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

[Geri O]

Thanks for sharing your experience. It's a good reminder.

Speaking of having a backup...

That’s awesome!

And there’s one of B.B. King breaking AND replacing a string on Lucille as he sings the song, if someone hasn’t posted it already!

 

[Fynn]

You know I feel for you, BUT bringing a backup now because after years of not having any problems you now had a single issue, doesn't seem like the rational thing to do. I mean it depends on the size of your gigs. If it's a really big thing, and a lot of money is on the line, sure. But for the gigs we mere mortals usually play, I don't think it makes any sense. If you're really scared, you could even potentially bring a bag of spare parts and some basic tools! Changing a tuning key doesn't take a long time. Or you could make it a habit to really check the functionality of your instrument before even considering taking it to the gig. Sort of like a preflight for instruments. You learn what to look for, and then you look for it, instead of bringing an entire spare.

Honestly, if what exactly happened to you would've happened to me, I would've ordered another set of exactly those tuners and brought one of each side with me on every gig. Take the wrench that fits on those and a screwdriver (which you hopefully already have in your gigbag anyways) and you're good to go.

 

[Fynn]

I don't understand the "just bring some tools and a bunch of spare parts (tuners / soldering stuff / jacks)" argument vs just bringing another bass. Just unplugging one, plugging in another one, and continuing on is much faster and more efficient than finding a table or dropping on the floor to work on your bass for 20 minutes...

Spare strings, sure - I get that you can change one string in a few minutes, but c'mon, saying "Hold tight everyone, I'm gonna need a bit to swap out a tuner (or trouble shoot then re-solder some connection) seems over the top when you could start playing with another fully function bass in literally a minute.

Well, a bass is heavy and expensive. Spare parts and some light tools are not. I would bet you that I could change a single tuning key significantly faster, than changing 4 strings on my bass!

 

[dbsfgyd1]

In 1967 I saw The Yardbirds, the Page / Beck line up. I got there really early and during their sound check Chris Dreja's Precision didn't work, so I volunteered my old Framus Star bass and rushed home to get it. How Page and Beck laughed when they saw it. . . the look on Chris's face! Still it got the band through their gig and Chris was very complimentary afterwards. He didn't need to be. . . . I knew it wasn't a great bass!

I have never needed a second bass for any reason, although I've carried one for the last 25 years, since I owned more than 1 bass. It's not a back up, it's another #1 bass, and I decide which one I'm going to play during the sound check.

I’ve had one bass fail on a gig in over 50 years of being a bassist. A battery (12v)went dead on my Warwick Corvette. When I went to swap it out, the tab that connects to the battery broke in two. Moral of the story, change the battery before the gig. Lesson learned and no subsequent failures.

There was one non gig related failure also with this bass. I sent it cross country to my son who wanted to borrow it for his fitness report to remain as a bassist in the Marines. It was returned and passed my visual inspection, and back under the bed in went for several months. When I got it out the shaft of the tuning peg was broken, a tuner that looks a lot like the one on the original post. In fact I’ll venture to say they were made in the same factory, although mine say Warwick, and his was gold plated not chrome.

Well, If I ever start gigging with this bass again, I’ll replace the other 4 tuners just to make sure.

 

[2112]

My Dad (RIP) was a pro musician for a stretch. Two things he taught me:

• Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

• Amateurs practice until they get it right, professionals practice until they can't get it wrong.

Both points have served me well over the years. I've had broken strings, tuners, output jacks, DIs, cords, power supplies, just about anything that could have failed me has done so at some point. So, I follow the Rule of 2 like a Sith lord.

 

[lug]

First gig (Salt and Pepper dance), first song (I Just Wanna Make Love to you - Foghat), opening bass line....broke my E string! Have never gigged w/o a backup since.

 

[JC BASS 91]

First gig (Salt and Pepper dance), first song 9I Just Wanna Make Love to you - Foghat), opening bass line....broke my E string! Have never gigged w/o a backup since.

Lug has spoken. All other arguments are invalid.

 

[seang15]

You can disassemble a Dunlop lock with a car or house key.

Maybe always have a spare strap with you with no straplocks on it? I like that better than trying to remove the strap locks at a gig, and knowing I have to replace them later

 

[21Pastorius12]

ouch! I would have panicked.... you did well to get through with a "foreign" bass not sure I would have been able to do that I like the feel of my own basses.
Maybe its a unique thing to me but.... if I play someone else's bass I feel guilty if I dig into it!

 

[JC BASS 91]

To all of you that are talking about carrying spare parts instead of a spare bass, I just can't see the logic there, at least for me. I would rather be able to quickly swap a bass as opposed to working on a bass at the venue. I can't see that a bass would be any heavier than carrying all the extra tools, soldering iron, parts, etc than the bass would be, especially in a dual gig bag. I have a workbench at home for a reason.

Yes, I carry some tools, extra strings, extra batteries, etc for those occasions, but I am not going to carry a spare parts bin and a soldering iron along with it.

All of my gigs are going to be within an hour drive of home, and for me, carrying the backup bass will work best for me. Should my amp fail, I have contingencies in place to cover that.

I'm not saying you all are wrong in how you approach your stuff, but for me, with how I am gigging, the backup bass is the best, most efficient option.

 

[Bass Ape]

You know I feel for you, BUT bringing a backup now because after years of not having any problems you now had a single issue, doesn't seem like the rational thing to do. I mean it depends on the size of your gigs. If it's a really big thing, and a lot of money is on the line, sure. But for the gigs we mere mortals usually play, I don't think it makes any sense. If you're really scared, you could even potentially bring a bag of spare parts and some basic tools! Changing a tuning key doesn't take a long time. Or you could make it a habit to really check the functionality of your instrument before even considering taking it to the gig. Sort of like a preflight for instruments. You learn what to look for, and then you look for it, instead of bringing an entire spare.

Honestly, if what exactly happened to you would've happened to me, I would've ordered another set of exactly those tuners and brought one of each side with me on every gig. Take the wrench that fits on those and a screwdriver (which you hopefully already have in your gigbag anyways) and you're good to go.

IMHO, I would rather carry around a second bass than a bag of spare parts. I can't play spare parts and people come to listen to music, not sit thru a repair session. Even if it takes 5 min, I could swap a bass faster than it takes to sing a verse.

The takeaway here is not reactionary, it's proactive.

 

[Pocket Dave]

Yep.

After 47 years gigging, I haven't seen it all, though I've seen enough to pack a backup.

 

[Geri O]

Ahhh, these discussions usually descend into the deep weeds of semantics, so here is a grumpy old take…..

I bring 2 basses (not as spares - they’ll usually both see some action).

I bring a gig bag of sorts with:

A set of strings
A few spare 1/4” cables (which wasaay more than often get loaned to someone else).
An extra IEC power cable, believe it or not (see the previous point).
Batteries (you passive guys calm down….)
And I have an electronics/kit that stays in my truck.

The. End.

 

[FRoss6788]

IMHO, I would rather carry around a second bass than a bag of spare parts. I can't play spare parts and people come to listen to music, not sit thru a repair session. Even if it takes 5 min, I could swap a bass faster than it takes to sing a verse.

The takeaway here is not reactionary, it's proactive.

Yep.

Nothing takes 5 minutes.

Sit down and break out the tools to work on your bass? Don't expect to be asked back to that venue...

 

[Hevy T]

Karma is a female dog man!

I always say that it’s better to have and not need than to need and not have

 

[mjmeche]

That happened on my Ibanez 5 the A key broke. Made for a sphincter tight gig, drummer said after gig said I have never seen you hands move like that. Got home enjoying quite a few adult beverages

 

[orange joe]

Back then Carvin was using cheap Han Chang tuners. It's pretty common for the post to break off of the gear. I had 2 of them break like this on my old LB70. I hope they're using something better now.

 

[Pet Sounds]

I started carrying a spare when the nut split on my Strat mid-gig in about 1988 and the low E string was flapping in the breeze. Never needed the spare again until about four years ago, when the jack stopped working on my 1975 P-Bass mid-show. I just pulled out my '79 and kept rockin'. IMO, it's worth it to carry a spare unless you're playing five minutes from home.

 

[MBASSTT]

Now that you have that out of the way, the law of averages has you covered for the next couple of years.
I guess that is the good thing about doubling on upright, I always have a backup!

 

[JC BASS 91]

Back then Carvin was using cheap Han Chang tuners. It's pretty common for the post to break off of the gear. I had 2 of them break like this on my old LB70. I hope they're using something better now.

This seems to be the consensus of what I have found in my research this morning about the tuners.