losing that many notes and you could use harmonics for a couple of them. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!